Ideas for problem with chat server application!

[David Adamo Jr.]

I developed a chat application with an attendant chat server.
Everything is working fine. The issue now is the fact that whenever
the chat server goes down (for instance, the server system shuts down
as a result of power failure or some other problem), by the time the
server system come back on, the chat server would have to be restarted
manually.

I believe (and I know) it is more appropriate for the chat server
application to restart itself when the computer comes back on (and of
course regardless of who is logged in and of course, even before
anyone logs in). I have a batch file that executes the chat server. My
attempt was to create a windows service that start automatically and
runs this batch file using a Network Service account on the server
system. Although, I'm having a hard time with this (temporarily), I
would love to ask if there are any alternatives to using a windows
service. Suggestions are highly appreciated.