diff --git a/src/bin/pg_ctl/pg_ctl.c b/src/bin/pg_ctl/pg_ctl.c
index efc0729..3ddab6c 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_ctl/pg_ctl.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_ctl/pg_ctl.c
@@ -1602,13 +1602,20 @@ pgwin32_ServiceMain(DWORD argc, LPTSTR *argv)
 	if (do_wait)
 	{
 		write_eventlog(EVENTLOG_INFORMATION_TYPE, _("Waiting for server startup...\n"));
-		if (test_postmaster_connection(postmasterPID, true) != PQPING_OK)
+		switch (test_postmaster_connection(postmasterPID, true))
 		{
-			write_eventlog(EVENTLOG_ERROR_TYPE, _("Timed out waiting for server startup\n"));
-			pgwin32_SetServiceStatus(SERVICE_STOPPED);
-			return;
+			case PQPING_OK:
+				write_eventlog(EVENTLOG_INFORMATION_TYPE, _("Server started and accepting connections\n"));
+				break;
+			case PQPING_REJECT:
+				write_eventlog(EVENTLOG_INFORMATION_TYPE, _("Server startup timed out but might continue in the background\n"));
+				break;
+			case PQPING_NO_RESPONSE:
+			case PQPING_NO_ATTEMPT:
+				write_eventlog(EVENTLOG_ERROR_TYPE, _("Server startup failed. Examine the log output.\n"));
+				pgwin32_SetServiceStatus(SERVICE_STOPPED);
+				return;
 		}
-		write_eventlog(EVENTLOG_INFORMATION_TYPE, _("Server started and accepting connections\n"));
 	}
 
 	pgwin32_SetServiceStatus(SERVICE_RUNNING);