How to Start and Stop PostgreSQL Service (Actually, Any Service) on Windows 7

On Windows XP, if you were logged in as a user with administrative rights, you could simply run cmd to start what in the old days we used to call a "DOS box" and run something like this:

NET START postgresql

NET STOP postgresql

from the Windows command prompt to start or stop PostgreSQL database server (or any other Windows service).

On Windows 7, however, it is a little more complicated than that. The problem is that, if you simply run cmd and try to start or stop a service, you will most probably get this error message:
System error 5 has occurred.
Access is denied.

PostgreSQL Installation Problem on Windows without WSH

PostgreSQL 8.3 and 8.4 may fail to install on Windows with the following error message: "An error occurred executing the Microsoft VC++ runtime installer". PostgreSQL 9.x may fail with a different message: "Unable to write inside TEMP environment variable path", but the actual reason appears to be the same.