diff --git a/start_services.cmd b/start_services.cmd
index 0c9c195..a3a312a 100644
--- a/start_services.cmd
+++ b/start_services.cmd
@@ -1,8 +1,55 @@
 @echo off
 
-REM Up the provider in windows
-start ollama serve
+REM Check if Docker is running
+docker info >nul 2>&1
+if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 (
+    echo Error: Docker daemon is not running or inaccessible.
+    echo Please ensure Docker Desktop is running.
+    exit /b 1
+)
 
+REM Check if docker-compose.yml exists
+if not exist docker-compose.yml (
+    echo Error: docker-compose.yml not found in the current directory.
+    exit /b 1
+)
+
+REM Stop only containers in our project's network
+echo Stopping project containers...
+docker-compose down
+
+REM Start Ollama in the background
+echo Starting Ollama...
+start /B ollama serve
+
+REM First start python-env
+echo Starting python-env service...
+docker-compose up -d python-env
+if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 (
+    echo Error: Failed to start python-env container.
+    exit /b 1
+)
+
+REM Wait for python-env to be healthy
+echo Waiting for python-env to be ready...
+set /a count=0
+:wait_loop
+docker inspect -f "{{.State.Running}}" python-env | findstr "true" >nul
+if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 (
+    set /a count+=1
+    if %count% gtr 30 (
+        echo Error: python-env failed to start properly after 30 seconds
+        docker-compose logs python-env
+        exit /b 1
+    )
+    timeout /t 1 /nobreak >nul
+    goto wait_loop
+)
+
+echo python-env is ready!
+
+REM Now start the rest of the services
+echo Starting remaining services...
 docker-compose up
 if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 (
     echo Error: Failed to start containers. Check Docker logs with 'docker compose logs'.