Python's nest

Today had problem creating scheduled task for Shadow Copies on one of Windows 2003 file servers, details and fix after the break.

Issue:

After creating a scheduled task to run under the local system account (NT Authority\SYSTEM) you may receive the following error when attempting to view the properties of the scheduled task.

General page initialization failed. The specific error is: 0x8007000d: The data is invalid.

An error has occurred attempting to retrieve task account information.  You may continue editing the task object, but will be unable to change task account information.

Or, after creating a scheduled task to run under and domain account (Domain\user) you may receive a last result code of 0x6 when the scheduled task is run.

Cause:

Both of the above issues can occur for any of the following reasons

• The d42* crypto files that relate to computer or domain accounts are invalid or corrupted.  This is most likely caused by using sysprep to deploy the OS with scheduled tasks configured.
• The Task Scheduler service has encountered a problem, like a file handle or memory corruption issue.  In this case stopping and starting the Task Scheduler service does not resolve the problem.

Solution:

To recreate the d42* files follow these steps:

1)      Log on as user who has administrative credentials.

2)      Delete all scheduled tasks.

3)      Browse to %SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\S-1-5-18

4)      Delete all files that start with d42*

5)      Recreate or modify the scheduled task. The files that start with d42* are re-created after the task is recreated or modified.

6)      Make sure that the scheduled tasks function correctly.

If recreating the d42* files does not solve the problem then the problem may be caused by a file handle or memory corruption problem. Rebooting the computer should resolve this issue.