May 2012

Remote Desktop Licensing service to fail to start

Remote Desktop Licensing service to fail to start, with error code %%-1073672191.

The Terminal Services Licensing service cannot start. The following error occurred: Can’t initialize Cryptographic – error code 5.

Sometime happens a problem with Remote Desktop Licensing services not starting.
The Terminal Licensing MachineKeys have permissions for Administrators and/or TermServLicensing  but the service starts using the “Network Service” account… Why??????

You can fix the problem adding Network Service account (read only privileges it’s ok), on follow directory (you can force ownership propagation for reapply the correct privilege tree):

C:\Documents and Settings\all users\Application Data\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\MachineKeys

Then the service start, correctly.

 

For further information you can take a look at microsoft KB:

Default permissions for the MachineKeys folders:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278381

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb909654%28v=vs.90%29.aspx