Microsoft KB Archive/244610

= Error Message: The Protected Storage Service Terminated with Service-Specific Error 2148270091 =

Article ID: 244610

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition

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This article was previously published under Q244610



IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry



SYMPTOMS
When you start your computer, you may receive the following error message:

At least one service or driver failed during system startup. Use Event Viewer to examine the event log for details.

When this occurs, you see the following entry in the Event log:

Event ID 7024

Source: Service Control Manager

Type: Error

Category: None

Description: The Protected Storage Service Terminated with Service-Specific Error 2148270091



CAUSE
The information for the Protected Storage store in the Windows NT registry is corrupted or invalid.



RESOLUTION
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

First, try the steps in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

189649 Err Msg: Protected Storage Failed to Start

If those steps do not resolve the issue and there is not any information in the Protected Storage store that needs to be preserved, you can delete and rebuild the registry information. Note that you must be logged on to the computer with an account that is a member of the local Administrators group. If the computer is a domain controller, you must be logged on as a member of the Domain Administrators group.
 * 1) Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
 * 2) Press F3, or click Find on the Edit menu. In the Find What box, type protected storage, and then click OK.
 * 3) Back up each item that is found by clicking Export Registry File on the Registry menu. Select the location in which to save the file, name the file, and then click Save.
 * 4) After you save the registry file, press the DELETE key, or click Delete on the Edit menu. Click Yes to confirm the deletion. Note that the deletion is immediate and permanent. There is no "undo" functionality.
 * 5) Press F3 to find the next item that refers to Protected Storage, save the key, and then delete the key. Repeat this process until there are no more items in the registry that refer to Protected Storage.
 * 6) Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders. In the Named box, type pstores.exe, and then click OK. This file is located by default in the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder. Right-click the file, and then click Rename. Change the file name to Pstores.exe.old.
 * 7) In the "Find: All Files" window, change the file name to Psbase.dll, and then click Find Now. Rename this file to Psbase.dll.old.
 * 8) Close all open windows, and then reapply the current service pack. Note that when a service pack is reapplied, if a message is displayed asking whether an OEM version of a file should be overwritten, you should choose not to overwrite the file. For more information please consult your hardware manufacturer.

Note that while you are deleting the Protected Storage keys, you may not be able to delete some keys. If this is the case, try skipping to the next key, complete the steps, and reboot the computer. If this does not resolve the issue, it may be best to contact Microsoft Product Support Services for further assistance. Any Protected Storage keys that remain are protected by the system and deletion of these keys is not advised.

By default, only the System account can access certain registry subkeys. To remove Protected Storage subkeys, you may need to manipulate the permissions for those subkeys. The default permissions for Everyone is Read. In order to delete a locked down registry object, the currently logged on user must have Full Control of the object. To change the registry key permissions, use Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe). For more information about how to use Registry Editor to change permissions for registry objects, please consult the Registry Editor online Help file.



MORE INFORMATION
The Protected Storage store is a location in which confidential information is saved. This information is encrypted and cannot be viewed or copied to another system.

Keywords: kbenv kberrmsg kbprb KB244610

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