SQLServerAgent could not be started (reason: Unable to connect to server '(local)'; SQLServerAgent

Question

Dear all,
i have a Windows 2008 Server (X64) with SQL 2005 SP3 and some troubels...
The SQL works since some week, this week we installed SQL SP3 and change of the local Admin password.
Yesterday we reboot  the Server, now the SQL Server Agent is unable to start!

The SQL Server is up and running,
Errorlog:

2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server      Microsoft SQL Server 2005 - 9.00.4035.00 (X64)
 Nov 24 2008 16:17:31
 Copyright (c) 1988-2005 Microsoft Corporation
 Standard Edition (64-bit) on Windows NT 6.0 (Build 6002: Service Pack 2)

2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server      (c) 2005 Microsoft Corporation.
2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server      All rights reserved.
2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server      Server process ID is 5912.
2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server      Authentication mode is WINDOWS-ONLY.
2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server      Logging SQL Server messages in file 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\LOG\ERRORLOG'.
2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server      This instance of SQL Server last reported using a process ID of 4424 at 11/6/2009 9:43:23 AM (local) 11/6/2009 8:43:23 AM (UTC). This is an informational message only; no user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server      Registry startup parameters:
2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server        -d C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\DATA\master.mdf
2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server        -e C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\LOG\ERRORLOG
2009-11-06 09:49:52.56 Server        -l C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\DATA\mastlog.ldf
2009-11-06 09:49:52.59 Server      SQL Server is starting at normal priority base (=7). This is an informational message only. No user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:52.59 Server      Detected 4 CPUs. This is an informational message; no user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:52.67 Server      Using dynamic lock allocation.  Initial allocation of 2500 Lock blocks and 5000 Lock Owner blocks per node.  This is an informational message only.  No user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:52.71 Server      Attempting to initialize Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC). This is an informational message only. No user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:53.73 Server      Attempting to recover in-doubt distributed transactions involving Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC). This is an informational message only. No user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:53.73 Server      Database mirroring has been enabled on this instance of SQL Server.
2009-11-06 09:49:53.73 spid4s      Starting up database 'master'.
2009-11-06 09:49:53.86 spid4s      Recovery is writing a checkpoint in database 'master' (1). This is an informational message only. No user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:53.95 spid4s      SQL Trace ID 1 was started by login "sa".
2009-11-06 09:49:53.97 spid4s      Starting up database 'mssqlsystemresource'.
2009-11-06 09:49:53.99 spid4s      The resource database build version is 9.00.4035. This is an informational message only. No user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.16 spid9s      Starting up database 'model'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.17 spid4s      Server name is 'VIE-EU-ARC-02'. This is an informational message only. No user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.19 Server      The certificate was successfully loaded for encryption.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.19 Server      Server is listening on [ 'any' <ipv6> 1433].
2009-11-06 09:49:54.19 Server      Server is listening on [ 'any' <ipv4> 1433].
2009-11-06 09:49:54.19 Server      Server local connection provider is ready to accept connection on [ \\.\pipe\SQLLocal\MSSQLSERVER ].
2009-11-06 09:49:54.19 Server      Server local connection provider is ready to accept connection on [ \\.\pipe\sql\query ].
2009-11-06 09:49:54.19 Server      Server is listening on [ ::1 <ipv6> 1434].
2009-11-06 09:49:54.19 Server      Server is listening on [ 127.0.0.1 <ipv4> 1434].
2009-11-06 09:49:54.19 Server      Dedicated admin connection support was established for listening locally on port 1434.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.31 Server      SQL Server is now ready for client connections. This is an informational message; no user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid15s     Starting up database 'AdventureWorks'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid16s     Starting up database 'EnterpriseVaultDirectory'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid14s     Starting up database 'Test'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid12s     Starting up database 'AdventureWorksDW'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid17s     Starting up database 'EnterpriseVaultMonitoring'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid13s     Starting up database 'msdb'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid23s     Starting up database 'EVVSExchangeVaultStore_2'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid22s     Starting up database 'EVVSGVIE_2_2'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid24s     Starting up database 'EVVSJournalVaultStore_3'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid19s     Starting up database 'EVVSVIEIT_1'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid21s     Starting up database 'ReportServerTempDB'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid20s     Starting up database 'ReportServer'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.33 spid18s     Starting up database 'EVVSGVIEIT_1_1'.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.56 spid9s      Clearing tempdb database.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.61 spid19s     CHECKDB for database 'EVVSVIEIT_1' finished without errors on 2009-10-28 18:06:14.107 (local time). This is an informational message only; no user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.65 spid23s     CHECKDB for database 'EVVSExchangeVaultStore_2' finished without errors on 2009-11-04 18:05:33.960 (local time). This is an informational message only; no user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.71 spid24s     CHECKDB for database 'EVVSJournalVaultStore_3' finished without errors on 2009-11-04 18:05:51.793 (local time). This is an informational message only; no user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.75 spid16s     CHECKDB for database 'EnterpriseVaultDirectory' finished without errors on 2009-11-04 18:06:38.103 (local time). This is an informational message only; no user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.83 spid17s     CHECKDB for database 'EnterpriseVaultMonitoring' finished without errors on 2009-11-04 18:06:18.570 (local time). This is an informational message only; no user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:54.99 spid4s      Recovery of any in-doubt distributed transactions involving Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC) has completed. This is an informational message only. No user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:55.55 spid9s      Starting up database 'tempdb'.
2009-11-06 09:49:55.68 spid4s      Recovery is complete. This is an informational message only. No user action is required.
2009-11-06 09:49:55.68 spid12s     The Service Broker protocol transport is disabled or not configured.
2009-11-06 09:49:55.68 spid12s     The Database Mirroring protocol transport is disabled or not configured.
2009-11-06 09:49:55.72 spid12s     Service Broker manager has started.

Only the SQL Server Agent is unable to start,
Eventlog:

Log Name:      Application
Source:        SQLSERVERAGENT
Date:          06.11.2009 10:09:52
Event ID:      103
Task Category: Service Control
Level:         Error
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      vie-eu-arc-02.global.domain
Description:
SQLServerAgent could not be started (reason: Unable to connect to server '(local)'; SQLServerAgent cannot start).
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="SQLSERVERAGENT" />
    <EventID Qualifiers="16384">103</EventID>
    <Level>2</Level>
    <Task>2</Task>
    <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2009-11-06T09:09:52.000Z" />
    <EventRecordID>8486</EventRecordID>
    <Channel>Application</Channel>
    <Computer>vie-eu-arc-02.global.domain</Computer>
    <Security />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data>Unable to connect to server '(local)'; SQLServerAgent cannot start</Data>
  </EventData>
</Event>

SQLAgent.out Logfile:

2009-11-06 10:09:52 - ! [298] SQLServer Error: 233, Shared Memory Provider: No process is on the other end of the pipe. [SQLSTATE 08001]
2009-11-06 10:09:52 - ! [298] SQLServer Error: 233, Client unable to establish connection [SQLSTATE 08001]
2009-11-06 10:09:52 - ! [000] Unable to connect to server '(local)'; SQLServerAgent cannot start
2009-11-06 10:09:52 - ! [298] SQLServer Error: 233, Shared Memory Provider: No process is on the other end of the pipe. [SQLSTATE 08001]
2009-11-06 10:09:52 - ! [298] SQLServer Error: 233, Client unable to establish connection [SQLSTATE 08001]
2009-11-06 10:09:52 - ! [382] Logon to server '(local)' failed (DisableAgentXPs)
2009-11-06 10:09:53 - ? [098] SQLServerAgent terminated (normally)

Additional the SQL Server Management Studio is unable to logon to the Server:

TITLE: Connect to Server
------------------------------

Cannot connect to vie-eu-arc-02.

------------------------------
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

A connection was successfully established with the server, but then an error occurred during the pre-login handshake. (provider: Shared Memory Provider, error: 0 - No process is on the other end of the pipe.) (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 233)

For help, click: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&EvtSrc=MSSQLServer&EvtID=233&LinkId=20476

------------------------------

The local Admin Password was reset to the "original" (after install) one.
Any ideas how to fix the problem?

Answer 1

It looks like you are using Encrypted connection

"

2009-11-06 09:49:54.19 Server      The certificate was successfully loaded for encryption.

"

please see this blog that addresses your symptoms

http://blogs.msdn.com/sql_protocols/archive/2006/07/26/678596.aspx


Looks like you have an issue with certificate.

HTH

---

Please mark as answer if you think this answers your questions

Answer 2

You said that you changed the Admin Account's password and something is broken now... Is there a chance that your SQL Server Agent is being run using this Admin account? If so, you need to change the password information of your SQL Server Agent accordingly from SQL Server Configuration Manager.

---

Ekrem Önsoy - MCDBA, MCITP:DBA & DBD, MCSD.Net, SQL Server MVP

Answer 3

http://blogs.msdn.com/sql_protocols/archive/2006/07/26/678596.aspx

the link is broken...

Answer 4

The SQL Server Service & the SQL Server Agent run with a Domain Account.
The account has local Administrator permissions.
The SQL Server Service starts with the user without any troubles, only the Agent has a problem.

Answer 5

http://blogs.msdn.com/sql_protocols/archive/2006/07/26/678596.aspx

the link is broken...

works for me

http://blogs.msdn.com/sql_protocols/archive/2006/07/26/678596.aspx

I suggest also to open "SQL server configuration manager" and key in again the SQL agent credentials and try once more.

THX

---

Please mark as answer if you think this answers your questions

Answer 6

I don't want to use Encryption
because the SQL Server is the database of a Vault Archiv Server on the same machine.

The certificate is know & trusted
all selections are Encryption: NO

any other ideas?
How could i start a detailed debug?

What should i do if no one knows the error?
Reinstall the SQL Server?

Answer 7

Can you check on these please :


   1. SQL Server Configuration Manager, expand SQL Server 2005 Network Configuration, right-click "Protocols for MSSQLSERVER", and then select Properties.

2- Check if "force encryption" is set to YES. If so then your connection is encrypted; If you want to disable it then set to NO.

3- Right-click "SQL Native Client Configuration" . make sure that "force encryption" value is NO



4- Make sure that SQL Server agent is using right credentials


5- Restart services.


THX

---

Please mark as answer if you think this answers your questions

Answer 8

Hi,

How about changing SQL Server Agent account from the specified domain account to sa? If it works, please check permissions of the domain account that you currently uses as SQL Server Agent Service account. For more information about the required permissions for SQL Server Agent Services account, please refer to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms191543(SQL.90).aspx.

If there are any more questions, please let me know.
Thanks.

---

***Xiao Min Tan***Microsoft Online Community***

Answer 9

Dear all,
the encryption was NO on all protocols.
Because no additional ideas available, i uninstalled the SQL Server on friday.
At the Re-Install Process i got again an error:
[Microsoft][SQL Native Client]Shared Memory Provider: No process is on the
other end of the pipe .

The install process failed.
On google i found the same problem in an other thread:

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.sqlserver.connect/browse_thread/thread/dbec4a9a271f69a6/7cd22694da3a6062?lnk=st&q=%22Shared+Memory+Provider%3A+No+process+is+on+the+other+end+of+the+pipe%22&rnum=2&hl=en#7cd22694da3a6062

++++++
During the installation process of SQL Server 2005, Setup complains it cannot
connect to the database service for server configuration. The error was:
[Microsoft][SQL Native Client]Shared Memory Provider: No process is on the
other end of the pipe .
I have checked that the pipe exists (\\.\pipe\SQLLocal\MyInstance), but
everytime the installer attempts the connecting the pipe is closed by the
server and another is reopened. That's why the Client says there is no
process on the other end of the pipe.
I have re-installed 'everything', tried connections via TCP, but nothing
works.
I have made a small application to connect to the pipe and noticed that
there are 3 instances of the pipe running, one that I am connecting to, and 2
listening pipes. If I write to 'my' pipe SQL server disconnects the pipe and
reopens another too. The difference is that SQL server writes an error
message in the log file. No such luck when the Native client is doing the
same.
What more can I do?
++++++

and an answer

++++++
I finaly found the problem to be the certificate used.
I noticed that a certificate was added to the machinekeys just recently.
(in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\MachineKeys)

I renamed it to another name and re-installed sql server.
I noticed that sql server ERRORLOG complained about certificate that it
couldn't load and the generation of a self-generaed certificate (see below)

"2005-12-10 21:01:02.30 Server      The server could not load the
certificate it needs to initiate an SSL connection. It returned the following
error: 0x8009030d. Check certificates to make sure they are valid.
2005-12-10 21:01:02.49 Server      A self-generated certificate was
successfully loaded for encryption."

Now the installation succeeded
++++++

With Windows 2008 it was really a challange to get access to this folder (!!!)
After clearing the folder the ReInstall of SQL Server works fine.

Now the SQL Server & the SQL Server Agent works again.
The problem was anything with encryption, old certs & files.

Answer 10

Dear all,
the encryption was NO on all protocols.
Because no additional ideas available, i uninstalled the SQL Server on friday.
At the Re-Install Process i got again an error:
[Microsoft][SQL Native Client]Shared Memory Provider: No process is on the
other end of the pipe .

The install process failed.
On google i found the same problem in an other thread:

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.sqlserver.connect/browse_thread/thread/dbec4a9a271f69a6/7cd22694da3a6062?lnk=st&q=%22Shared+Memory+Provider%3A+No+process+is+on+the+other+end+of+the+pipe%22&rnum=2&hl=en#7cd22694da3a6062

++++++
During the installation process of SQL Server 2005, Setup complains it cannot
connect to the database service for server configuration. The error was:
[Microsoft][SQL Native Client]Shared Memory Provider: No process is on the
other end of the pipe .
I have checked that the pipe exists (\\.\pipe\SQLLocal\MyInstance), but
everytime the installer attempts the connecting the pipe is closed by the
server and another is reopened. That's why the Client says there is no
process on the other end of the pipe.
I have re-installed 'everything', tried connections via TCP, but nothing
works.
I have made a small application to connect to the pipe and noticed that
there are 3 instances of the pipe running, one that I am connecting to, and 2
listening pipes. If I write to 'my' pipe SQL server disconnects the pipe and
reopens another too. The difference is that SQL server writes an error
message in the log file. No such luck when the Native client is doing the
same.
What more can I do?
++++++

and an answer

++++++
I finaly found the problem to be the certificate used.
I noticed that a certificate was added to the machinekeys just recently.
(in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\MachineKeys)

I renamed it to another name and re-installed sql server.
I noticed that sql server ERRORLOG complained about certificate that it
couldn't load and the generation of a self-generaed certificate (see below)

"2005-12-10 21:01:02.30 Server      The server could not load the
certificate it needs to initiate an SSL connection. It returned the following
error: 0x8009030d. Check certificates to make sure they are valid.
2005-12-10 21:01:02.49 Server      A self-generated certificate was
successfully loaded for encryption."

Now the installation succeeded
++++++

With Windows 2008 it was really a challange to get access to this folder (!!!)
After clearing the folder the ReInstall of SQL Server works fine.

Now the SQL Server & the SQL Server Agent works again.
The problem was anything with encryption, old certs & files.

I don't think that everyone can afford reinstalling SQL server.

"
I finaly found the problem to be the certificate used.
I noticed that a certificate was added to the machinekeys just recently.
(in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\MachineKeys)
"

I think this is what the following blog was saying , a problem with certification

http://blogs.msdn.com/sql_protocols/archive/2006/07/26/678596.aspx

Cheers

---

Please mark as answer if you think this answers your questions