The certification authority service does not start and throws the error message "Object was not found. 0x80090011 (-2146893807 NTE_NOT_FOUND)".

Assume the following scenario:

• A certification authority is implemented in the network.
• The certification authority service does not start.
• When trying to start the Certification Authority service, you get the following error message:

Object was not found. 0x80090011 (-2146893807 NTE_NOT_FOUND)

A corresponding Event with no. 100 can also be found in the event display of the certification authority:

Active Directory Certificate Services did not start: Could not load or verify the current CA certificate. ADCS Labor Issuing CA 2 Object was not found. 0x80090011 (-2146893807 NTE_NOT_FOUND).

Possible causes

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This error may occur if no connection to the hardware security module can be established, e.g. because it is not switched on, because a firewall prevents the connection, or because the login data at the HSM are incorrect.

It can also occur if a hardware security module is used and its Key Storage Provider (KSP) requires user interaction (for enabling access to the private key, e.g. Operator Card Set Protection for Thales/nCipher HSMs). In this case, the startup type for the certificate authority service should be set to "manual" and the service should be started manually by an administrator.

Related links:

• Perform functional test for a Certification Authority