JSI Tip 10318. When you attempt to start the Task Scheduler service in Windows XP, you receive 'Error 1717: The interface is unknown'?

Using the Services.msc snap-in, you notice the the Task Scheduler service is NOT running, even though the Startup type is set to Automatic. When you try to start the Task Scheduler service, you receive:

Could not start the Task Scheduler service on Local Computer.
Error 1717: The interface is unknown.

This behavior is symptomatic of having the Event Log service set to Disabled.

To workaround this problem:

1. Open a CMD.EXE window.

2. Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each line:

cd /d %SystemRoot%\system32
sc config Eventlog start= auto
net start Eventlog
sc config Schedule start= auto
net start Schedule