Article ID	20030826A
Subject	Fixing the XP Cryptographic Services Error
Concept	Blaster patch fails with "could not verify the integrity of the file" or other cyptographic service related errors
OS	Windows XP

The following is the procedure that I have come up with that appears to fix the "Unable to verify file, please start the cryptographic service" error when trying to install the Blaster virus patch (after making sure, of course, that the service is running). Other side effects that I have seen include, not being able to use the Windows Update Site, unable to visit https (ssl enabled) sites, and failure to install signed packages. All of the machines that had this problem appear to be virgin installs of Windows XP (pre service pack 1) that had no patches applied and outdated or no anti-virus software installed.

DISCLAIMER: The following commands could hose your machine. I take no responsibility in any damage that this may do to the system you are working on. If your machine gets pooched or bursts into flame, you are on your own!

Before doing anything else, I would remove the drive from the computer and put it in another computer with the latest anti-virus software installed. Scan the drive and remove/repair any infections. Once you are certain that the drive is virus free, put it back in the original computer and you can start getting the cryptographic service problem straightened out.

Note: You will need to have Administrative access to perform the following procedures. You should have Windows XP Service Pack 1 on CD (either order the SP from microsoft, or download and burn the "network install" version onto CD. As always its a good idea to read the whole article before beginning.

1) Reboot the computer, stop any unnessecary programs in the taskbar. Open a command prompt and type the following commands:

regsvr32 softpub.dll
regsvr32 wintrust.dll
regsvr32 initpkl.dll
regsvr32 dssenh.dll
regsvr32 rsaenh.dll
regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll
regsvr32 sccbase.dll
regsvr32 slbcsp.dll
regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll

2) Install Windows XP Service Pack 1. If disk space allows, I would archive existing files. I have not had any problems with existing installs, but it never hurts and the archive directory can be deleted at a later time. If you are able to install SP1, then the cryptographic service is fixed.

If you get "Service Pack 1 Setup could not verify the integrity of the file" try the following steps (ONLY IF STEP 2 FAILS):

A) Stop/Start the cryptographic service. Make sure startup is set to automatic.
B) Type in the following commands from the command line:

net stop cryptsvc
cd\%systemroot%\system32
ren catroot oldcatroot
ren catroot2 oldcatroot2
net stop cryptsvc

If you get access denied errors renaming the files, go to single user mode.

Try to install SP1 again. At this point, I have been able to get the service pack installed. If you are still having problems with the cryptographic service, your best bet is to reload XP. You may be able to use the "repair" option, but I have not done this.