Secedit extended error 1208. PLEASE HELP

[Rahl42]

Alright so I am trying to make a batch file using secedit so that I can activate it and it will automatically set the group policy defined in the text files being used. An example of one of them (I exported them all the same way, I get the same error for all of them, so one should be fine) is this:

Policy Security Setting
Account lockout duration 30 minutes
Account lockout threshold 10 invalid logon attempts
Reset account lockout counter after 30 minutes

I saved that as a .txt after exporting it from a machine I had just configured. Then, in my batch file, I used the following code to try to apply it:

secedit /configure /db "Account Lockout Policy.txt" /log "change log"

And in the "change log" file, I get the following output:

-------------------------------------------
Friday, November 30, 2012 %:28:20 PM
Error 1208: An extended error has occurred.
Error opening C:\Users\<my username>\Desktop\<name of folder I have these files in>\Account Lockout Policy.txt
----Configuration engine was initialized with one or more errors.----


----Un-initialize configuration engine...




Please help me, it would save me so much time in the future if I can get this to work and I don't want to just throw it away after literally spending hours setting all the policies I wanted to extract. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Ed Dyreen]

Welcome Rahl42

secedit /configure /db "Account Lockout Policy.txt" /log "change log"

If I export it, .SDB is suggested as fileType. Try saving it as "*.SDB".
Notepad tells me it's a binary ANSI file.

Code: Select all

secedit /configure /db ED_MMC_POLICY.SDB

Sometimes errors occur while processing the SDB file, it helps me to also have an "empty" policy sjablon.SDB.

Hope it helps,
ed

[Rahl42]

I tried changing it to a .sdb file, it gave me the same error, but instead of the file name in the error having .txt it was .sdb, which isn't very surprising. I had already done this, but I tried it again after you suggested it, in case I had missed something. Unfortunately, it didn't work. However, I haven't tried using what you call an '"empty" policy sjablon.SDB.' I am not sure I understand what you mean by this, could you elaborate what this is and how it would be used please? Thanks.

[Rahl42]

Forgot to mention this before, not sure if it matters or not, but I am using Windows Vista

[Ed Dyreen]

'
I have no time to test so I'll just explain about my experience.

An "empty" .SDB config file is one that does not store any changes in the database.
But this only helps finding errors when the config file actually ran.

The error you posted suggests to me that the configuration file was not even processed.
Not sure if it helps, but try a file name without spaces and use an absolute path eg: c:\test.SDB.

This is all I can come up with, I'm sorry. You may try a google 'secedit error Number'.

ps: no I guess it doesn't matter that u use vista.

[Rahl42]

Okay, I tried using a file name with no spaces, in the C:\ directory. I changed the file name to "ALP" and changed the batch file accordingly. Same thing happened as before.

[Ed Dyreen]

'
Okay, I performed that google Secedit extended error 1208 I suggested in my previous post.
"Setup Cannot Copy the File <FileName>" Error Messages Occur When You Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows Server 2003

SYMPTOMS
When you perform an in-place upgrade of Windows Server 2003, you receive the following error messages during the Graphical User Interface (GUI)-mode portion of Setup:
Setup cannot copy the file FileName
You receive this error message for each file that Setup cannot copy. The following file names may be referenced in this error message:
Cmprops.dl_
Licwmi.dl_
Mmfutil.dl_
Servereps.dl_
Additionally, when you view the Scesetup.log file in the %Windir%\Security folder on the hard disk, you may receive the following error messages:
Error 1208: An extended error has occurred.

Error opening %Windir%\Security\Database\secedit.sdb.
-and-
Error 1208: An extended error has occurred.

Errors occurred.
-and-
Error 1208: An extended error has occurred.

Error creating database.

CAUSE
This problem occurs because the security database, Secedit.sdb, is damaged. The security database may be damaged in situations where the computer is shut down incorrectly.

RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, use the Esentutl.exe command-line utility to repair the database, and then run Windows Server 2003 Setup. To repair the database by using Esentutl.exe:

Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type the following line, and then press ENTER:
esentutl /p %windir%\security\database\secedit.sdb
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type the following line, and then press ENTER:
%windir%\security
Right-click the Edb.log file and the Edb0000x.log file, and then click Delete.
Click OK when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.

Note When you perform this procedure, some data loss may result. For example, cached local security policy settings may be lost.

Let's just ignore the fact that u use Vista for now. Your problem could be a corrupt database.

I hope this gets you closer in resolving the issue,
ed

[Rahl42]

If my problem is a corrupt database, this page doesn't help. I have posted this same problem on about 4 other forums, and 2 of them besides this one also gave me this link. When I try to follow the steps, the step that says "Right-click the Edb.log file and the Edb0000x.log file, and then click Delete" does not work for me, because the file Edb.log and Edb000x.log are not there. If I do a search I find a file called "Edb.txt", but if I try to delete it, it tells me it is being used by another program, even if I start it in safe mode.

[foxidrive]

I saved that as a .txt after exporting it from a machine I had just configured. Then, in my batch file, I used the following code to try to apply it:

secedit /configure /db "Account Lockout Policy.txt" /log "change log"

You exported it as .txt

Is there an option to export it as another filetype?

It seems to be after a database and not a text file - and your file might not be plain text but I can't check that so it has to be suggested.

[Ed Dyreen]

If my problem is a corrupt database, this page doesn't help. I have posted this same problem on about 4 other forums, and 2 of them besides this one also gave me this link. When I try to follow the steps, the step that says "Right-click the Edb.log file and the Edb0000x.log file, and then click Delete" does not work for me, because the file Edb.log and Edb000x.log are not there. If I do a search I find a file called "Edb.txt", but if I try to delete it, it tells me it is being used by another program, even if I start it in safe mode.

If you have another working machine in your vicinity that doesn't exhibit this problem and runs the same OS, servicePack and BIT version. You could boot up both troubled machine and working one using a bootable disk that supports the fileSystem and networking. After which you connect and copy the database and optional dll's. There are various bootable OS disks you can download free of charge. BartPE, Acronis Server Enterprise( payware ), Ultimate boot CD, and others I do not recall. Try first to find and run the tool mentioned, in your Vista CD or otherwise download it.

I only use safeMode booting for troubleshooting hardware and driver issues.

Note that this forum focusses on batch file programming, not on resolving windows issues.