2001 Error Starting Host Server: The section is marked as being protected
kbt141994
PRODUCTIssue
After running Setup Manager to add K2 Studio on the server, the following error appears when starting the K2 service:
"Error 2001 Error Starting Host Server: The section is marked as being protected, but it does not have the correct format. It should contain only the <EncryptedData> child node."
Symptoms
The issue was caused by the following extra setting in K2HostServer.exe.config file (between </EncryptedData> and </connectionStrings>):
<add name="SourceCode.MessageBus.Ews.ExchangeWebServicesConnection:[SmartAction Account]" connectionString="UserID=[DomainUser];PasswordXXXXX;URL=[Exchange URL];Autodiscover=False" providerName="" />
<add name="SourceCode.MessageBus.Ews.ExchangeWebServicesDestination" connectionString="User ID=DomainUser];PasswordXXXXX;URL=[Exchange URL];Autodiscover=False" providerName="" />
<add name="SourceCode.Net.Mail.SmtpConnection:[SmartAction Account]" connectionString="TLS=None;Host Name=[Host Name];User ID=[DomainUser];PasswordXXXXX" providerName="" />
<add name="SourceCode.Net.Mail.SmtpConnection" connectionString="TLS=None;Host Name=[Host Name];Authentication=Anonymous" providerName="" />
The particular issue was caused by running different version of the installer, to install K2 Studio. In this case, (4.12060.1731.2) instead of (4.12060.1731.1)
Troubleshooting Steps
To resolve this issue, run the K2 Blackpearl Setup Manager with the correct version (that was used to install K2 originally) from the extracted installer with the Repair option.
