Smartcard service never stays in "Automatic" mode

Question

_{Friday, December 2, 2016 8:34 AM}

Hello,

For some banking operation, we (my company) must use a USB smartcard reader. Despite our efforts, the smartcard service is always disabled at startup, which is pretty annoying considering the operator is not administrator on its computer.

Any idea about that?

All replies (10)

_{Tuesday, December 20, 2016 8:12 AM ✅Answered}

Hi romu70,

Are there any error messages recorded in the Event Viewer(Windows Logs\Application, System)?

" same problem, the Smartcard service is never started and always disabled at startup."
It is weired. It is available for me to change that service startup type on a Windows 10.14393.576 machine and it could run well. Considering this is a domain environment, please try to remove the machine out of the domain to verify whether the issue is caused by the domain policy.

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_{Monday, December 5, 2016 7:56 AM}

Hi romu70,

"which is pretty annoying considering the operator is not administrator on its computer."
Is this a domain environment?

You`d better to login with an administrator to change the smart card service startup type. If you are not an administrator, you`d better to contact the administrator for help.

Best regards

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_{Tuesday, December 6, 2016 9:06 AM}

Hi,

Thanks for your message. But I don't understand your point here. Yes, it's a domain computer. Enter the admin credentials is mandatory to access the Services management console.

I've tried the following:

- open a session as local admin

- set the "Windows Driver Fundation" service mode to Automatic (it's a dependency for the Smartcard service)

- set the Smartcard service mode to Automatic

Same problem, Smartcard always disabled at startup.

_{Wednesday, December 7, 2016 1:20 AM}

Hi romu70,

Try to configure the following gpo:
Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options\Interactive logon: Require smart card

Check the following registry key, ensure the value of "Start" is "2".
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\SCardSvr\Start

Best regards

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_{Friday, December 9, 2016 8:47 AM}

Thanks but this is not my problem at all. If I do this, my user will be able to open a session only via smartcard, this is not the behavior I want.

I just want the smartcard service to be started at computer startup for banking operations, nothing related to Windows authentication.

_{Tuesday, December 13, 2016 9:06 AM}

Hi romu70,

Have you checked the registry key configuration?

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\SCardSvr\Start

Ensure the value of "Start" is "2". If it will be modified, we could try to audit the registry key to capture the culprit.

Ensure your smartcard device is compatible with Windows 10. Verify this from the device manufacturer website. 

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_{Tuesday, December 13, 2016 4:00 PM}

Hi, thanks.

The service startup value was "4". I changed it to "2" and restarted the computer. Now it's mark as "Automatic (Trigger start). And when we plugin the card reader, same. But now, if I want to start the service in the Services app, I get an error 1058.

Regarding the reader, we've no choice, that's the model provided by the bank.

_{Thursday, December 15, 2016 6:45 AM}

Hi romu70,

"But now, if I want to start the service in the Services app, I get an error 1058."
Please run "sfc /scannow" or "dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth" to check the health of system files.

"Regarding the reader, we've no choice, that's the model provided by the bank."
Try to use the smart card on another Windows 10 machine to troubleshoot whether it could work well. Try to plug it to a previous Windows system to verify whether there is a compatibility issue.

Best regards

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_{Friday, December 16, 2016 12:50 PM}

Hello,

I scanned the PC, no problem found. I also tried on a brand new laptop, with a fresh W10 install, same problem, the Smartcard service is never started and always disabled at startup.

And I didn't even plug-in the reader, I just tried to change the service settings.

_{Tuesday, January 3, 2017 2:19 PM}

That was it, a pretty hidden GPO, very old, which disabled the smartcard service. Thanks a lot, you've been really helpful.