Certificate request fails with error message "The system cannot find the file specified. 0x80070002 (WIN32: 2 ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND)".

Assume the following scenario:

• A certificate request is sent to a certification authority.
• The certificate request fails with the following error message:

Error Parsing Request The system cannot find the file specified. 0x80070002 (WIN32: 2 ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND)

For this purpose, the Certification Authority protocols the Event with ID 22 of the source Microsoft-Windows-CertificationAuthority with identical error message.

Active Directory Certificate Services could not process request 77 due to an error: The system cannot find the file specified. 0x80070002 (WIN32: 2 ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND). The request was for CN=WEB01.intra.adcslabor.de. Additional information: Error Parsing Request

Possible causes:

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This error message occurs when the certification authority is configured to allow the applicant to select the signature key, and an invalid signature key is requested.

The request for a specific signature key is made via the "Authority Key Identifier" (AKI) extension within the certificate request (see article "Inspect a certificate request (CSR)„).

If an invalid signature key is now requested, the certification authority cannot find a matching key, so that the error described above is generated. This case can occur, for example, if there is an online responder (OCSP) in the network and this has a revocation configuration for a certification authority certificate which is has been removed from the configuration of the certification authority.

If the corresponding certification authority certificate has been removed from the certification authority configuration, the associated revocation configuration should also be removed from the online responder.

Related links:

• Removing old certification authority certificates from the configuration of a certification authority
• Inspect a certificate request (CSR)
• Allow requesting a specific signature key on a certification authority