I'm not sure if this is a Server 2003 issue or an MSSQL issue, so pardon the cross-post.

I have created a local user called "sql-daemon" to run MSSQL 2005. At the onset, everything works fine: I can reboot the server and all SQL processes start as expected.

Then, one day, I discover that SQL is not running. I check the server and find messages in the event logs stating that various SQL services couldn't start because of an authentication issue. The solution: from Services, I track down the SQL items and retype the (unchanged) password for my sql-daemon user. The first of these returns a message that "sql-daemon has been allowed to Run as Service." Peachy.

So, my question is: What is causing my sql-daemon user to be denied permission to Run as Service?

This has happened twice since the server was brought online back in March. The first time was by complete surprise and thought a fluke. The second time was June 16 - we caught the server as it was rebooting after a critical Windows update. After it rebooted, SQL would not start as described above. We have since fixed the auto-update settings to avoid rebooting without our knowledge, but we really want to be sure that SQL will be able to start successfully next time.

Thanks for your ideas!
~ Aaron