When enabling SQL Server certificate-based encryption for the GPOADmin configuration database, the GPOADmin application may fail to connect and display the following error:
The following error occurred retrieving the scheduled RSoP Validations:
A connection was successfully established with the server, but then an error occurred during the login process.
(provider: SSL Provider, error: 0 - The target principal name is incorrect.)
This issue typically occurs after enforcing encrypted SQL connections without properly aligning the SQL Server certificate and connection configuration.
This error is caused by a mismatch between:
When encryption is enabled, SQL Server validates the certificate identity. If the connection string uses a hostname that does not match the certificate (e.g., short name vs FQDN), the SSL validation fails with:
“The target principal name is incorrect”
Additionally, GPOADmin stores its SQL connection string in an encrypted format in the registry, which makes manual modification difficult and error-prone.
The recommended and safest approach is to update the connection string using the GPOADmin Server Configuration Wizard, which ensures the connection string is properly rebuilt and encrypted.
Open the Start Menu and launch the GPOADmin Server Configuration Wizard.
Proceed to the Configuration Store selection screen.
Select SQL Server as the configuration store type.
In the SQL Server Name field:
Expand the Options or Advanced connection settings.
Configure the following:
Complete the wizard.
✅ This process automatically: