PowerShell using Sytem.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo ExitCode -1073741502

Question

I have a task that is running with NETWORK SERVICE account that is calling a ps1, the ps1 is calling System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo and System.Diagnostics.Process with credentials and always have the same exit Code -1073741502 and never calls the StartProcessDummy.ps1 , the arguments for the actions in the task are: -Version "5.0" -Noninteractive -Noprofile -WindowStyle "Hidden" -Command "& 'C:\Dev\StartProcessInfo.ps1'", the settings of the task:

And the code:

try {  
  
Start-Transcript -Path "$($PSScriptRoot)\StartProcess.log"  
  
$user = "DOMAIN\userName"  
$pswd = "Password" | ConvertTo-SecureString -AsPlainText -Force  
  
  
$credentials =  New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -ArgumentList $user,$pswd  
  
$workingDirectory = $PSScriptRoot  
  
$commandlet = "$($PSScriptRoot)\StartProcessDummy.ps1"  
  
$argList = ' -Command ""& '+ $commandlet + '""'  
  
  
ProcessStartInfo  
 $psi = New-Object System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo -Prop @{  
    RedirectStandardError = $True  
    RedirectStandardOutput = $True  
    UseShellExecute = $False  
    UserName = $credentials.GetNetworkCredential().UserName  
    Domain = $credentials.GetNetworkCredential().Domain  
    Password = $credentials.Password  
    WorkingDirectory = $PSScriptRoot  
    FileName = "powershell.exe"  
    Arguments = $argList  
    WindowStyle = "Hidden"  
}  
$whosthis=whoami  
Write-Host "WhoAmi: $whosthis"  
Write-Host "ProcessStartInfo:"  
Write-Host "*******************************************************************"  
#$psi | Format-List -Property * | Out-String  
Write-Host  
Write-Host  
  
$p = New-Object System.Diagnostics.Process  
    $p.StartInfo = $psi  
    $p.Start() | Out-Null  
    $p.WaitForExit()  
  
Write-Host "Process:"     
Write-Host "*******************************************************************"  
#$p | Format-List -Property * | Out-String     
  
$stdout = $p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd()  
$stderr = $p.StandardError.ReadToEnd()  
Write-Host "stdout: $stdout"  
Write-Host "stderr: $stderr"  
Write-Host "exit code: " + $p.ExitCode  
  
}  
catch {  
    $_ | format-list -force | Out-String   
    throw  
}  
finally{  
Stop-Transcript  
}  

Answer 1

When we translate signed integer -1073741502 to its unsigned 64-bit value, we get 3221225794 (hexadecimal C0000142).

0xC0000142 is the NTSTATUS value STATUS_DLL_INIT_FAILED - see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/windows_protocols/ms-erref/596a1078-e883-4972-9bbc-49e60bebca55 - description is this:

{DLL Initialization Failed} Initialization of the dynamic link library <filename> failed. The process is terminating abnormally.

Not sure what process you are starting but hopefully this information can help you with further troubleshooting.