Error: Cannot Generate SSPI context

'Cannot generate SSPI context' is a generic error. It can be caused by many issues, like an outaded password, clock drift, Active Directory access permissions, failure to register an SPN and so on and so forth.

There is no solution to this problem. The only 'solution' is to investigate the cause, as per KB811889 and/or Troubleshooting Kerberos Errors. Applying one solution or another from random Internet resources, w/o understanding the cause, may or may not solve the issue, may or may not cause frustration, may or may not cause irrevocable damage.

We changed the SQL SERVICE user to one that is "Domain Admin".

I've made some researches to know why this happens. It says that when you shutdown the service, you need an account with privileges do create a new SPN ( when it turns on again ). If you start a service without it, it will show in CANNOT GENERATE SSPI CONTEXT.

we are changing the privileges of our system account.

Hope it helps someone.

We had this problem after we took a database from PROD and restored it in QA. Our application called three databases on three servers and aside from that was not complicated.

It turns out a spurious SPN (Service Principal Name) was getting in the way of the service account under which the connection should have been running. We discovered this using the Program Files > Microsoft Kerberos Config Manager.

The short term fix was to use SQL Server Configuration Manager and change the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent connections from the service account to 'LocalSystem' under 'Use BuiltIn Account'.