To continue, provide valid credentials for the SQL Server Agent Service

This was driving me crazy. We’re performing a fresh installation on a fresh server; Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 on a Windows Server 2008. I’ve reached the part of the installation where I’m installing SQL Server 2008. No matter what I put in for the UserName, I’d get the error “Invalid or missing username or password. To continue, provide valid credentials for the SQL Server Agent service.”

Looking at the forums, it wasn’t just me. Several people provided answers or reporting not having any issue, but it was obvious, from the continuous pleas for help, that the responses weren’t providing the help asked for. Maybe they’re like me; I need pictures. So here’s my error:

Peter Saddow from MSFT listed the answer, but it took me a few tries to understand it.

 invalid or missing username or password. To continue, provide valid credentials for the SQL Server Agent Service – MSDN Forums

I suppose won’t know until later if this was completely the correct action to take, but it did get me beyond this screen, which after umpteen tries is all I really wanted at this point:

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