SQL 2005 isn’t quite as friendly as SQL 2000, and there are a couple of things you have to do before you can set up a maintenance plan.

Firstly, SQL Integration Services (SSIS) have to be installed otherwise you get an error that says ‘specified @subsystem is invalid’ (I love those informative error messages!).

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/909036 talks about this in some detail, and tells you how to install SSIS.

Secondly, you have to run a script in Management Studio to turn on the Agent XPs:

sp_configure ‘show advanced options’, 1;
GO
RECONFIGURE;
GO
sp_configure ‘Agent XPs’, 1;
GO
RECONFIGURE
GO