When setting up WSS so you can do a full install of BizTalk, you may get an error similar to “System Error 1057 while trying to query service SPTimer”. For me, this occured while using the Configure Administrative Virtual Server section of Central Administration. I was using a local (non AD) service account that I had created. The problem is corrected if you make sure you enter “domain\user name” or “machine name\user name” format. Not easy to correlate this error description to the actual issue.
Cheers,
Todd