Out of the box workflow failed on start when started programatically

Question

I have an approval workflow (out of the box) associated with a list and need to start it for some items programmatically when some conditions are met. 
My application runs under an account which is a farm admin. I do have another user dedicated to start workflows. I'm using the code below but it always results in a 'failed on start'  with these errors
2/27/2015 4:54 PM
Workflow Cancelled
System
Account
Workflow 'WorkflowName' was canceled by System Account.
2/27/2015 4:54 PM
Error
System
Account
'WorkflowName' failed to start.
Code is : 
SPUserToken userToken = null;
            using (SPSite site = new SPSite("SiteName"))
                using (SPWeb web = site.OpenWeb())
                    site.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true;
                    web.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true;
                    userToken = web.AllUsers["WorkflowAccount"].UserToken;
    site.AllowUnsafeUpdates = false;
                    web.AllowUnsafeUpdates = false;
            using (SPSite site = new SPSite("SiteName", userToken))
                using (SPWeb web = site.OpenWeb())
                    site.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true;
                    web.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true;
                    SPWorkflowManager workflowManager = web.Site.WorkflowManager;
                    SPList list = web.Lists["LibName"];
                    SPListItem item = list.Items[1];
                    SPWorkflowAssociationCollection associationCollection = list.WorkflowAssociations;
                    foreach (SPWorkflowAssociation association in associationCollection)
                        if (association.Name == "WorkflowName")
                            association.AutoStartChange = true;
                            association.AutoStartCreate = false;
                            association.AssociationData = string.Empty;
                    site.WorkflowManager.StartWorkflow(item, association, association.AssociationData);
    break;
site.AllowUnsafeUpdates = false;
                        web.AllowUnsafeUpdates = false;
Is there any requirement on who can create the workflow? I can control who creates if I absolutely have to
Any help/clues/directions appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi LNFei,
To troubleshooting the issue, I recommend to follow the steps as below:
1.Start the workflow manually to check whether it works.
2.Use another account not System Account to check whether it works.
3.Publish the workflow as a different user (rather than System Account).
4.Deactivate and Reactive the “Workflow” Feature.
5.Check other workflows on other lists/libraries could work well.
6.Create a simple workflow having only one activity which will log history only, check if it works well.
Best Regards,
Wendy
TechNet Community Support
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help, and unmark the answers if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact
[email protected]