Troubleshooting SMS

Remote Diagnostics with Systems Management Server Version 2.0
Downloadable document in Word format. The Status System and Remote Tools provide administrators with the ability to easily isolate and troubleshoot Microsoft Systems Management Server version 2.0 problems quickly. This paper outlines the process flow of the Systems Management Server 2.0 Status System. It also provides details about Remote Tools to help administrators more clearly understand the Systems Management Server 2.0 system and how it can be used, tuned, and configured. Source Microsoft.com

Refresh of Collection Does Not Always List New Machines
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 201711 - In Systems Management Server (SMS) 2.0, collections are used to group resources in a way that is logical for software distribution, reports, and many other administrative tasks. If you navigate under Site Database|Collections in SMS Administrator, right-click on the desired collection and click refresh or press the F5 key, new machines may not show up. However, if you right-click on the desired collection and select "Update Collection Membership," new machines appear. (updated 3/18/1999)

Systems Management Server 2.0 Dependency Package Contents
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 253151 - Microsoft has released various hotfixes to correct specific issues for Systems Management Server (SMS) 2.0 clients and servers. Microsoft has packaged these hotfixes into a single 'Dependency' hotfix package to simplify applying these hotfixes 

Systems Management Server Support and Troubleshooting
Systems Management Server Support and Troubleshooting Presented by: Thomas J. Prisk Tom is president of Caswell and Collins Consulting, Inc., focusing on training and consulting for Systems Management Server and Windows NT. He is a Microsoft Certified Trainer, and was formerly a 

Troubleshooting SMS Administrator Console Connectivity
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 317872 - If you are using Systems Management Server (SMS) and you try to connect to the site server, you may receive a "Connection Failed" message, or the nodes may not be displayed after you are connected. This article describes how to troubleshoot a new or an existing SMS Administrator console to determine why it cannot connect to the site server

Troubleshooting Connectivity to the Systems Management Server Site Database
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 201126 - This article provides information on troubleshooting connectivity to a Systems Management Server 2.0 site database using the Systems Management Server Administrator console.

Troubleshooting Server, Component, and Hierarchy Issues
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 241001 - When you experience a server, component, or hierarchy problem with Systems Management Server (SMS) 2.0, you can use several tools to help isolate and diagnose the cause of the problem. 

View Troubleshooting Information in Administrator Console
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 216242 - All of the data displayed in the SMS Administrator console is provided by the Systems Management Server Site Provider through Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). The SMS Administrator console can be started in Node Information mode, which displays the source of and all the values behind every property page available in the user interface.

Best Practices for Applying Systems Management Server 2.0 SP1
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 238780 - There are various issues to consider before a Systems Management Server 2.0 site is upgraded to Service Pack 1 (SP1), including:

Prepare your site hierarchy for Service Pack 2
There are two specific updates that need to be applied to every SMS 2.0 Site server in your existing hierarchy before upgrading to Service Pack 2. It is critical that you apply these updates as proceeding without installing them may lead to serious problems with your SMS clients. See Knowledge Base article Q261931 for more information on this process. Source Microsoft.com

SMS 1.2 and 2.0 Site Server Cannot Share SQL Server on Version 1.2 Site
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 199657 - A System Management Server 1.2 site using a SQL Server that is installed on the same computer, cannot also host a Systems Management Server 2.0 database. The System Management Server 1.2 site server will not recognize the SMS_SQL_Monitor service from the Systems Management Server 2.0 site as a valid component and the service will be removed from the registry 

SMS 2.0 Issues and Resolutions: Design Pitfalls and Health Checks
Part 2 of four modules that address common customer issues and resolutions in Systems Management Server 2.0 deployments. This is the result of various visits by the Systems Management Server product group to customer sites. This presentation assumes a base of SMS 2.0 Service Pack 1 (June 2000)

SMS 2.0 Issues and Resolutions: Hotfixes and Additional Resources
Part 4 of four modules that address common customer issues and resolutions in Systems Management Server 2.0 deployments. This is the result of various visits by the Systems Management Server product group to customer sites. This presentation assumes a base of SMS 2.0 Service Pack 1

SMS 2.0 Issues and Resolutions: Misconceptions and Misunderstandings
Part 1 of four modules that address common customer issues and resolutions in Systems Management Server 2.0 deployments. This is the result of various visits by the Systems Management Server product group to customer sites. This presentation assumes a base of SMS 2.0 Service Pack 1.

SMS 2.0 Issues and Resolutions: Recovery and Scalability
Part 3 of four modules that address common customer issues and resolutions in Systems Management Server 2.0 deployments. This is the result of various visits by the Systems Management Server product group to customer sites. This presentation assumes a base of SMS 2.0 Service Pack 1.

Admin Console Installation From \sms\bin\i386 Subdirectory Causes Dr. Watson
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 235766 - Since Microsoft's Systems Management Server version 2.0 is a network management application, there is a need to be able to install an Administrator's Console on various Windows NT computers throughout the organization. 

SMS 2.0 Administrator's Guide Site System Roles Listed Incorrectly
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 226889 - The Systems Management Server (SMS) 2.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Release Notes, under "Supported Site System Platforms," state that Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 (SP5, x86 only) is supported as a logon point. This information is incorrect.

Clients that Are Not in the Targeted Collection Are Executing Programs
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 227032 - When advertising a program to a collection you may find other clients in your site executing the program even though they are not in the targeted collection. Not only will the clients execute the program but they will also create a status message stating the success or failure of the program that was executed. For example, if you advertise to a collection that contains fifty client machines and you receive over fifty status messages stating that the program was run, you can safely assume that clients that were not in the collection ran the program.

Common Issues and Resolutions for Crystal Info Reports
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 199357 - This article describes some of the common causes of Crystal Info report issues, and provides methods you may be able to use to solve them.

Err Msg: "A Temporary File Needed for Initialization Could Not Be Created"
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 213289 - When you send packages to a Systems Management Server client, the following error message appears on the desktop of the client: 

How to Fix the WMI Repository of a Site Server
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 199359 - Windows Management (WMI) Microsoft's implementation of Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM) has become an integral part of Systems Management Server version 2.0. The Administrator console must use WBEM to talk to the providers that get information for the Administrator to use. If the WBEM repository stops functioning correctly, the Administrator console is useless and the site is not manageable, because the Administrator console is unable to ask the Systems Management Server Provider to pull information from the database.

Identical Site Names on Multiple Sites Can Cause Inconsistencies in SMS Administrator
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 229857 - When you name a site in Systems Management Server (SMS), ensure that site names are not duplicated. If you use duplicate site names, problems may occur when you retrieving information from the database. These problems occur because the site name is used as part of the key for retrieving data.

Manually Stopped Threads of the SMSEXEC Service Will Automatically Restart
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 199816 - SMS_SITE_COMPONENT_MANAGER is the service that restarts the threads of SMS_EXECUTIVE. If SMS_SITE_COMPONENT_MANAGER is running, it restarts the stopped threads when it executes a polling cycle. By default, the polling cycle occurs every hour.

NET TIME Offered as a Package Will Not Traverse Domains
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 199041 -  When NET TIME is sent as a package and the package is set to "run with administrative rights," NET TIME will not be able to connect to another domain. 

Non-Computing Devices May Not Be Discovered by Network Discovery
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 225352 - Network Discovery may not be able to discover non-computing devices such as UNIX hosts and printers.

Shared DLLs Are Not Removed During a Silent Uninstall
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 206101 - When you perform a silent uninstall to remove an application using the Systems Management Server Installer, shared .dll files are not removed. The shared .dll files, which are listed in the Install.log, are not removed because the Uninstall.exe program defaults to "no to all," which you cannot change for a silent uninstall.

Site Does Not Function After You Change the Domain Name or Computer Name of a Site Server
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 213186 - A Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) site no longer functions after you change either the name of the domain or the name of the computer on which the site was installed.

SMS Database Schema Is Not Published
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 185910 - A common question for Systems Management Server support is "How do I run queries against the Systems Management Server database?" Another common question is "Where can I find the Systems Management Server database schema?" 

Systems Management Control Panel Tool Displays Previous Version for Some Components After Upgrade
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 235161 - When you use the Systems Management tool in Control Panel to view client component version information after a site upgrade, the old version information is displayed even though the components have been successfully upgraded. 

Trap Receiver Not in SMS 2.0
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 198978 - The trap receiver thread and functionality is not provided in Systems Management Server version 2.0. You can still convert events to traps using the Systems Management Server Event to Trap Translator, but you cannot send the traps to a System Management Server 2.0 site server to store in the Systems Management Server 2.0 database. 

Using /Upgrade Switch with Command Line Setup Causes Error "Setup cannot upgrade the SMS database" and Disables SMS 1.2 Site
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 235768 - When you run the Systems Management Server setup to upgrade a version 1.2 site from a command line, the following error appears: Setup cannot upgrade the Systems Management Server database. Contact your SQL Administrator  Microsoft has seen the problem in both Single Domain and Master Domain environments. This error occurs regardless of the security implementation of Microsoft SQL Server.