SMS Client Discovery and Installation

This page details problems and issues relating to SMS Clients Discovery and Installation.

Adding a Workgroup to an SMS Site [11/8/01]
All I Get is SLOWNET.EXE [updated 28/5/02]
Boundaries Not Updating So Clients Not Being Assigned to a Site [29/9/03]
Can I control the drive a Logon Point is created on? [24/10/00]
Can I Discover and Install the SMS Client on a Specified NT Computer? [updated 28/5/02]
Can I discover and install the SMS client without any discovery/installation methods enabled? [28/05/01]
Can I Install the SMS Client Via an MSI? [18/11/03]
Can I re-install SMS components on client machines using the MMC or a Reskit utility? [11/11/00]
Can I stop SMSLS.BAT being created when I enable Logon Discovery? [15/10/00]
Can I use Remote install to install the client on Windows 3.1, 95 and 98 machines? [22/11/00]
Can You Install the SMS Client using GPO's? [10/2/03]
Can You Select Which DCs Get Added as Logon Points? [15/10/03]
Can’t Install the Client on Machines that don’t show a Site Code [11/4/03]
Client Components show as "Repair Pending" on XP Clients after a Time [31/3/03]
Client installs then de-installs itself after upgrade [15/10/99]
Client Installs to C:\winnt\temp\ms then Fails [29/03/04]
Client says it's not assigned even though it's in the right IP boundary [12/10/99]
Clients assigned to multiple sites [22/01/01]
Clients at Secondary site not being discovered, but same clients discovered OK at Primary [24/12/00]
Clients discovered and assigned to a site but client software not installed [23/02/01]
Clients missing from the database [10/11/99]
Clients not being discovered in a Secondary site [09/11/99]
Clients Not Getting Installed After Secondary Site Re-Installed [22/7/03]
Clients on VLAN Not Being Discovered [14/06/04]
Clients show as not assigned [19/09/99]
Deleted Machines Keep Reappearing in the SMS Database [30/09/04]
Do I need to enable User/ User Group Discovery on all of my sites? [23/08/04]
Does File and Print Sharing Need to be Enabled on XP Machines to Install the Client? [29/01/04]
"Error: Unable to convert NAL path "\SITES\PER\caplist.ini" to NOS specific path..." [4/9/03]
Excluding computers from Remote Client Installation [updated 12/12/00]
Excluding Machines Called "xxx" from Slownet [6/10/03]
Finding Machines that Have Installed the SMS Client but Aren’t in the SMS Database or Assigned [18/6/03]
How Can I Uninstall the Client Using a Batch File? [22/11/00]
How do I stop the SMS Client from being installed on DCs? [12/08/04]
How Do I "Undo" Network Discovery? [15/9/03]
How Long Does it Take to Install a Fully Functional Client Using SMSman? [22/4/03]
Installing the SMS Client onto Workstations where Outbound NetBIOS is Blocked [14/7/03]
Is there a Percentage of Required Free Registry Space Needed to Install the SMS Client Components? [9/8/02]
Loads of SMSCCMBootAcct&.<computername>.xxx Directories in Documents and Settings [20/02/04]
Logon.bat File Doesn't Change [31/1/03]
Operating System Name and Version reported as NULL [17/06/05]
SMS Client Not All There [18/8/03]
Software Distribution Component Shows as "Repair Pending" on Several Clients [5/11/01]
Would Setting Heartbeat Discovery to run Every Hour cause any Problems? [25/11/04]

Adding a Workgroup to an SMS Site

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
Want to know how to add a Workgroup to an SMS Site? Well here's how ... [Go to article]

All I Get is SLOWNET.EXE

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
Are you trying to install your clients and all they are downloading is SLOWNET.EXE? Here's a possible cause... [Go to article]

Boundaries Not Updating So Clients Not Being Assigned to a Site

Contributed By: Michael Griswold [MS]
If you’re finding that your Site Boundaries aren’t being updated with any subnets discovered through Network discovery then here’s why… [Go to article]

Can I control the drive a Logon Point is created on?

Yes - create the SMSLOGON directory and share in the root of the NTFS drive you want to host the Logon Point on.

Can I Discover and Install the SMS Client on a Specified NT Computer?

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
So you want to know if you can discover and install the SMS Client on a specified NT computer? One way is to use the AddSystem utility from the BackOffice Resource Kit but this tool isn't without it's problems as this article points out... [Go to article]

Can I discover and install the SMS client without any discovery/installation methods enabled?

Wondering if you can achieve this?.. [Go to article]

Can I Install the SMS Client Via an MSI?

Contributed By: Wally Mead [MS]
Wondering if you can install the SMS 2.0 client via an MSI?.. [Go to article]

Can I re-install SMS components on client machines using the MMC or a Reskit utility?

If the clients are NT, you can use "NTCLIENT.EXE" which is available from the Scriptmania website, the link to which can be found on the Web Sites page.

The machine you want to install the client on doesn't need anything on it except NT. This utility places a DDR on the site server you specify. The site server will then install the client software.

Can I stop SMSLS.BAT being created when I enable Logon Discovery?

If want to avoid the SMSLS.BAT from possibly overwriting existing versions or from even being created then read on... [Go to article]

Can I use Remote install to install the client on Windows 3.1, 95 and 98 machines?

Can you use Network Discovery and Remote Client Installation to install the SMS 2.0 client on Windows 3.1 and 9.x machines?.. [Go to article]

Can You Install the SMS Client using GPO's?

Has anyone ever tried to start 'SMSLS.BAT' via GPO? It starts a few EXEs but they ALL quit at the same moment that 'SMSLS.BAT' quits! Starting 'SMSLS.BAT' via an entry in Active Directory Users and Computers works fine.

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
Yes you can install the SMS Client using Group Policy Objects. How to do it is detailed in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 285206 'SMS: How to Use Smsls.bat Logon Script with an Organizational Unit'.

Can You Select Which DCs Get Added as Logon Points?

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
Wondering if there's a way you can stop a Domain Controller from becoming a Logon Point when you enable Logon Discovery?.. [Go to article]

Can’t Install the Client on Machines that don’t show a Site Code

From the microsoft.public.sms.misc newsgroup
If you’re having problems installing the SMS Client on machines that show a Site Code in the SMS Admin console even though they show as assigned, could be down to the account you’re using to install your clients… [Go to article]

Client Components show as "Repair Pending" on XP Clients after a Time

From the microsoft.public.sms.setup newsgroup
If you notice that your SMS Client Components show as "Repair Pending" on your XP clients on a regular basis then this could be cause... [Go to article]

Client installs then de-installs itself after upgrade to SP2

If you've got a problem with your clients de-installing themselves after the upgrade to SP2 then help is at hand... [Go to article]

Client Installs to C:\winnt\temp\ms then Fails

Contributed By: Steven Rachui [MSFT]
Here’s some help if you’re seeing this problem... [Go to article]

Client says it's not assigned even though it's in the right IP boundary

You've done your maths and set your boundaries but some clients still say they're not assigned... [Go to article]

Clients assigned to multiple sites

Has anyone seen large numbers of clients that list themselves as assigned to multiple sites, even though they don't move around and the site boundaries don't overlap?... [Go to article]

Clients at Secondary site not being discovered, but same clients discovered OK at Primary

So you're Primary site is running fine but no matter what you do you can't get clients at your Secondary to install correctly... [Go to article]

Clients discovered and assigned to a site but client software not installed

If you're seeing this problem then check out this article for some help... [Go to article]

Clients missing from the database

Occasionally some of my machines that have the client loaded but do not appear in the database. The following error shows up in "DDR.LOG":

"CDiscoverDataManager::FilterDDR - Will not create CCR. This resource is already installed at this site."... [Go to article]

Clients not being discovered in a Secondary site

We've been trying to get 5 NT workstations discovered at our first Secondary site we've ever set up for several days. Nothing has appeared yet so I think we must be doing something wrong... [Go to article]

Clients Not Getting Installed After Secondary Site Re-Installed

Contributed By: Chenna Reddy
After having to re-install a Secondary Site you’re noticing that the client base components aren’t being installed on any clients... [Go to article]

Clients on VLAN Not Being Discovered

Contributed By: Wally Mead [MS]
If you can't discover clients on VLANs here's some advice... [Go to article]

Clients show as not assigned

A client shows up in the collection as "CLIENT=No", and/or "ASSIGNED=No"; Resource Explorer, on the other hand shows current inventory. Yet on the client, SMS shows the assigned Site Code, current "Updated" date/time, and the installed components show as "Installed"... [Go to article]

Deleted Machines Keep Reappearing in the SMS Database

Contributed By: Wally Mead [MS] and Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
If you’ve got problems whereby you delete a bunch of machines from the SMS database and then they magically reappear a short time later having Network Discovery enabled could have something to do with it... [Go to article]

Do I need to enable User/ User Group Discovery on all of my sites?

Wondering whether you need to do this?.. [Go to article]

Does File and Print Sharing Need to be Enabled on XP Machines to Install the Client?

Contributed By: Bill Livezey [MS] and Hans Schefske [MVP SMS]
Wondering if you need to have File and Print sharing enabled on any XP machines you want to become SMS clients? Well the answer is yes and here’s why… [Go to article]

"Error: Unable to convert NAL path "\SITES\PER\caplist.ini" to NOS specific path..."

If you're seeing the above error in your "WN_MANUAL.LOG" when trying to install a client the problem is probably down to a corrupt "NAL" path in the registry on your Site server(s)... [Go to article]

Excluding computers from Remote Client Installation

From an upcoming book by Rod Trent:
While the Windows Remote Client Installation method is useful for distributing the SMS client to Windows 2000/NT computers, there are some computers you should exclude from this installation type (e.g. a computer that doesn't meet the requirements outlined in Microsoft's HCL, or a computer that does not have an adequate amount of RAM or hard disk space).

You can prevent certain servers and workstations from participating by modifying the registry on the SMS site server:

Open a Registry editor and navigate to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SMS\Components'
Create a new subkey named 'SMS_Discovery_Data_Manager'
Add a new data item to this subkey with the following characteristics:
'Data Type: REG_MULTI_SZ=20
Value Name: ExcludeServers
Value: <computer names to exclude>' (enter each computer name on a separate line).

It's not necessary to reboot the server to put these changes into effect.

Knowledge Base Article 207729 'SMS: Excluding Computers from Windows NT Remote Client Installation' also includes information on this procedure.

Note: The above is in reference to NT remote installation. If you want to exclude clients from Logon Discovery/Installation, this technique won't help. In that case, you can adjust your logon scripts to not execute 'SMSls.bat' if the client meets certain criteria. You may need a scripting tool like Kixtart32 or WSH to give you enough functionality to do this.

Excluding Machines Called "xxx" from Slownet

Contributed By: Dave Halperin on the SMS Forum
How do you get the SMS Client installed only on certain machines at a remote location that is deemed as being on a slow link by Slownet?.. [Go to article]

Finding Machines that Have Installed the SMS Client but Aren’t in the SMS Database or Assigned

Contributed By: Hans Schefske [MVP SMS]
Ever wondered if there’s a way to find out this information? Well in this article we answer the question and show you how to find these machines… [Go to article]

How Can I Uninstall the Client Using a Batch File?

Well you don't need a batch file to do this. The following line will suffice... [Go to article]

How do I stop the SMS Client from being installed on DCs?

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS] and Wally Mead [MS]
If you’re wondering how to stop this and what the impact will be this article will tell you... [Go to article]

How Do I "Undo" Network Discovery?

Contributed By: Wally Mead [MS] and Martin Santospirito (MS)
Wondering how you undo Network Discovery when the options are greyed out?.. [Go to article]

How Long Does it Take to Install a Fully Functional Client Using SMSman?

From the microsoft.public.sms.admin newsgroup
Ever wondered how long this can take and what if anything you can do to speed things up?... [Go to article]

Installing the SMS Client onto Workstations where Outbound NetBIOS is Blocked

You have a network segment with workstations that you want to install the SMS client on, but NetBIOS is blocked outbound from the segment. How do you install the client?.. [Go to article]

Is there a Percentage of Required Free Registry Space Needed to Install the SMS Client Components?

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
Is there a Percentage of Required Free Registry Space Needed to Install the SMS Client Components? To find out read on ... [Go to article]

Loads of SMSCCMBootAcct&.<computername>.xxx Directories in Documents and Settings

Contributed By: Rod Trent [MVP SMS]
If you’re having problems with clients “dropping off” of SMS and have loads of directories called SMSCCMBootAcct&.<computername>.xxx in 'Documents and Settings' then a security issue is probably the cause… [Go to article]

Logon.bat File Doesn't Change

I'm new to SMS and am running SMS 2.0 SP4. What I don't understand is I've set it to automatically change my existing logon batch file (intuitively called 'logon.bat') yet no entries for SMS appear in my .BAT file. The user profile still shows my users to be pointing at this file and some clients have installed.

From the microsoft.public.sms.admin newsgroup
Turn on logging on the SMS site and review the 'nt_logon.log' for any permissions errors, the SMS account or Site System connection account may not have access or permissions to reach or modify the .bat file.