SMS Remote Tools

Goto the SMS Home Page
This page details problems and issues relating to Remote Tools.

Can I install just the Remote Control part of the SMS Client?

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
You've got some machines in your environment that you purely want to Remote Control, nothing more, nothing less. Can you install just the Remote Control component of the SMS Client on them? Well here's the answer ...  [Go to article]
 

Can I run Remote Control from outside of the MMC?

Yes you can - checkout the following:

http://www.myitforum.com/articles/11/view.asp?id=431

Can I Stop Remote Control from being Installed on a Machine?

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 So you don't want to install Remote Control on some of your machines but don't know how to go about it?

 Well to stop Remote Control from being installed on a machine you first need to uninstall the Remote Control component by running:

D:\WINNT\ms\sms\clicomp\RemCtrl\RCuninst.exe /a /s

The '/a' and '/s' switches are 'a'=Automatic and 's'=Silent. Those are the only known switches. The program takes next to no time at all to execute. You will immediately see the component status change to 'Install pending' or 'Failed' in 'Control Panel | System Management | Components'.

After a reboot or 23 hour CCIM cycle, the status will change to 'Not Available'.

Then create a blank file called 'WUSER32.EXE' and place it in the 'WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS' directory.

As this file exists, when the client attempts to re-install the Remote Control client component. it 'sees' this file and the installation fails as indicated in the log:

 ----------------------------------------------------------
*** Installation Started 25.10.00 10:37 ***
Title: SMS Remote Control Installation Source:
\\Server\CAP_S00\clicomp.box\remctrl\i386\remctrl.exe
SMS 1.2 Remote Control client on workstation. Abandoning installation until after next reboot.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 

Cannot Remote Control Some Clients, but Can Remote Control Others from Them

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 So you've got the situation where Computer A can Remote Control Computer B, but Computer B can't Remote Control Computer A. Here's some tips to help you ... [Go to article]
 

CAPS Lock is Reversed When I Use Remote Control

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 Probably one of the most common FAQs for first time Remote Control users is about the behaviour of the CAPS Lock key when they use Remote Control. Let me enlighten you ... [Go to article]
 

Determining which servers have Remote Control Gold key problems

Does anyone know if you can write a query to look for a certain Registry key and it's value? In particular:

'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\KBStuff' and the value of the 'Start:REG_DWORD'

I'm noticing we are getting Gold key problems on several servers where the value of this key is set to '0x4' instead of '0x1' and having an easy way of identifying those servers affected would be a god send.

You could extend SMS_DEF.MOF to include this key so that it ends up in hardware inventory. Then querying on it would be straightforward. The document on how to do this is on 1E's Knowledgebase and the document is called 'Extending SMS Inventory'
 

Dialog Box Asking to Authenticate on Windows XP Clients

Contributed By: Russ Wilson [MS]
 If when you try to Remote Control a Windows XP client you get a dialog box asking you to authenticate which you don’t get on other clients running different OSs then check this out… [Go to article]
 

Enabling Remote Logging

To help with troubleshooting Remote Control you can enable the 'WUSER32.LOG' file which is a more robust and dynamic log.  To do this:

  1. Open RegEdt32
     

  2. Navigate to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SMS\Client\Client Components\Remote Control
     

  3. Add a new 'REG_DWORD' value of 'LogToFile' (case sensitive) and set it with a value of '1'.

Further details can be found on at http://www.myitforum.com/articles/12/view.asp?id=951 [updated 26/6/01]
 

Gold Key doesn't work

Contributed By: April Cook, Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 This is one of the most common problems.  After the Remote Control client agent has been installed it normally requires a reboot for NT to load the low-level drivers Remote Control uses. In some cases it may take two or three reboots for this to happen. However, there will be times that numerous reboots doesn't clear the problem. Possible causes of this problem are:

  • Old versions of the 'RCHELP.SYS' and 'KBSTUFF.SYS' files are present in the '\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS' directory - make sure the correct versions of these files are present
     

  • Different remote control programs (such as SMS 1.2, Novell Z.E.N. Works, and Intel LANDesk), use their own versions of these files. Check to make sure there are no other versions of these files on any partitions of the client (see Knowledge Base article 259919 'SMS: Remote Control May Not Work If a Similar Program Was Previously Installed on Another Partition' for full details)
     

  • Compare the:
         HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\KBStuff
    key on a server that does work with one that doesn't.  In the past problems have been found with the 'Start:REG_DWORD:'  value having a Data value of '0x4' instead of '0x1'. Change this value then reboot the client.

     IMPORTANT: If the client in question has a FAT boot partition, change this value to '2' instead of '1' to avoid conflicts with Chkdsk as detailed at     SMS Client performs a CHKDSK every time it boots
     

  • Compare the:
         HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\RCHelp
    key on a server that does work with one that doesn't.

Gold Key works one day then not the next

After applying SP2, on some clients the Gold Key works one day then not the next?

Check in 'Control Panel | Devices' that the 'Startup' setting for KBSTUFF.SYS is set to 'System'. Previously some clients have been set to 'Automatic' instead of 'System' after the SP2 upgrade.

On Windows 2000 machines the driver is called 'KBSTUFF5.SYS'. As Windows 2000 machines now have Plug-and-Play functionality (much like Windows 98), there is no common method of changing the boot priority of devices as there was in NT.  This will most likely have to be a Registry modification.

Check the following Registry key for the device name:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services

Within the device subkey, you'll see a 'START' Value.  Here's the data options:

0x4 = disabled
 0x3 = load on demand (manually started)
 0x2 = auto load (loads at startup)
 0x1 = loads the driver at kernel initialisation (system)
 0x0 = loads the driver with the Boot Loader

How to ask the user for permission to use remote control on a workstation but not on a server

If for security reasons you want a user to have to agree to a Remote Control session before it is established, you can select the 'Display a message to ask for permission' box from the 'Policy' tab of the 'Remote Control Client Agent'. However, one drawback with the settings made through the MMC is that they apply to ALL SMS clients within that SMS site.  So if you implement this setting, when a Remote Control session is attempted to a server, it will require someone to be physically at the server console and agree to the Remote Control session before the technician can gain access to the server’s screen, mouse and keyboard.

You can overcome this problem by:

  1. Ticking the 'Display a message to ask for permission' box from the 'Policy' tab.  This will ensure all workstations adhere to the security policy.

  2. Make the following Registry changes on all of clients you do not want to be affected by this setting:
    a. Change t    he '    Permission Required' setting from '1' to '0' in the Registry key 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft \SMS\Client\ Client Components\Remote Control'

         b. Add a new 'REG_SZ' value to the same key called 'UpdateEnabled' with a setting of 'NO'.

    IMPORTANT:     If this setting isn't added, SMS will reset the change made in step a.

  3. Stop and start the 'SMS Remote Control Agent' service on the client to implement the change.

How to Tell which Port a Client is Listening on for Remote Control

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 So you've got some clients on which Remote Control isn't working. One of the things to check is which port a client is 'listening' on for Remote Control.

 To determine which port a client is 'listening' on for Remote Control go to 'Control Panel | Remote Control'. Click the 'Show Status' button on the 'General' tab which will display a box a dialog showing the following:

  • Version  - the version of the Remote Control agent running
     
  • Protocol - which protocol is being used for Remote Control (TCP or IPX)
     
  • Network Address - The IP/IPX address of the client. After this number, the port number being used for Remote Control is displayed. For example '10.5.1.44:1761'.
     
  • Computer Name
     
  • Acceleration - shows whether acceleration is loaded
     
  • Compression - will be High, Low or Automatic

"Initialization of the dynamic link library C:\Windows\System32\User32.dll failed. The process is terminating abnormally" Error When Screensaver Starts

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 If you’re seeing this error on some of your machines when the screensaver starts then Microsoft are aware of the problem… [Go to article]
 

Is there any kind of logging to say who Remote Controlled a Client and when?

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
If the Client is a Windows NT/ 2000 client, Remote Tools activity automatically gets logged to the client's Security log. The Security log (viewable from Event Viewer), will detail the 'domain\user account' that remotely accessed the client and specify a code that describes what function was performed:

1 = A remote Reboot was performed
 2 = A remote Chat session was performed
 3 = A File Transfer took place
 4 = A program was remotely executed on the client
 5 = A Remote Control session was started
 6 = A Remote Control session was finished
 7 = The user granted permission for the Remote Control session to be established

The other alternative is to run the 'Remote Tools Activity Initiated as a Specific Site' Status Message Query (accessed from 'SMS Administrator | System Status | Status Message Queries').
 

Losing Connection During Remote Control Session

From the microsoft.public.sms.rcdiags newsgroup
 If you’re finding that Remote Control is dropping out mid session then here’s some help… [Go to article]
 

Mouse doesn't work in a Remote Control session

This is known problem on machines that use the Cirrus chipset. Try using the generic Microsoft Super VGA driver at 800 x 600.
 

Processor Utilisation goes to 30%+ during Remote Control session

When I start a Remote Control session the processor utilisation goes up to 30% on the client being controlled. This is constant during the session but the utilisation drops as soon as the session ends. All the client boxes are NT4 SP6A and I am running SMS 2.0 SP2. We previously had an issue with Remote Control but applying SMS 2.0 SP2 fixed it. The primary culprit is 'WUSER32.EXE'.

The 'Default compression for Remote Control' (accessed from the 'Advanced' tab of the 'Remote Tools Client Agent'), has three settings 'Low', 'High' and 'Automatic':

  • Low - This setting uses the Run Length Encoding (RLE) compression method.  As this setting doesn’t require intensive math processing, it is useful on computers whose processor is less than a 150 Mhz Pentium, but that is accessible over a fast network connection.  As this setting doesn't make huge demands on the CPU, this setting will make a client more responsive during a Remote Tools session.
     
  • High - This setting uses the Lempel-Ziv (LZ) compression method.  This method is math-intensive and therefore requires a processor that is at least a P150.  Using this setting on clients with processors less than a P150 erodes the performance of the client during the Remote Tools session.
     
  • Automatic - Using this setting (the default), SMS checks the speed of the client's processor and then decides which compression level ('Low' or 'High') to use.

Based on previous experience with Remote Control, we change this setting from 'Automatic' to 'Low'.  Until this setting was changed, whenever a Remote Control session was started on a server, SMS defaulted to using the 'High' compression method as the minimum processor speed in any of our servers is a Pentium 200.  As a result, the CPU usage would rise to 90-100% impacting on the server and it's ability to provide functionality to the users on that server.  In changing this setting to 'Low' the CPU utilisation drops to around 50% - 70% during a Remote Tools session.

Bear in mind that if you don't enable the accelerated screen transfer agent, you won't get any compression.

Knowledge Base article 230255 'SMS: Wuser32 Service Hangs on Windows NT Clients' provides additional information that may be useful in determining why Remote Control can appear to take a long time/hang.
 

Remote Control appears to re-install itself as part of the CliVerify cycle in SP2

I keep getting Gold Key problems on my servers. I reboot the server and it carries on quite happily for another 60 days and then the problem re-occurs. It's almost as though Remote Control is re-installing itself.

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
There is a problem with the Remote Control Agent re-installing itself as part of the CliVerify cycle instead of it just checking to see if it's OK (in a similar way to how CliVerify worked in SP1). A 'Q' article is apparently under construction and this issue is resolved in SMS SP3.
 

Remote Control Box Appears for No Reason

From the microsoft.public.sms.rcdiags newsgroup
If you’re seeing problems with a small white box appearing on user’s screens for no reason and it looks like it’s down to Remote Control then here could be the answer…  [Go to article]
 

Remote Control Events No Longer Appear in Security Log

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 Since upgrading to SMS SP5 Remote Control events no longer seem to be being written to the Security Log… [Go to article]
 

"Remote Control" Option Missing from Context Menu

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 So you select a Client in the MMC, right-click on it but the “Remote Control” option isn’t on the context menu… [Go to article]
 

Remote Control uses TCP port 1761 on remote Admin consoles

When I use Remote Control from the Site server, the server tries contacting the Remote Control agent on the client with the TCP port 2701 and it's okay. But from a Helpdesk MMC, the workstation tries to connect using TCP port 1761 and the connection fails?

One of the big changes in SP2 is that the ports Remote Control uses have been changed. Prior to SP2, Remote Control uses TCP ports '1761-1764' which weren't registered for use by SMS.

In SP2, ports '2701-2704' have been registered for use by SMS hence the change. You can use an SP2 Admin console to Remote Control both SP1 and SP2 clients (it tries '2701-2704' first, then tries '1761-1764' if this fails). However you CAN'T use an SP1 Admin console to Remote Control an SP2 client.

When you upgrade to SP2, ONLY the Admin console on the Site server is upgraded at the same time. All remote Admin consoles need to be updated individually.
 

Remote Controlling a PC with two or more monitors

Has anyone run into the situation of Remote Controlling a client that has two or monitors installed?  Can you see only the primary display or active window?

No problem, you just have two long scroll bars.
 

Reporting Remote Control Usage

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 One of the great features of SMS is Remote Control but you need to keep any eye on who is using it, when and between which machines. So how do you find out this information?.. [Go to article]
 

Running NT Diagnostics Displays Information for Local Machine and Not the Remote Machine

From the microsoft.public.sms.rcdiags newsgroup
 If you’re running NT diagnostics and wondering why the information displayed relates to the machine running the SMS Admin Console and not the remote machine then read on…  [Go to article]
 

Screen acceleration doesn't work for Windows 2000 clients

On Windows 2000 clients, Remote Control Acceleration isn't loaded and Compression is set to Low - is this right?

In order to get Remote Control screen acceleration for Windows 2000 clients you need to upgrade to SMS SP3.

The lack of screen acceleration pre-SP3 also has an impact on compression, as Acceleration needs to be loaded BEFORE Compression will load.

Remember that the default setting for Compression is 'Automatic'. With this default setting SMS makes a check to see what speed of processor the client is running. If the processor is less than a Pentium 150, then 'Low' compression is loaded which is based on the Run Length Encoding (RLE) algorithm. Low compression makes a client more responsive during a Remote Tools session.

If the client has a processor that is faster than a P150, it uses 'High' compression. This uses the Lempel-Ziv (LZ) algorithm which is math-intensive and hence requires the faster processor. Using this setting on clients with a processor less than a P150 erodes the performance of the client during the Remote Tools session.

So without screen acceleration on Windows 2000 clients (or by unchecking the 'Install accelerated screen transfer on Windows NT clients' box on the 'Advanced' tab of the 'Remote Control Client Agent' box), you will never get anything other than 'Low' compression loaded on your clients.
 

Security rights to run Remote Tools denied in a Master Domain model

When SMS is installed in a Master Domain model with the Site server residing in the Resource domain, it is possible for the following error message to be displayed when an attempt is made to Remote Control a client, even though the 'Use Remote Tools' permission has been granted to the Global group in the Master Account domain:

'Security rights to run Remote Tools on this client have been denied.'

A couple of workarounds to this problem are:

  • Grant the 'Use Remote Tools' security permission to specific users from the Master Account domain if there are only a few accounts involved.

  • Create a Local group in the Resource domain where the Site server resides and add the 'Remote Control' Global group from the Master account domain to this Local group. Then grant the 'Use Remote Tools' security permission to the Local group you have just created in the Resource domain.

TechNet article 246583 'SMS: RC Does Not Work in Master Domain Model Using Global Groups' provides more information.
 

'Security Rights to run Remote Tools on this Client have been Denied'

When I try to use Remote Tools I get the following error message:

Security rights to run remote tools on this client have been denied.

I've checked my Security settings and everything seems to be setup okay.

This is a known problem that you may be able to fix by re-installing the client. You may also see the following message:

E:\OPALSP1\sdk_provider\nt\smsprov\SspStatusMessage.cpp(420) : User 'DOMAIN\user' is unknown to SMS security and does not have permissions to log status messages.

This is documented in 243300 'SMS: Error Message: Remote Tools Security Rights to Run Remote Tools on this Client Have Been Denied'.
 

The mouse doesn't work on a SP1 remote control session to a Windows 2000 client

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
This is a known problem that is resolved in SMS SP2.
 

The SMS Remote Control Agent service has de-installed

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 For some unknown reason, there maybe times when the 'SMS Remote Control Agent' service de-installs itself. One way to get around this problem without re-installing the complete client is to go to '\WINNT\MS\SMS\clicomp\RemCtrl' and run 'rcsvcs 1' which will install and start the 'SMS Remote Control Agent' service. It is also possible to stop the Remote Control Agent service using 'rcsvcs 2'.

Typing 'rcsvcs /?' gives the following:

USAGE: rcsvcs cmd
t=1 Start WUSER32
t=2 Stop WUSER32
t=3 Start Client Apps
t=4 Stop Client Apps

The SMS Remote Control Agent service won't start

I've just noticed that on one of my servers the 'SMS Remote Control Agent' service won't start. I get the following error message:

Could not start the SMS remote Control Agent Service Error 1072: The specified service has been marked for deletion.

Run 'rcsvcs 1' as detailed in 'The SMS Remote Control Agent service has de-installed'
 

Using REMOTE.EXE with the NETBIOS name

Has anyone managed to get 'remote.exe 3 <netBIOS name>' to work? I can use IP addresses okay, but when attempting to use a NetBIOS name (either on the command line or in Remote.exe GUI) I can't connect to the remote agent on the target.

This behaviour is actually correct. The Remote Control name resolution is controlled through the Remote Control properties in the admin UI. If TCP is used for name resolution you will be unable to start 'Remote.exe' from the command line passing the NetBIOS name. The following batch file created by Thomas Jakob allows you to pass the NetBIOS name as one of the command line parameters. The batch file pings the name and with a 'for''- command it gets the actual IP address that is passed to 'Remote.exe':

@echo off
if "%1"=="" goto end
for /f "tokens=1,2 delims=[]" %%n in ('ping %1') do if not "%%o"=="" set curip=%%o
if not "%curip%"=="" C:\Programme\SMSADMIN\bin\i386\remote.exe 2 %curip%
if  "%curip%"=="" echo couldn't resolve netbios-name
:end

Note that "delims=[]" is done by the "[" and "]" characters and is used to split the line containing the IP address.

This script only works on Windows NT (due to the fact, that "for" doesn't work in this way in Windows 9x! (try "for /?"' ), but you can control Windows 9x machines using this script.

You start the batch by typing:

batchfilename <netbios-name>

What Do The Buttons in the Remote Tools Screen Do?

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
 Ever wondered what all of those buttons are and what they do in the Remote Tools screen? Well let us explain…  [Go to article]
 

'wuser32.exe service is running - Wait, End Task or Cancel' message on NT shutdown

Whenever a user logs off an NT machine, does anyone know why they get the following message:

wuser32.exe service is running - Wait, End Task or Cancel

This is a known issue as detailed in 247955 'SMS: Wuser32.exe Does Not Shut Down Upon Client Shutdown'.
 

'Wuser32.exe - Application Error' on Shutdown

Does any one see an error dialog box similar to the following when the user tries to shut down/ logoff  their NT machine?

Wuser32.exe - Application Error

The instruction at "0x77f6754b" referenced memory at "0x023b1e18". The memory could not be "read".

Click on OK to terminate the application

We are running SMS SP2 and our users are running NT 4.0 SP4 and SP6a.

Contributed By: Rushi Faldu
We have the solution and cause of the problem.

Problem statement
The conflict between SMS Remote Control Agent and New.net v2.91 and v2.92 causes the error message from WUser32.exe when shutting down the machine. New.net is a third-party plug-in that is not supported by Merck.

Symptom
The error message as detailed above shows up when shutting down the machine

How to determine if New.net is installed on the machine

  1. Check the existence of the registry
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\"New.net
    Startup"="rundll32 C:\\WINNT\\NEWDOT~1.DLL,NewDotNetStartup"
     
  2. Check the existence of the file 'c:\winnt\newdotnet2_91.dll' for the New.net version 2.91 or
    '    c:\winnt\newdotnet2_92.dll' for the New.net version 2.92 or 'c:\winnt\newdotnet3_15.dll' for the New.net version 3.15

To fix the problem
The problem can be fixed either by un-installating or upgrading the New.net.

To uninstall the New.net

  1. In Control Panel', select 'Add/Remove Program'.
     
  2. Select 'New.net Application', click on 'Add/Remove', click on 'Yes' to confirm the uninstall
     
  3. Reboot the machine.

To upgrade the New.net to version V3.15

  1. In Internet Explorer or Nescape Communicator, go to http://www.new.net
     
  2. Double-click on the icon 'Enable Your Browser to see New.net domains' on the top right-hand corner of the home page.
     
  3. Follow the instructions to install the plug-in.
     
  4. Reboot the machine.

I hope this helps to other SMS administrators.
 

WUSER32.EXE Takes All the CPU it Can Get

Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]
Have problems with WUSER32.EXE taking all the CPU it can get? Read on for a possible solution ...  [Go to article]
 
© FAQShop.com 2003 - 2008

Goto the SMS Home Page

 Email the Author