Remote Control Fails with Lowercase Computer Name

• Microsoft Systems Management Server, versions 1.0 and 1.1

SYMPTOMS

If a Windows client was originally inventoried by SMS with a lowercase NetBIOS computer name, Remote Control may fail with the following error:

   UNABLE TO LOCATE CLIENT

MORE INFORMATION

Windows versions 3.11 and later automatically convert the computer name to uppercase when writing to the System.ini file.

If the computer name in the System.ini or Sms.ini file is changed to lowercase after the initial inventory, the problem does not occur. This problem only occurs if the computer was originally inventoried with a lowercase name and appears with a lowercase name in the SMS Administrator.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem:

1. Edit the ComputerName= in the [Network] section of System.ini so that the computer name is entirely in uppercase characters.

2. Connect to the SMS_SHR on your logon server.

3. At a command prompt, make that share your current drive and change your current directory to X86.BIN.

4. Run invdos /f.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server versions 1.0 and 1.1. This problem has been corrected in Systems Management Server version 1.2.