SMS: How to Recover Remote Control Agent from Broken Mirror

Last reviewed: March 15, 1997
Article ID: Q162951

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Systems Management Server, version 1.2

SUMMARY

If a computer running Windows NT Workstation has a mirrored boot partition, there may be problems with remote controlling that computer after the mirror is broken. If the client computer running Windows NT Workstation is started from the previously mirrored drive, the Systems Management Server Remote Control Agent (Wuser32.exe) does not start, because the registry is still pointing Wuser32.exe to the original drive letter.

MORE INFORMATION

After the computer is started by using the fault tolerant startup floppy disk to recover the fault tolerant partition, it is necessary to change the drive letter designation for Wuser32.exe before the second restart.

To correct this problem, perform the following steps:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

Run Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
From the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, go to the following key:
```
      SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuser32
```

Change the string to the drive that Windows NT Workstation is now starting from:

      Value Name: ImagePath
      Data Type: REG_EXPAND_SZ
      Data: <The new boot drive letter>:\WINNT\WUSER32.EXE

Click OK and quit Registry Editor.

At that point, it will be possible to start the Remote Control Service on the computer running Windows NT Workstation. Wuser32.exe will start, and it will be possible to remote control the computer. Once the mirrored partition is completely restored, and the Boot.ini file is changed back to the original configuration, it is necessary to repeat the above process to change the drive letter back.

Additional query words: agent service helpdesk Service Manager
Keywords : kbnetwork smsremtshoot kbfasttip
Version : 1.2
Platform : WinNT
Issue type : kbhowto

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Last reviewed: March 15, 1997
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