Manually Upgrading SMS 1.2 Clients

Another approach to initiating the upgrade process by using resource discovery and client installation methods is to run the Systems Management Installation Wizard on individual computers that you want to discover or install as SMS clients. If you have logon discovery initiated for your SMS site, you can use this wizard to discover computers that would not otherwise be found through the logon discovery or installation method. You can also use it to avoid the network traffic peaks that can occur when many clients are installed at once.

If you do not want to modify users’ logon scripts, or want to instruct individual users to install the SMS 2.0 client software, this method is a good choice. If you expect contention for clients in your mixed SMS 1.2/SMS 2.0 hierarchy, this is probably the best way to install the SMS 2.0 clients.

To initiate the discovery and installation processes, run the executable file listed for the computer’s platform in Table 12.4.


Table 12.4 Systems Management Installation Wizard Executable Files by Platform

PlatformExecutable file name
32-bit computersSMSman.exe
16-bit computersSMSman16.exe
MS-DOS 5.0 or later (without Windows)Manboot.exe


Important   Before running the Systems Management Installation Wizard, you must initiate logon discovery or installation and specify at least one logon point, because the wizard uses files and shares made available by those methods. For more information, see Chapter 9, “Discovering Resources and Installing Clients,” in the SMS 2.0 Administrators Guide.


These executable files are located in the SMSlogon share, volume, or directory on your logon points (\X86.bin\<Language> or Alpha.bin\<Language>, where language indicates the number assigned to the language used in the files located in that directory). Running SMSman.exe or SMSman16.exe starts the Systems Management Installation Wizard. This wizard can either connect to a specified logon point or search for an appropriate logon point. The wizard then runs the logon discovery or installation process. If you start Manboot.exe, the wizard uses an existing connection to a logon point to run the installation process.

Depending on the platform-specific wizard that you run, different command-line parameters are available, as shown in Tables 12.5 and 12.6.

Running the Wizard on 32-Bit Computers

When you start SMSman.exe, the Systems Management Installation Wizard uses the command-line options that you specify to tailor its operation and informational messages. If you do not use any command-line options, the Systems Management Installation Wizard opens, and you complete the installation by following the instructions in the wizard.

Command-line example

SMSman [installation mode] [/Q]

– Or –

SMSman /H or /?

Various combinations of command-line options can yield different results. To obtain the results you expect, make sure that you review Table 12.5 before running the executable file.


Table 12.5 Command-Line Options for Smsman.exe

OptionDescription
Installation modeCan be any one of the following: /S, /D, /B, /C, /A, or /U.

If you do not specify an installation mode, SMS will open the Systems Management Installation Wizard.

/S {servername}Specifies a Windows NT Server installation location.
/D {domainname}Specifies a Windows NT domain installation location.
/B {\\server\volume}Specifies a Novell bindery installation location.
/C {tree.org.orgunit}Specifies a Novell NetWare NDS installation location.
/AAutomatically selects an installation location.
/URemoves all SMS client components from this computer.
/QSpecifies quiet mode. No windows or messages appear while SMS installation/removal is completed.
/H or /?Displays a Help screen with information about available command-line parameters.

Running the Wizard on 16-Bit Computers

When you start SMSman16.exe, the Systems Management Installation Wizard uses the command-line options that you specify to tailor its operation and informational messages. If you do not use any command-line options, the Systems Management Installation Wizard opens, and you complete the installation by following the instructions in the wizard.

Command-line example

SMSman16 [installation mode] [/Q] 

-or-

SMSman16 /H or /?

Various combinations of command-line options can yield different results. To obtain the results you expect, review Table 12.6 before running the executable file.


Table 12.6 Command-Line Options for Smsman16.exe

OptionDescription
Installation modeCan be any one of the following: /S, /B, /C, or /U.

If you do not specify an installation mode, SMS will open the Systems Management Installation Wizard.

/S {servername}Specifies a Windows NT Server installation location.
/B {\\server\volume}Specifies a Novell bindery installation location.
/C {tree.org.orgunit}Specifies a Novell NetWare NDS installation location.
/URemoves all SMS client components from this computer.
/QSpecifies quiet mode. No windows or messages appear while SMS installation/removal is completed.
/H or /?Displays a Help screen with information about available command-line parameters.

Running the Systems Management Installation Wizard

When using the wizard, if you select Remove in the Select installation option page, your permissions are verified to ensure that a removal can be performed in the current user context. This permissions validation occurs when you click the Next button in the wizard page. If your permissions are insufficient, an error message appears and you return to the Select installation option wizard page.

If you run the wizard from the command line without the /Q option (which specifies “quiet” mode operation), the installation begins immediately and you can follow its progress in the progress dialog box that appears. Note that the Finished page of the wizard does not appear when the installation is completed.

Using the Systems Management Installation Wizard to Remove SMS Client Components

If you run the wizard by using the /U command-line option, it might display a user message at any one of the points shown in Table 12.7.


Table 12.7 User Messages While Removing SMS Client Components

Message displayedAction taken
No SMS components are installed on this computer.Smsman displays an error message and terminates the operation.
User permissions are insufficient to complete uninstall process.Smsman displays an error and terminates the operation.
“Are you sure?” dialog box appears.If the user clicks No, Smsman displays a message stating that the removal process was not successful, and then terminates the operation.

After the removal process is completed, a success or failure message appears, then Smsman terminates the operation.

You can combine the /U command-line option with the /Q option to perform a “silent” removal of SMS client components. No windows or messages will appear during the removal process, even if the removal fails for the reasons listed in the previous table. You should verify that the removal process was successful by verifying whether the SMS directory structure has been removed or by reviewing the Wnmanual.log file. If the removal fails, you can diagnose the problem by reviewing the Clicore.log file and, on 32-bit computers, the Ccim32.log file in the %Windir%\MS\SMS\Logs directory.

Running the Systems Management Installation Wizard from Control Panel

After you install SMS client components by running the Systems Management Installation Wizard, a new Systems Management icon appears in Control Panel on the client computer. You can then run the Systems Management Installation Wizard from Control Panel by double-clicking this icon.


Note   The Systems Management icon will appear in Control Panel regardless of the client installation method used.