SMS: Package Is Currently Being Installed in the Background

• Microsoft Systems Management Server version 1.2

SYMPTOMS

Under various circumstances, you may see a message box titled Package Command Manager Service that contains the following text:

A package is currently being installed in the background. This is routine, however please wait until it has completed before starting any new packages.

CAUSE

This message appears when PCMWIN32 fails to get control of the semaphore from PCMSVC32. This message usually appears when PCMSVC32 is processing a job and PCMWIN32 tries to go through its normal polling cycle. This message may also appear if a user tries to start PCMWIN32 manually while PCMSVC32 is processing a job. Note that there are reports of this message appearing when PCMSVC32 was not processing a job. Many of these reports seem to indicate that underlying networking problems or unavailable Systems Management Server logon servers cause this message to appear.

The message could also be caused when PCMWIN32 reaches its polling cycle and PCMSVC32 is also querying the instruction file on the logon server. In this case, even though no software is being installed, as the message states, the background task has control of the semaphore; because PCMWIN32 is blocked from access, it displays the message.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 1.2. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. service pack for Systems Management Server version 1.2. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K

MORE INFORMATION

Many people have requested that the message referenced in the SYMPTOMS section of this article be completely removed or that the ability to turn the message off and on by using a registry switch be included. The message serves a very useful purpose and should not be removed without carefully considering the ramifications. Changes were made to Pcmsvc32.exe, so that the semaphore is only used when necessary. Pcmsvc32.exe only takes ownership of the mutex after a Systems Management Server logon server has been validated. This change should prevent the message from displaying when underlying networking problems occur or the Systems Management Server logon servers are unavailable.

Additional query words: prodsms smspcm launch

Keywords : kbnetwork kbSMS120 kbSMS120bug kbfix1.20.sp4 kbbug1.20 smspcm
Version : winnt:1.2
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug