SMS: Unexpected Reinstallation of SMS Packages

ID: Q229809

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Systems Management Server version 1.2

SYMPTOMS

Packages installed months, weeks, or days earlier are suddenly reinstalled at some Systems Management Server clients.

This problem occurs only on Systems Management Server 1.2 Service Pack 3 and Service Pack 4.

CAUSE

Deletion, corruption, or a purge in the local Package Command Manager (PCM) history file, Pcmhist.reg, may lead to this problem.

When such a situation occurs, PCM rebuilds a new file containing all the packages available in the computer instruction (.ins) file, even if these packages were already installed as mandatory packages.

A feature introduced in Systems Management Server 1.2 Service Pack 3 allows this behavior. For additional information about this feature, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q174933 SMS: PCM Service Job Does Not Log Failure If Not Mandatory

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. If you are not severely affected by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Systems Management Server service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:


   Date      Time   Size   File name   Platform
   ---------------------------------------------------------

   06/09/98   10:37p        263,632   Pcmsvc32.exe   (x86)
   06/09/98   10:37p        451,760   Pcmwin16.exe   (x86)
   06/09/98   10:37p        465,312   Pcmwin32.exe   (x86)

   06/09/98   10:36p        792,336   Pcmsvc32.exe   (Alpha)
   06/09/98   10:35p      1,168,144   Pcmwin32.exe   (Alpha)

NOTE: Due to file dependencies, the most recent hotfix or feature that contains the above files may also contain additional files.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 1.2 Service Pack 3 and Service Pack 4.

Additional query words: prodsms pcmsvc sp sp3

Keywords : kbSMS120 kbSMS120bug
Version : winnt:1.2
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug