SMS: Forced Sites Registry Key Entry Causes Multiple Errors

ID: Q240056

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Systems Management Server version 2.0

SYMPTOMS

Using the Forced Sites registry key to assign Systems Management Server (SMS) clients to specific sites can causes the following problems:

The Sites tab in Control Panel may show random ASCII characters.

Only the core client components are installed.

The client does not receive advertisements.

Viewing the client from the collections node shows "Assigned = No."

CAUSE

To use this feature, the client's registry needs to be changed as follows:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SMS\Client\Sites

REG_MULTI_SZ type named "Forced Sites"

This should contain a list of site codes.

The Microsoft Windows 95 registry editor does not allow users to add a REG_MULTI_SZ type, even though it is a supported registry type. The problem occurs when users add the value as a String (REG_SZ).

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-language version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:


   Date      Time     Version   Size     File name   Platform
   ----------------------------------------------------------
   06/10/99  05:38pm            247,568  Site4c.exe  Alpha
   06/10/99  05:41pm            143,744  Site4c.exe  I386

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

To Install This Fix

Place the Site4c.exe file on the Windows 95 client computer and run it with one of the following parameters:

SITE4C /? - Shows this text
SITE4C XXX - Adds the site code to the list
SITE4C /D XXX - Deletes the site code from the list
SITE4C /D* - Deletes all entries from the list

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 2.0.

Additional query words: prodsms

Keywords : kbSMS120 kbSMS120bug
Version : winnt:2.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug