SMS: "Could Not Connect to Registry Key" Message in SQL Monitor (261286)

SYMPTOMS

When the Systems Management Server (SMS) site server resides on a Windows 2000-based computer, changes to the site such as site control changes, new packages and any component that needs access to the SQL database may operate slowly or may not be able to update properly. When this occurs, there are no status messages or Event Viewer updates to alert an administrator that this problem is being encountered.

The Smsdbmon.log file may contain the following entry that indicates that the SQL Monitor process is unable to connect to the Registry:

ERROR: Could not connect to registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SMS on site server SMSServer04, sleeping 60 seconds. SMS_SQL_MONITOR 4/29/2000 11:51:03 PM
ERROR: Could not connect to registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SMS on site server SMSServer04, sleeping 60 seconds. SMS_SQL_MONITOR 4/29/2000 11:52:05 PM
ERROR: Could not connect to registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SMS on site server SMSServer04, sleeping 60 seconds.

Also, the Smsexec.log file may contain the following entry:

Initializing the status message reporting system... SMS_EXECUTIVE 4/29/2000 11:50:49 PM 1756 (0x6DC)
ERROR: Could not connect to registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SMS on site server SMSServer04, sleeping 60 seconds. SMS_EXECUTIVE 4/29/2000 11:50:52 PM
ERROR: Could not connect to registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SMS on site server SMSServer04, sleeping 60 seconds. SMS_EXECUTIVE 4/29/2000 11:51:54 PM

Locally, if you log on to the SMS Site server with the SMS service account, you will be able to review the SMS key in the registry. However, if you are connecting to the registry of the Site Server from a remote computer, you may receive a "registry editor can not access registry" error message.

CAUSE

This issue can occur if the Remote Registry service has been set to Disabled. If the Remote Registry service has been set to Disabled, SMS processes may stop working. This can occur under the following conditions:

The Remote Registry service policy is set to "Define this Policy setting," and it is set to Disabled.
A domain controller is restarted.

NOTE: On a Windows 2000-based server, check the Remote Registry service to verify that it is running. If it is not running, check the domain policy to determine if this policy has been implemented. To check the Remote Registry service policy:

Start the Microsoft Management Console tool, and add the Default Domain Policy snap-in if it is not already installed.
Double-click the following items to open them:
Default Domain Policy
Windows Settings
Security Settings
System Services
Remote Registry Service

If the Remote Registry service policy is set to "Define this Policy setting," and it is set to Disabled, when a domain controller is restarted the Remote Registry service will not start. Instead, the Remote Registry service is set to Disabled, and SMS processes may stop working.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, start the Remote Registry service manually to restore functionality. If there was a policy that had caused the service to become disabled, this policy should be modified to allow this service to start when the computer is restarted. Note that if you start the Remote Registry service manually, it should resolve the issue. However, the next time the computer is restarted, it would adhere to that policy, and this may cause the service to return to a disabled setting.