SYMPTOMS
A Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Advanced Client computer cannot retrieve user-based policies from the SMS 2003 server.
Additionally, the following error message may be logged in the PolicyAgent.log log file on the SMS 2003 Advanced Client computer
:
XML
Parse Error:
Reason: A semi colon character was expected.
This problem occurs when either of the following conditions is
true:
- The SMS 2003 server is in the domain that contains this
domain controller and the name of the domain controller contains the ampersand
(&) character.
- The name of the user account that you use to log on the SMS 2003 Advanced Client computer contains the ampersand (&) character.
RESOLUTION
Service pack information
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Systems Management Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
885643 How To obtain the latest Systems Management Server 2003 service pack
Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Systems Management Server 2003 service pack that contains this hotfix.
To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.
Prerequisites
To apply this hotfix, you must have SMS 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed on the computer.
Restart requirement
You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.
Hotfix replacement information
This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.
File information
The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the
Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.
Date Time Version Size File name
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
20-Jan-2005 08:19 2.0.1493.0 4,953,832 Sms2003-sp1-kb891634-x86-enu.exe
After you install this hotfix, the following files will have
the listed attributes or later:
Date Time Version Size File name
-------------------------------------------------------------
19-Oct-2004 19:45 6,725,632 Mp.msi
19-Oct-2004 19:45 2.50.3174.1122 53,248 Policymgr.dll
24-Dec-2003 21:30 2.50.2726.154 40,960 Smsse.dll
18-Jan-2005 16:45 515 Smsconfig.inf
Installation instructions
To install this hotfix, follow these steps:
- Create a shared folder in a location that can be accessed
by the SMS site servers.
- Copy the SMS2003-SP1-KB891634-x86-ENU.exe hotfix file to
the shared folder that you created in step 1.
- On each SMS primary site server and SMS secondary site server in your
environment, log on by using an account that has administrative
credentials, and then follow these steps:
- Close SMS Administrator Console if it is open.
- Connect to the
shared folder that you created in step 1, double-click the
SMS2003-SP1-KB891634-X86-ENU.exe file, and then follow the instructions in the
wizard.
- When you are prompted, reset the site.
Note When you reset a site, any Management Points will be reinstalled and the hotfix will be applied. If you do not reset a site when you are prompted, you must reset that site manually for this hotfix to be correctly
applied to the Management Points.