SMS: Forced Sites Registry Key Entry Causes Multiple Errors (240056)

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

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Systems Management Server version 2.0. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

236325 How to Obtain the Latest Systems Management Server 2.0 Service Pack

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 This problem was first corrected in Systems Management Server version 2.0 Service Pack 2..