SMS: Smsapm32.exe Does Not Stop When the Client Agent Is Upgraded (256211)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0

This article was previously published under Q256211

SYMPTOMS

When a Systems Management Server (SMS) 2.0 client attempts to upgrade or reinstall the software distribution client agent when an advertisement is being run, the Smsapm32.exe process may not stop. This is necessary for the upgrade of the client agent to succeed.

CAUSE

This is an intermittent problem that only appears to occur when a mapped network drive or universal naming convention (UNC) path is specified in the system path of the client.

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

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, place the network drive or UNC path in the user's path environment variable by using the "PATH =" statement in the user's logon script.

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..

MORE INFORMATION

It is not a good practice to place a mapped network drive or UNC path in the system path environment variable. This can result in an unanticipated amount of network traffic because many processes rely on the system path to load supporting files instead of loading them with an explicit path.

In addition, if you plan on upgrading the SMS client components, you should postpone any mandatory program advertisements until after the software distribution component is upgraded.

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	6/14/2005
Keywords:	kbAdvertisement kbBug kbClient kbfix kbsetup kbsms200sp2fix kbSoftwareDist KB256211