SMS: An "Invalid Pointer" COM Exception Occurs When You Create an Advertisement (322504)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003

This article was previously published under Q322504

SYMPTOMS

You may receive the following error message when you create an advertisement:

SMS could not provide the data that you requested.
Please refer to the SMS documentation for troubleshooting information.

_com_error exception in MMC Admin UI!

COM Error : Invalid pointer
Source :
Description :

Entry Point : CWnd::WindowProc
Operation : WM_NOTIFY
Command Line: C:\WINNT\system32\mmc.exe "C:\SMS\bin\i386\sms.msc"
Trace : MMF Build Info : SMS 2.50 SP0 (2726)

CAUSE

This problem may occur when you create an advertisement if the SQL Server service is not running.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, start the SQL Server service, and then re-create the advertisement.

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	6/14/2005
Keywords:	kbsmsAdmin kbprb KB322504 kbAudITPRO