Site system installation is unsuccessful if 8.3 file-name support is disabled in Systems Management Server 2003 (838437)

SYMPTOMS

After you install a Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 site by using the Standard security model, you may not be able to install a management point. In this scenario, the SMSSetup.log file may not contain any error messages. However, an error message that is similar to the following may be logged in the C:\SMS\Logs\MPMSI.log file:

CustomActionSchedule(Action=Wdsfpca_DoInstallWFPFile.7E4F6CB4_E769_4917_AA7E_0E3CA074ABB3,ActionType=1025,Source=BinaryData,Target=Wdsfpca_DoInstallWFPFile,CustomActionData=C:\DOCUME~1\SMSServiceAccountName\Local Settings\Temp\mso2C1.tmp 2 C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\SFPCA Cache\ msxmlx.inf EOF_LIST )

Installing exception pack: 'msxmlx.inf'
MSI (s) (D4!18): Closing MSIHANDLE (7110) of type 790531 for thread 792
MSI (s) (D4!18): Creating MSIHANDLE (7111) of type 790531 for thread 792
Error: 'msxmlx.inf' with error code -2147418113 (0x8000FFFF)

Note A similar problem may also occur when you install an SMS reporting point.

CAUSE

This problem may occur when the user profile for the SMS Service account is created after support for 8.3-compliant file names has been disabled and when the user profile contains a space in the path for the TEMP or TMP user environment variables. This problem does not occur if the Advanced security model is used.

Notes

An 8.3-compliant file name refers to MS-DOS file-naming conventions. These conventions restrict file names to eight characters and restrict optional extensions to three characters.
The recommendation to disable 8.3 file-name support may stem from a best practice for the Active Directory directory service that applies to Microsoft Windows 2000 and to Microsoft Windows Server 2003. This best practice is included in the guide that is discussed in the "References" section.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods:

Make sure that you create the SMS Service account user profile while 8.3 file-name support is enabled.

Note When you re-enable 8.3 file-name support, this does not automatically create 8.3-compliant names for existing files and folders. 8.3-compliant names are created only for new files and folders.
Change the SMS Service account TEMP and TMP user variables to point to a path that does not contain spaces and that meets the 8.3 file-name rules, as in the following examples:

C:\TEMP
C:\Windows\TEMP

To set the SMS Service account TEMP and TMP user variables, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
In the System Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab, and then click Environment Variables.
In the Environment Variables dialog box, click the TEMP user variable under User Variables for UserName, and then click Edit.
In the Edit System Variable dialog box, type a path in the Variable value box that does not contain any spaces and that meets the 8.3 file-name rules. For example, type c:\temp. Click OK.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the TMP user value.

MORE INFORMATION

When you install a management point or a reporting point, some Microsoft XML (MSXML) components are installed. The MSXML installation process uses the following path for the SMS Service accounts TEMP variable:

C:\DOCUME~1\ServiceAccountName\Local Settings\TEMP

When this path is read, the text is truncated at the space after the word "Local." This behavior occurs because no 8.3-compliant folder name exists for the Local Settings folder, and this generates the error that is described in the "Symptoms" section.

REFERENCES

For more information about helping to secure Active Directory, see the Best Practice Guide for Securing Active Directory Installations and Day-to-Day Operations: Part 1. To find this guide, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/technologies/activedirectory/maintain/bpguide/part1/adsecp1.mspx

For additional information about how to disable 8.3 file-name creation, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

121007 How to disable the 8.3 name creation on NTFS partitions