SMS: Invmac Errors During Initial Inventory

Article ID: Q156417
Creation Date: 23-SEP-1996
Revision Date: 24-OCT-1996

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Systems Management Server version 1.2

SYMPTOMS

With some SMS site configurations, an Apple Macintosh system may exhibit errors and appear to stop responding when the initial SMS inventory is taken on that system.

This occurs when the SMS site server is located in a different AppleTalk zone than the Macintosh client system.

CAUSE

During the initial installation of the SMS client, the Domain.ini file is copied to the client. The Domain.ini file later gets modified and renamed to Sms.ini. When the Macintosh restarts, the Invmac program is run and it attempts to connect to an SMS server in the AppleTalk zone specified in the Domain.ini file for final configuration and to report the initial inventory.

By default, the Domain.ini file contains an asterisk (*), which signifies that the Macintosh will find the SMS site server in the Macintosh's default zone. If the SMS server that the Macintosh is reporting to resides in a different zone than the Macintosh, this will fail.

The AppleTalk zone information is gathered by the Invwin32.exe inventory agent residing on the SMS site server and is written to the registry in the following subkey:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SMS\Identification

With SMS 1.2, this information is not always written to the registry properly.

WORKAROUND

Use the Registry Editor to modify the SMS registry so that it contains the AppleTalk zone name.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT or Microsoft SMS to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).

Under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, go to the following subkey:
```
      \Software\Microsoft\SMS\Identification
```
Add a new value called "AppleTalk Zone Name" (without the quotation marks), and make the Data Type REG_SZ. Add the correct AppleTalk zone name for the value.

When the SMS Maintenance Manager service starts its next watchdog cycle, the new registry entry will be picked up and the Domain.ini file will be modified. Once this has been modified, Macintosh computers can be installed and will inventory properly.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 1.2. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. Service Pack for Microsoft Systems Management Server version 1.2. For information on obtaining the Service Pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

   S E R V P A C K

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