Microsoft KB Archive/215721

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SBS: How To Troubleshoot Client Application Installation

Article ID: 215721

Article Last Modified on 4/20/2004



APPLIES TO

  • Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server 4.5



This article was previously published under Q215721

SUMMARY

This article provides troubleshooting assistance for some of the common error messages and problems you may encounter when you install the client applications included with Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server 4.5.

MORE INFORMATION

NOTE: For specific information on setting up a Windows 2000 computer as a client in a Small Business Server 4.5 domain, refer to the whitepaper entitled, "Windows 2000 Professional Client Setup" which can be found at:

This paper describes the Windows 2000 Professional client setup process for BackOffice Small Business Server 4.5, both for upgrading from an existing client computer and for setting up a new client server. You'll also learn how to upgrade a client computer to Windows 2000.

Small Business Server has the ability to install applications on a client computer without user assistance. If a user and an associated computer have been set up using the Small Business Server console, a logon script is run to install all the client applications when the users logs on to the domain. The logon script has the following single command-line syntax

startcli.exe /s:sbsserver /u:username /l:%windir%\..\startcli.log


where sbsserver is the name of the SBS computer and username is the user's logon name.

Some of the problems that you may encounter during application setup on the client are:

  • The user logs on to the client computer, but the logon script does not run.

    When a client computer logs on to a Windows NT domain, the client logon process makes a network connection to the Netlogon share on the domain controller that validated the logon script. If the user account is configured to run a logon script, the logon process then runs the user logon script through this network connection.

    If the organization has a Backup Domain Controller (BDC), then the logon script needs to be manually copied from the Small Business Server computer to every BDC. All logon scripts are stored in the following directory on the Small Business Server computer:

    %systemroot%\system32\repl\import\scripts\smallbusiness

    You must manually copy the Smallbusiness directory from the Small Business Server computer to the %systemroot%\system32\repl\import\scripts directory on each BDC.

    One way to troubleshoot this problem is to make a network connection to the Small Business Server computer and then run the logon script manually. This allows you to see any error messages that may occur.

    1. Open a command prompt or an MS-DOS prompt on the client computer.
    2. Type NET USE Z: \\ sbsserver\netlogon
      Where sbsserver is the name of the SBS computer.
    3. Change directories to the Z drive.
    4. Change directories to the Smallbusiness directory
    5. Run the Username.bat file, where username is the name of the user that is currently logged on.
    6. If an error message appears, record the error message and search the Microsoft Knowledge Base for assistance in troubleshooting the error.
  • The logon script runs, but the client Setup Wizard does not start.

    The client logon script runs the Startcli program. When Startcli runs, it first checks for the presence of a file named Installed in the client computer's response directory. If this file exists, Startcli quits without displaying any information to the user. Check the server for the presence of the installed file. This file exists in the following directory

    %systemroot%\smallbusiness\clients\response\clientcomputer

    where clientcomputer is the name of the client computer. If this file exists, rename it to Installed.old, log off the client, and then log back on. If Startcli still does not run, then a new client setup disk may need to be created and run on the client computer.
  • The client Setup Wizard starts, but crashes with the following error message:

    Setup was unable to open the information file \\%sbsserver%\clients\response\clientcomputername\clioc.inf

    Contact your system administrator. The specific error code is 0x3 at line 1373780.

    This error is typically caused by a missing or incomplete client response directory.

    To resolve this problem, click Manage Computers on the Small Business Server console to set up a client computer. When the wizard prompts you for a computer name, use the current name of the client computer. After the wizard is finished, log off the client, and then log back on. The logon script should run and the client setup program should start.

    NOTE: The wizard creates a client setup disk. It is not necessary to run this disk on the client computer to resolve the error message above.
  • The client Setup Wizard starts to install client programs, but the program does not install.

    The client Setup Wizard is designed to install all applications "silently". The wizard does not display any error messages encountered application installation. If the specific application setup program encounters a fatal error, then the application installation terminates and the client Setup Wizard skips to the next program. Each application creates an associated log file on the client computer.

    The log file for Office 2000 (Office.log) is stored in the following directory:

    %windir%\system\setup - On Windows 95/98
    %systemroot\system32\setup - On Windows NT

    All other application log files are stored in the root of the C: drive.

    The log files are named after the application and contain information about the installation. Analyzing the log files may be helpful in determining why the installation is not successful. If the log files are not useful, an additional troubleshooting method would be to install the application manually. This process exposes the application installation dialog boxes and allows any error messages to be displayed on the screen if they occur.

    The following table lists the command strings for installing each application manually. In all cases, %sbsserver% refers to the name of the Small Business Server computer.

    Application: Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4
    Installation Command: \\%sbsserver%\clientapps\ms\winntsp4\sp4i386.exe
    
    Application: Microsoft Internet Explorer
    Installation Command: \\%sbsserver%\clientapps\ms\office\cd1\ie5\en
    \ie5setup.exe
    
    Application: Proxy Client
    Installation Command: \\%sbsserver%\mspclnt\setup.exe
    
    Application: Microsoft Office 2000 CD1
    Installation Command: \\%sbsserver%\clientapps\ms\office\cd1\setup.exe
    
    Application: Microsoft Office 2000 CD2
    Installation Command: \\%sbsserver%\clientapps\ms\office\cd2\setup.exe
    
    Application: Modem Sharing Client (Windows 95/98
    Installation Command: \\%sbsserver%\clientapps\ms\modemshr\win95\setup.exe
    
    Application: Modem Sharing Client (Windows NT)
    Installation Command: Must be installed using the Control Panel Network 
                          tool. Click the Services tab, click Add, click
                          Have Disk, and then change the installation path 
                          to:\\%sbsserver%\clientapps\ms\modemshr\winnt\i386
    
    Application: Fax Client (Windows 95/98)
    Installation Command: \\%sbsserver%\clientapps\ms\fax\win95\setup.exe
    
    Application: Fax Client (Windows NT)
    Installation Command: \\%sbsserver%\clientapps\ms\fax\i386\faxsetup.exe -tc
    
    Application: Microsoft Outlook
    Installation Command: \\%sbsserver%\clientapps\ms\office\cd1\setup.exe
                        



Additional query words: smallbiz

Keywords: kbinfo KB215721