E.0 Troubleshooting

The following sections explains the scenarios that you might encounter while using the Bundles component of Novell ZENworks.

Uninstallation of MSIX bundle fails when using Quick Tasks

Explanation: When you try to uninstall an MSIX bundle on a device using Quick Tasks > Uninstall Bundle, the uninstallation of the MSIX bundle fails.
Possible Cause: The Quick Tasks action initiated from server runs for targeted device in device session, whereas the MSIX installation and uninstallation are user specific actions and cannot be run for device. Because of this reason, the uninstall of MSIX bundle fails when run by Quick Tasks.
Action: None.

Bundle icons not displayed at their original positions after System restart

Source: Zenworks 2020 Update 3
Explanation: When you change the position of bundle icons (bundle desktop shortcuts) on the desktop of any Windows device, and restart the device, then the icons on the desktop are displayed at a different position every time the device is restarted.
Possible Cause: ZENworks has a logic to delete all the bundle icons on the desktop during log-off and recreate bundle icons after log-in, which exposes an error in the Explorer shell implementation. The position of these icons is managed by the APP_SETTING_ENABLE_AUTO_CLEANUP registry key in ZENworks.

The deletion and creation of desktop icons when performed by ZENworks agent, the Windows Explorer shell cannot handle this. This is a known behavior of Microsoft Windows Explorer.

Action: The deletion and creation of desktop icons should be handled by Windows Explorer shell. To do so, set the APP_SETTING_ENABLE_AUTO_CLEANUP registry key value to false. This registry key is available at the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Novell\ZCM.

In a Zone with PostgreSQL Unable to Delete Objects with Cyrillic Characters

Explanation: In a zone with the PostgreSQL database, if you have created any objects such as Folders, Bundles, or Policies and try to delete the object. The object deletion fails.
Action: Try renaming objects to non-Cyrillic characters and then delete them from ZCC.

Use non-Cyrillic characters to name the object.

Installation of MSIx bundle using Quick Tasks fails

Explanation: When you try to install an MSIX bundle on a device using Quick Tasks > Install Bundle, the installation of the MSIx bundle fails.
Possible Cause: This issue occurs because the MSIx action runs in the ‘user’ space, while the quick task runs in the ‘system’ space.
Action: None

Bundles exported using the zman command might create empty ZIP files

Source: ZENWorks 2017
Explanation: When you export a bundle using the bundle-export-actions command, the bundle might be exported as an empty ZIP file.
Possible Cause: This issue occurs if the database contains Satellite Server entries that are removed from the zone.
Action: Run the following queries to delete the Satellite Server entries from the database:

  • DELETE FROM zZENServer WHERE zZENServer.ZUID IN (select SatelliteServers from zACOSatelliteServers where id=<BundleGUID>)

  • DELETE FROM zACOContentServers WHERE zACOContentServers.id=<BundleGUID>

  • DELETE FROM zACOSatelliteServers WHERE zACOSatelliteServers.id=<BundleGUID>

High memory utilization by ZENworks

Source: ZENworks
Possible Cause: Bundle Action data is loaded and fetched from the AppDataLRUCacheConfig.xml file. Hence, due to excess accumulation of data, you might experience high memory utilization.
Action: If you are experiencing high memory utilization, and if the LRU cache is available, then you can modify the MaxSize attribute of LRUCacheConfig in the AppDataLRUCacheConfig.xml file to limit the bundle appdata entries.

To modify LRUCacheConfig, do the following:

  1. Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Novell\ZENworks\conf

  2. Open the AppDataLRUCacheConfig.xml file and modify the MaxSize attribute.

    For example:

    <LRUCacheConfig CacheType="CLEAN" MaxSize="400" TimerRefreshInterval="10000" Expiry="300000" />

Using this configuration, the LRU entries can be controlled.

NOTE:If the bundle appdata is not available in the LRU, then during execution, the appdata will be serialized from the disk and loaded into the LRU cache, so you can expect some delay.

Uploading content from a text file that contains extended characters corrupts the content

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: If you use the Edit Text File action to upload a text file containing extended characters, the content is corrupted.
Action: Open the text file, save it as UTF-8, then upload the file.

While launching applications, the window prompting for user input might not be displayed

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: If you use bundles to launch applications that require user input, the window prompting for the input might be hidden behind the application. This problem might occur if the applications are launched for the first time for each user login.
Action: If you want to immediately view the window, minimize the application. To fix the problem, restart the system.

Unable to execute the Install MSI action on a Windows 2000 device

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: If Grant administrator privilege to user during installation is selected in the Install MSI dialog box to provide administrator privileges to the logged in user, the user is prompted to provide the log in credentials when the Install MSI action is executed on the device. The action fails to execute even if the user has provided the correct password.
Action: Add the user as a part of the operating system as follows:

  1. Run MMC.

  2. Click File > Add/Remove Snap-in, click Add.

  3. In the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box, select Group Policy Object Editor, click Add > Finish.

  4. Click Close to close the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box.

  5. Click OK.

  6. In the Console Root window, double-click Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment > Act as part of the operating system

  7. Click Add User or Group.

  8. In Enter the object names to select, specify the user name. Click OK.

  9. Click OK.

Cannot back up the registry and edit the HKEY_CURRENT_USER by using a single registry action on a Windows Vista device

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: If you set up an action to both back up the registry and edit the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry entry on Windows Vista*, the action fails because all user-initiated processes in Vista run as the lowest privileged user.
Action: Use two different registry actions, one to back up the registry in the system context, and another to edit HKEY_CURRENT_USER in the user context.

The Undo Install Actions fails to uninstall a directory

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: When you create an Install Directory File bundle, the directory is installed even if its name contains spaces; however, it cannot currently be uninstalled by using the Undo Install Actions action.
Action: Avoid spaces in directory names if you want to enable the uninstallation of that directory.

Unable to launch a RDP session from a 64-bit device

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: If you launch a Launch Windows Thin Client Application action configured with the RDP Session on a 64-bit managed device, the action might fail.
Action: Apply the KB925876 patch (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925876).

If the Wake-on-LAN on the managed device is behind the server’s time zone, the device fails to wake up

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: If a bundle having the distribution configured is assigned to a managed device such that the Wake-on-LAN is behind the server’s time zone, the device fails to wake up.
Action: Ensure that the Wake-on-LAN on the managed device is not behind the server’s time zone.

Bundle shortcut icon is not visible in the Quick Launch area of a Windows 7 device taskbar

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: If you assign a bundle to a Windows 7 managed device and choose to place the bundle shortcut icon in the Quick Launch area of the device, the bundle shortcut icon is not visible because Quick Launch is disabled by default on a Windows 7 device.
Action: To enable Quick Launch on a Windows 7 device taskbar:

  1. Right-click the taskbar and click Toolbars.

  2. Click New Toolbar to open the New Toolbar window.

  3. In the Folder option, specify the following: %UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch.

  4. Click Select Folder.

To customize Quick Launch on a Windows 7 device taskbar:

  1. Right-click the taskbar and deselect Lock the Taskbar.

  2. (Optional) Click and drag the Quick Launch to the desired position on the taskbar.

  3. Right-click Quick Launch and deselect Show Title and Show Text to disable title or text display.

  4. Right-click Quick Launch. Click View > Small Icons to enable small icons.

Repairing an MSI that is installed on a device might reboot the device even if the norestart parameter is specified

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: If you run the Install MSI action to repair an MSI that has already been installed on a device, the device might reboot. This is because /f option that repairs a product can reboot the device. For more information, see Microsoft Support Site.
Action: Perform the following steps to repair a package without a reboot:

  1. In ZENworks Control Center, click the MSI Application Bundle you want to repair.

  2. Click Actions > Install.

  3. Click the Install MSI action to display the Edit Action - Install MSI dialog box.

  4. In the Repair Parameters option, Click to display the Repair Parameters dialog box.

  5. In the Command Line Parameters option, specify /i instead of /f, then click OK.

  6. In the MSI Properties panel, add the following properties:

    • Name = REINSTALLMODE ; Value = omus

    • Name = REBOOT ; Value = ReallySupress

  7. Click OK.

Unable to install or launch a bundle on a Linux or Macintosh device

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: On a Linux or Macintosh device, if you choose to run the zac command to install or launch a bundle that has special characters such as @ or $ in its name, the bundle fails to install or launch on the device.
Action: Run the zac command and use \\ to escape the special characters in the bundle name. For example, to install a bundle named mac@, run the command as follows:

zac bin mac\\@

Unable to import an exported registry file into the Windows registry

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: On platforms that use non-Western European languages, a registry file exported by using the ZENworks Registry Edit action might contain values that prevent the registry file from being imported into the Windows registry.
Action: To export the registry file:

  1. In ZENworks Control Center, click a bundle.

  2. Click Actions > Registry Edit.

  3. Click Export to export the registry file.

To import the registry file into the Windows registry:

  1. Edit the exported registry file to remove values such as ffffffffffffffb0 from the file.

  2. Import the file into the Windows registry.

  3. Use the Windows Regedit utility to reenter the values that you removed in Step 1.

    For more information on reentering the values, refer to the Registry Edit Action page of ZENworks Control Center.

Unable to use the uninstall option for ZENworks bundle in the start screen on a Windows 8 machine

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: On a Windows 8 machine if you right click on the ZENworks bundle shortcut and choose the uninstall option in the charms bar, the ZENworks bundle shortcut fails to point at the underlying application or msi installer in the add remove screen of the control panel.
Possible Cause: The uninstall option that is in the charms bar of the start screen on a Windows 8 machine is not supported for ZENworks bundle.
Action: Won’t fix.

After the upgrade, unable to uninstall a bundle that is set to uninstall prior to upgrade

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: If you have set a bundle to uninstall on unassignment, and after the upgrade the bundle is unassigned, the bundle might not get uninstalled.
Possible Cause: After the upgrade only the new cache entries are referenced. The old cache entries of the unassigned items are not referenced.
Action: Won’t fix.

Bundle distribution fails when you assign a bundle to be launched during Wake- on - Lan with date specific - schedule

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: When you assign a bundle to be launched on a device during Wake-on-Lan (WOL) with the date-specific schedule, the contents of the bundle are not distributed.
Possible Cause: By the time the device wakes up (based on the Wake-on-LAN schedule) and receives the bundle assignment, the scheduled distribution time has passed, so the bundle is not distributed on the device. The primary cause of this issue is setting the same time for both the Wake-on-Lan schedule and the bundle distribution schedule.
Action: When assigning bundles to Wake-on-Lan devices, if you select a Schedule Type of Date Specific, you also need to enable the Process immediately if device unable to execute on schedule option. This option forces the bundle distribution to occur after the device wakes and receives the bundle distribution schedule.

Unable to create a bundle due to internal data model exception

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: When you try to create a bundle or any ZENworks object, the bundle or object throws the following data model exception:

com.novell.zenworks.datamodel.exceptions.InternalDataModelException: org.hibernate.QueryTimeoutException: ORA-01658: unable to create INITIAL extent for segment in tablespace CCT_XA_TAB

Possible Cause: This failure is because the allocated file size for the data file is used and has exceeded.
Action: Increase the tablespace to ensure sufficient disk space availability for data files in the tablespace.

Bundle icons are not visible on the desktop when the desktop folder is redirected to a network share for agents running on Windows 7 and Windows 2008

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: When the desktop folder for a ZENworks Configuration Management Agent running on Windows 7 or Windows 2008 is redirected to a network share, the shortcut icons for ZENworks Configuration Management bundles do not appear.
Action: To create the shortcut icons for bundles:

  1. Open the Registry Editor.

  2. Go to HKLM\Software\Novell\ZCM\NAL.

  3. Create a DWORD called SetIconOnDesktop and set the value to 1.

  4. Reboot the workstation.

Bundle shortcut icon is not visible in the Start Menu of a Windows 7 device

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: After assigning a bundle to a Windows 7 managed device, if you choose to place the bundle shortcut icon in the Start Menu of the device, the bundle shortcut icon is not visible.
Possible Cause: The Remove User's folders from the Start Menu GPO setting is enforced on a Windows 7 device.
Action: Disable the Remove User's folders from the Start Menu GPO setting on a Windows 7 device:

  1. Run gpedit.msc

  2. Click User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Task Bar.

  3. Double click Remove user's folders from the Start Menu.

  4. In the Remove User's folders from the Start Menu dialog, select Disabled.

  5. Click Apply > OK.

On a Windows device, NAL icons are not displayed even after enabling the disabled bundle management

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution.
Explanation: If you log in to a Windows device for which bundle management is disabled, the NAL explorer shell extension (NalShell.dll) that is required for enabling bundle explorer icons is not loaded by Windows Explorer. As a result, even if you enable bundle management on the device, the NAL explorer icons do not get enabled.
Possible Cause: NAL explorer shell extension (NalShell.dll) is not loaded by Windows Explorer.
Action: To restart the explorer.exe,which loads Nalshell.dll, logoff, and then log in to the workstation again.

When a Mac patch policy bundle fails, the xauth messages that are launched are not terminated

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution
Explanation: If you launch a Mac patch policy bundle several times, the policy fails each time with a pop-up message to install xauth. These xauth messages are not terminated even after the bundle error messages disappear. This is because X11 is no longer included as a default install, starting with OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.3.
Action: Before upgrading a ZENworks agent to an OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.3 (or later) device, or before installing ZENworks agent on an OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.3 (or later) device, you need to install the X11 application.

When you select either the Sandbox or an old version of a bundle or policy, the status is not displayed in the summary page of the bundle or policy

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution
Explanation: After assigning a bundle that has the sandbox and the published versions to a device, if you select either an old version or a sandbox version of the bundle, the Bundle Status information is not displayed in the summary page of the bundle or policy.
Action: There is no workaround.

An error is displayed when certain user-specific variables are used when there is no user session available

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution
Explanation: Certain user-specific variables should not be used if there is no user session available. For example, for device associated bundles, user-specific variables such as TEMPDIR,DESKTOP, and FONTS should not be used when there is no user session available. If these variables are used, then the bundle will fail with the following error: The directory name is invalid.
Action: There is no workaround.

An error is displayed when you copy relationships of one device to another

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution
Explanation: When a ZENworks administrator tries to copy relationships of one device to another, the Summary page of the Copy Relationships wizard lists the operations performed (assignments added or assignments removed). If the operation fails due to insufficient rights or any other reason, then an error icon is displayed in the Summary page.
Action: Perform the relevant action:

  • If the issue is related to insufficient rights, ensure that the administrator has the required rights to perform the copy relationships operation on the relevant ZENworks objects.

  • If the issue is related to any other reason, you need to refer the zcc.log file for more details.

Files that are several weeks old are not cleaned up from the Tomcat Temp folder on Linux Servers

Source: ZENworks; Software Distribution
Explanation: On Linux devices, the Tomcat Temp folder is not cleaned up completely during a zone cleanup. Files that are several weeks old are still displayed in the folder.
Action: There is no workaround.