6.1 Troubleshooting Windows Devices

Unable to override the screen saver on the managed device

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: When a password-protected screen saver is activated on the managed device prior to the start of a Remote Control session, the Remote Management service attempts to override the screen saver to enable the remote operator to view the user desktop. The remote operator can also override the screen saver during the remote session by clicking the Override Screen Saver icon on the Remote Management viewer toolbar.
Possible Cause: If the screen saver activates because of the inactivity of the remote session.
Action: Click the Override Screen Saver icon on the Remote Management viewer toolbar. You might have to click the icon a few times till it overrides.
Possible Cause: Overriding the Screen Saver feature is not supported on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 device, and Windows 8.
Action: None.
Possible Cause: The screen saver might be interrupted if any mouse movements are sent to the managed device.
Action: Select the Block mouse move events option in the ZENworks Remote Management viewer options window to prevent the mouse movements from being sent to the managed device.
Possible Cause: The graphical identification and authentication (GINA) on the managed device is activated because of the interruption of the screen saver on the managed device.
Action: Log in to the managed device again.

Unable to launch a remote session on the managed device that is running on a very low color quality

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: You might not be able to launch Remote control, Remote View, or Remote Diagnostics session on a managed device that is running on a very low color quality (less than 8 bits per pixel (bpp)).
Action: Increase the color quality of the device to 16 bpp or higher by using the following procedure:

  1. Right-click the desktop.

  2. Click Properties.

  3. In the Display Properties window, click Settings.

  4. Select the appropriate color quality, then click OK.

Unable to launch the Remote Management viewer

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Possible Cause: The Remote Management viewer might not be launched if the Remote Management viewer executable file is deleted or renamed.
Action: Reinstall the Remote Management viewer by downloading the latest version of novell-zenworks-rm-viewer.msi from https://ZENworks_server_IPaddress/zenworks-remote-management.

The Remote Management Listener fails to accept the remote session requests from the managed device, if the port at which the listener binds is not opened in the management console firewall.

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Action: In the management console firewall, open the listener port.

Troubleshooting error messages encountered while using the Remote Management component

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Action: To troubleshoot the error messages encountered while using the Remote Management component, send the following log files to Novell Support:

  • WinVNCApp.log and WinVNC.log files for Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 device

  • WinVNC.log file for other managed devices

To access the log file:

  1. Open the Registry Editor.

  2. Go to HKLM\Software\Novell\ZCM\Remote Management\Agent.

  3. Create a DWORD called DebugLevel, and set the hexadecimal value to a (decimal value equals 10).

  4. Restart the Remote Management Service.

The following Remote Management log files are created under ZENworks_installation_directory\logs:

  • WinVNC.log

  • WinVNCApp.log

How do I enable Remote Management debug log on the device launching the ZENworks Control Center

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Action: To enable the logs, see TID 3418069

Install a new version of the Mirror driver

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Possible Cause: When you install the ZENworks Adaptive Agent on a Windows 2003 64-bit managed device, the Mirror driver is not installed on the device. The message Install new version of the Mirror driver is logged in ZENworks Control Center.

You can perform remote sessions on the device, but the performance slows down.

Action: Ignore this message.
Possible Cause: If you remotely control a device which is already connected using Remote Desktop Connection (RDP), the message Install new version of the Mirror driver is logged in ZENworks Control Center.

You can perform remote sessions on the device, but the performance slows down.

Action: Ignore this message.

The managed device was unable to initialize Novell encryption scheme for the session. Ensure that the managed device is UTC time synchronized with this system. If the problem persists, contact Novell Technical Services

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Possible Cause: The managed device has been upgraded or registered and this information might not be updated in the registry of the managed device.
Action: When the managed device is upgraded or registered, do the following:

  1. Update the domain name of the new CA certificate in the registry with the new details:

    Key: HKLM\Software\Novell\ZCM

    Value: CASubject

  2. Import the CA certificate of the new zone to the trusted root certificatestore.

  3. Remove the CA certificate of the old zone from the trusted root certificatestore.

Possible Cause: The managed device has been moved to a new Management Zone.
Action: Manage the device from the new Management Zone.

Blank screen option might fail to work while remote controlling a Windows device

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Possible Cause: The legacy drivers of Windows do not allow blank screen power option.
Action: You must install the system-specific graphics driver.

Unable to use the Ctrl-Alt-Del icon while remotely controlling a Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 device

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: If you launch a Remote Control operation on a Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 device that has User Account Control (UAC) disabled, the Ctrl-Alt-Del icon is dimmed.
Action: Either enable the UAC or perform the following steps to edit the Windows Group Policy settings:

  1. Click Start > Run.

  2. In the Run dialog box, specify gpedit.msc and click OK.

  3. In the Group Policy Editor, double-click Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Logon Options > Disable or enable software Secure Attention Sequence.

  4. In the Disable or enable software Secure Attention Sequence Window, click Enabled.

  5. In the Set which software is allowed to generate the Secure Attention Sequence option, select Services and Ease of Access applications.

  6. Click OK.

The default session mode is not selected in the Remote Management snap-in

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: If you use Internet Explorer to open ZENworks Control Center and perform a Remote Management operation on a device, the default session mode is not selected in the Remote Management snap-in. However, if you do not select any session mode, the Remote Control operation is launched in the default collaborate mode and the Remote View operation is launched in the default exclusive mode.
Action: Select the session mode to perform the Remote operation.

Installation of the Remote Management viewer might fail

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: The Remote Management viewer installation might fail. This error is inherent to the MSI framework.
Action: Perform either of the following steps:

  • Uninstall the Remote Management viewer by using Add/Remove Programs, then reinstall it

  • Use the Microsoft Windows Installer Cleanup Utility to clean up the application, then reinstall it. This utility can be downloaded from Microsoft Support

The Remote Management viewer fails to launch on a Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 device

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: On Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 device, the Remote Management viewer fails even though the security prompt is successfully completed.
Action: Add the server running ZENworks Control Center to the list of trusted sites in Internet Explorer and retry.

During the Remote Control session, clicking the Ctrl+Alt+Del icon in the Remote Management viewer might display the Secure Attention Sequence window without any controls

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Action: Click the Ctrl+Alt+Del icon in the Remote Management viewer, then press the Esc key to exit the Secure Attention Sequence (SAS) window. Then, click the Ctrl+Alt+Del icon again in the Remote Management viewer.

The desktop of a device might not be visible when you remotely control or remotely view the device

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: If you remotely control or remotely view a Windows XP or Windows 2003 device on which an RDP session was performed, you might see a black screen rather than the desktop of the device.
Action: To view the desktop of the device:

  1. Manually unlock the desktop.

  2. Reinitiate an RDP session on the console session of the device by running the following command:

    mstsc /console

Unable to remotely transfer files to restricted folders on a Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 device

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: If you launch a File Transfer operation to remotely transfer files to restricted folders on a Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 device that has User Account Control (UAC) enabled, the operation fails.
Action: Do the following to turn off User Account Control (UAC) on the Windows 7 device:

  1. Click Start > Control Panel > User Accounts > > Change User Account Control Settings.

  2. Slide the slider bar to the lowest value (towards Never Notify) with description displaying Never notify me.

  3. Click OK.

  4. Restart the device.

Do the following to turn off UAC on the Windows 10 device:

  1. Press Windows Key +R, type regedit

  2. Locate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\EnableLUA

  3. Update the EnableLUA value to 0

  4. Restart the device.

Unable to remotely control Remote Desktop Protocol session on Windows 8, Windows 7,Windows 2008, or Windows 2008 R2 devices

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management
Explanation: You cannot remotely control an RDP session on Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows 2008, or Windows 2008 R2 devices.
Possible Cause: The Windows architecture on these devices prevents desktop capture when an RDP session is active.
Action: There is no workaround for this issue.

Unable to remotely manage a Windows device after changing the network configuration

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: When you install the ZENworks Configuration Management Agent on Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows 2008, or Windows 2008 R2 devices, the Firewall exception for Remote Management is added by default to the network profile that is configured to the network connection during the Agent installation.If you change the current network profile, you might not be able to remotely control the device.
Possible Cause: Firewall exceptions are added only for the current network profile and not for all profiles.
Action: Manually add the Firewall exception for Remote Management for the new network profile.

The Lock/Unlock keyboard and mouse option causes problems on some remotely managed Windows devices

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: The Lock/Unlock keyboard and mouse menu bar option does not work on some of the remotely managed Windows devices.
Action: Disable this feature on problematic devices to prevent the remote operator from using this operation:

  1. Create the DisableLockKeyboardMouse DWORD and set it's value to more than zero in the following location:

    HKLM\Software\Novell\ZCM\Remote Management\Agent

  2. Restart the Remote Management service.

The Blank/Unblank Screen option causes problems on some remotely managed Windows devices

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: The Blank/Unblank Screen menu bar option does not work on some of the remotely managed Windows devices. This option might lead to side-effects such as high CPU utilization, abrupt system shutdown on some devices. This is caused by underlying hardware.
Action: Disable this feature on problematic devices to prevent the remote operator from using this operation:

  1. Create the DisableBlankScreen DWORD and set it's value to more than zero in the following location:

    HKLM\Software\Novell\ZCM\Remote Management\Agent

  2. Restart the Remote Management service.

A remote session might get disconnected on an attempt to switch a user logged on to a Windows managed device with wireless network connection

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: On a Windows managed device with wireless network connection, when you try switching to Switch User screen, Windows disconnects the wireless network in the background. This in turn causes an ongoing remote session to be disconnected.
Action: There is no workaround.

On a Windows managed device that has IE 10 or 11, Remote Management prompts for adding the IP of the ZENworks Primary Server to the trusted zone

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: Remote management on a Windows managed device that has Internet Explorer 10 or 11 prompts you to add the IP address of the ZENworks Primary Server to the trusted zone.
Possible Cause: The IP address of the ZEnworks Primary Server is not added to the trusted zone.
Action: Add the IP address of the ZENworks Primary Server to the list of trusted sites to avoid the prompt each time.

  1. Open Internet Explorer10 or 11

  2. On the Tools menu, select Internet Options> Security

  3. Click the Trusted Sites icon > Sites

  4. In the Trusted Sites dialog, enter the IP address of the ZENworks Primary Server

  5. Click Add > Close.

The File Transfer Window Crashes When You Repeatedly Scroll, Sort the List View, or Check the File Size

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: During the remote file transfer session, the File Transfer window crashes if you perform the following actions repeatedly:

  • Sort the files

  • Scroll the list of files

  • Check the size of files

Action: Relaunch the File Transfer window.

On a managed device that is remotely managed from ZENworks Control Center, Wallpaper might not be restored if the remote operator disconnects on the login screen

Source: ZENworks 11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: When you remote control a managed device from ZENworks Control Center, the wallpaper on the managed device’s desktop might not be displayed during the subsequent login, if you disconnect the remote session on the login screen.

After you logoff and end the remote session, the wallpaper should be visible during the next login.

Action: Logout and login from the user session until the Wallpaper is restored.

If users on the managed device are able to access ZENWORKS_HOME, they can execute the ZENWORKS_HOME\bin\nzrWallpaper.exe file to restore the wallpaper.

The ZENworks RM Viewer appears tilted if you remote control a tablet device which is tilted

Source: ZENworks11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: If you launch a remote control session from ZENworks Control Center to a tablet device when it is tilted, the ZENworks RM Viewer is also tilted. As a result, you cannot view the screen properly.
Action: Ensure that the screen of the tablet device is not tilted during the remote session.

Unable to launch connection to a ZENworks managed device through some of the third-party viewers

Source: ZENworks11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: If you try to launch connection to a ZENworks managed device through some of the third-party viewers, the connection fails.
Workaround: Use one of the following:

  • Standalone ZENworks remote management viewer

  • TightVNC or UltraVNC third-party viewer

The visible signal might not appear on a remote controlled managed device that includes Windows 8.1 operating system

Source: ZENworks11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management
Explanation: When you remote control a managed device on which Windows 8.1 is installed, you might not see the visible signal in the top right-hand corner.
Action: Restart either the Remote Management Service or the managed device.

The status entry of an uninstalled Mirror driver is not automatically removed from the Device Manager

Source: ZENworks11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management
Explanation: On 64-bit Windows devices, the Mirror driver entry created in Device Manager during installation is not removed automatically when you uninstall a Mirror driver.

If you try to reinstall a mirror driver at a later time, you will find multiple entries created in the Device Manager; some with the status as Working while the others with the status as Not working. Next time when you try to install a Mirror driver, multiple entries with the status as working or not working are created in Device Manager. The Mirror driver icon appears corrupted.

Action: During the Mirror driver uninstall, manually delete the Not working status entries in the Device Manager.

Unable to perform remote operations on a Tablet device after clicking the blank screen menu option

Source: ZENworks11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: After launching a remote connection to a Tablet device if you click the Blank screen menu option on the remote management viewer, you might not be able to perform remote operations further. The tablet device is sometimes not restored to the original state even after clicking the Unblank screen menu option.
Workaround: None
Action: It is recommended that you reboot the Tablet device to restore it to the original state.

Unable to perform remote operations on a linux managed device because the device’s RM port is not added as a firewall exception

Source: ZENworks11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: You cannot remote control a managed device on which Linux is installed, if the devices’s remote management port is not added as an exception in the firewall settings of the Linux managed device.
Action: Do one of the following:

  • To allow remote connection through a configured port, manually add an exception for the port in the firewall settings of the managed device

  • For multiple devices, create a bundle with a script, which adds the port as an exception in the firewall settings. Assign the bundle to the devices.

Applications installed beyond a specific limit are not visible in the RM diagnostics applications toolbar

Source: ZENworks11; ZENworks Configuration Management; Remote Management.
Explanation: By default, four applications are listed in the RM Diagnostics Applications toolbar. When a ZENworks user adds more than 20 Applications, only the Applications in the first row of the toolbar are visible. The icons of the remaining Applications are not displayed in the RM Diagnostics toolbar.
Action: It is recommended that you install upto10-15 applications only. However, the display of Application icons also depends on the configured resolution of the session.