WSUS Client Problems

[sidewinder]

This is driving me mad now

A year or so ago, I set up our first WSUS server, it worked fine and all clients synched and updated from it. When that server was replaced in the summer, I did a fresh install on another server. Since then, ive only been able to get about half (400) of the computers to register themselves in the console.
Ive even tried installing it on another server and the exact same thing happens.

The weird thing is, its not a random half of the computers, with the odd exception, its a whole set/room of laptops/pc's that either are or arent detected.
For instance one of our IT suites, not a single PC from in there has registered itself. Yet a room down the corridor, every one has done it.
GPO's are applying to all, they are set at an OU that contains every single client machine.

I can only assume, as whole rooms arent beign detected, that its something thats different on various images. Ive checked the WSUS client versions, and some of the ones that wont register have higher versions than some that do, so its not that they are out of date.

I will, over easter, be working my way through all the suggestions on www.wsuswiki.com but it looks like a lot of work, so before then I thought Id ask here to see if anyone has had a similar problem...

[mattx]

Have you checked the windowsupdate.log file for anything obvious ?

[mortstar]

When the machines are imaged are new SIDs created?

Via GhostWalker, Sysprep, NewSID etc...

[Michael]

When you installed WSUS on your new server, you mentioned you updated your GPOs, but have you double checked them?

[strawberry]

have you checked the services running on the clients? i know BITS and OSE are both required for wsus. Failing that are the clients at least sp1?

[Dos_Box]

I've had this many times. It is mainly due to new SIDs not being recreated in the WSUS registry entries when you image systems. Use the attached file to remove the incorrect registry entries and then reboot. The WSUS clients should then create their correct SID entry from scratch and register themselves.

[sidewinder]

Thanks DB, I will give that a try
I was thinking it might be something to do with SIDs, we do use Sysprep on every image though...

Thanks all above as well. I will check the services, all clients are SP2, and when I last checked the logs on some machines there was nothing obvious at all, it all looked like it was working ok, which confused me even more
And GPO's are double, triple checked, after originally I forgot to change one and wondered why hardly anything was registering on the new server

[Dos_Box]

I use sysprep too. Apparently it does not reliably re-write the WSUS entries.

[sidewinder]

Legend! thankyou
Tested it on a few and they've registered in the console almost straight away
Trying it on a whole suite now as a startup script

This is one of those problems that Ive been putting off and putting off, and to solve it (hopefully) so quickly has made me very happy!

[Geoff]

I use sysprep too. Apparently it does not reliably re-write the WSUS entries.

My understanding was that support for WSUS ID's was only added in later versions of sysprep. Thus you just needed to grab the latest version from Microsoft to fix this.

[Michael]

Glad this is fixed For everyone's reference, when multiple machines are using the same WSUS SID, you'll find machines will appear then disappear from the WSUS console.

[Dos_Box]

Legend! thankyou
Tested it on a few and they've registered in the console almost straight away
Trying it on a whole suite now as a startup script

This is one of those problems that Ive been putting off and putting off, and to solve it (hopefully) so quickly has made me very happy!

I', glad it helped. It took me 2 days of digging to get the correct solution.

[Newton]

Have to recommend ClientDiag.exe, not sure you can still get it from MS because it was used with WSUS 2 but it still works with WSUS 3