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Troubleshooting WSUS 3.0 SP2 on Windows ServerPrajwal Desai

Troubleshooting WSUS 3.0 SP2 on Windows Server – In the post we will see steps totroubleshoot WSUS 3.0 SP2 related issues. We will see the most common issues related toWSUS 3.0 SP2 and their resolution. In the previous posts we have seen Installation,Conf iguration, Managing the WSUS 3.0 SP2. Bef ore we start troubleshooting WSUS issues, letstake a look at some of the log f iles created by WSUS server.

WSUS Log Files -WSUS setup creates the f ollowing f our log f iles that can help you diagnose problemswith setup. These log f iles are located in the %temp% f older of the user who installed the WSUS sof tware.

WSUSSetup.log: The status of each of the component installations that are perf ormed duringWSUS setup is logged to this f ile. You can check this log to see whether any component installationf ailed. If you see a f ailure, check the corresponding log to see what went wrong during theinstallation of that component.

WSUSSetupMsi_timestamp.log: This log f ile is generated by MSI f or WSUS component setup.Bef ore it invokes custom or standard actions, Windows Installer logs that inf ormation to this f ile.The return values f rom the custom actions are also logged in this f ile.

WSUSCa_timestamp.log: This log f ile is used by custom actions. Errors that occurred whileexecuting any custom actions in WSUS component or BITS setup are logged in this f ile.

WSUSWyukonSetup_timestamp.log: This is the log f ile f or Windows Internal Database setup. AllWindows Internal Database installation and uninstallation inf ormation is logged in this f ile.

Apart f rom these log f iles, there are 2 more log f iles that are really important. These log f iles are located inWSUSInstallationdrive\LogFiles\.

Change.log – When any change or modif ication is done to the WSUS server, the changes are logged in

this f ile. It also provides inf ormation about the WSUS server database inf ormation that has changed.

SoftwareDistribution.log – Provides inf ormation about the sof tware updates that are synchronized f romthe conf igured update source to the WSUS server database.

Important Note – Microsof t has released an update KB2734608 f or WSUS 3.0 SP2. This update letsservers that are running Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 SP2 provide updates to computersthat are running Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012. The update can be downloaded f rom here.

This update f ixes the f ollowing issues:

Installation of update 2720211 may f ail if Service Pack 2 was previously uninstalled and then

reinstalled.

Af ter you install update 2720211, health monitoring may f ail if the WSUS server is conf igured touse SSL.

Common issues related to WSUS 3.0 Sp2 and troubleshooting :

1) WSUS Client Computers are not installing Updates – If the WSUS client computers are not installingupdates, then check the DCOM conf iguration. On the client machine, click on Start, Run, type “dcomcnfg”(without quotes), Component Services window will appear. In the lef t pane under Console Root, expandComponent Services, expand Compoters, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. Click theDefault Properties tab. Make sure that EnableDistributed COM on this computer is selected andDefault Impersonation Level is set to Identify.

2) Client Computers Not reporting toWSUS Server :- If you have conf iguredclient computers f or a particular WSUSserver, but they have not reported over aperiod of days, use the f ollowingprocedures to isolate and repair theproblem

First check the connectivity between theclient computer and WSUS server. Youcan use the ping utility to checkconnectivity.

Contact the WSUS HTTP server by providing the servername:port number. open the Internet Explorerand type http://wsusservername:portnumber. You must see the IIS version on the page.

Verif y the existence of the self -update tree. In an Internet Explorer address bar, type:http://WSUSServerName/selfupdate/wuident.cab. If the WSUS server is f unctioning properly, you shouldsee a File Download window that asks you whether to open or save the f ile. If you don’t see any download

windows then ref er to this Microsof t Article here.

Troubleshoot the Automatic Update client – On the client computer, run the command prompt asadministrator, type the f ollowing registry query – reg queryHKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsof t\Windows\WindowsUpdate

WUServer REG_SZ http://WSUSServerName

WUStatusServer REG_SZ http://WSUSServerName

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsof t\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

If you don’t f ind the above output or if the query returns the error, “The system was unable to f ind thespecif ied registry key or value,” Automatic Update has not been conf igured on this computer.

Resetting the Automatic Update client :- You can try resetting the automatic update client on the clientmachine. Open the command prompt on the client machine, type the command – wuauclt .exe/resetauthorization /detectnow. Wait f or 10 minutes f or detection cycle to complete.

Issues related to BITS – Background Intelligent Transf er Service (BITS) is the service that is used byWSUS to download updates f rom Microsof t Update to the main WSUS server, and f rom WSUS servers totheir client computers. BITS also supports the transf er of f iles between peer computers in a domain.

To check whether BITS is running, on the WSUS machine open the command prompt and type the commandSC QUERY BITS (can be in lowercase also). We see in the output that BITS is running.

If the BITS Service is not running, then the output should look like this. Note that the STATE is STOPPED.

You can start or stop the BITS using the commands “SC START BITS” or “SC STOP BITS“.