Commonly raised issues

Network storage

Q: Is it possible to use the same Network storage in both TSD and TNI?

A: No, this is not recommended. Although the TSD network storage has the same format as the TNI storage, we strongly recommend that you use them separately. Opening a TNI storage in TSD and vice versa can lead to unexpected errors and data loss.

Q: Is it possible to look up which software versions are installed on computers in the Network storage?

A: Yes, it’s possible. Please use the Assistant. Detailed information on how to use the Assistant can be found in this section.

Software storage

Q: What should I do if the installer consists of more than one file?

A: Please see the following section: Software tree – Altering the Software storage structure – Adding software.

Selecting a method for recording & deployment

Silent

Q: When should I use the Silent installation method?

A: Most modern installation packages support the silent installation mode. In this mode programs install without user interaction: all processes perform automatically.
This mode is enabled (in most cases) by adding parameters to the command line of the executable. Setting a few parameters may be required to achieve the desired result.
Silent Installation is the most preferable method to use.

Q: In which cases is it not possible to use the Silent method to create deployment packages?

A: Most modern installation packages support the silent installation mode, yet there are exceptions:

• Online downloaders may have parameters that allow the downloader to operate without user intervention, but at the same time the downloadable installation package is either run without any options or the downloader’s parameters are not compatible with it;
• Self-extracting archives may have parameters that allow the downloader to extract the contents without user intervention, but at the same time they may not be designed to make the installation package run with the required parameters;
• Installation packages where silent installation is either not supported or intentionally disabled during package creation.

Q: Could TSD incorrectly determine the type of the installer, or, when TSD does determine the type correctly, could the silent installation keys still fail to be compatible (installation requiring user interaction)?

A: Yes, it is possible. In order to verify that the type of the installer has been determined correctly, you must use the Test run (local) option. If the installer requires user interaction to install a program, then the specified parameter package is not compatible with the installer.

Q: What should I do if TSD could not determine the type of the installer automatically, but I know either the type of the installer or which parameter to use for the silent installation?

A: In the former case, you can manually select the type of installer from the list, and then TSD will provide the necessary parameters for the silent installation. In the latter case, input the silent installation parameters manually. In any case, we recommend you use a Test run (local) to ensure successful deployment.

Q: What if I don’t have the silent installation parameters for certain software, and the default ones suggested by TSD are not working?

We recommend contacting the software developer or publisher. When this is not an option, try searching for the parameters needed for silent (or unattended) installation on the Internet or contact us for help. For example, you can find the official list of MSI property parameters here.
If the developer has not supplied the silent installation parameters, try using the other deployment methods.

Q: Can I create a deployment package if my installer installs silently without any parameters?

A: Yes, you can. In this case, you should use the Use empty command line option. Then TSD will not add any parameters to the command line of the executable when deploying remotely.

Q: What should I do if I selected the type of the installer manually, and now I cannot recall what type was initially determined by TSD?

A: You can use the Redetermine the installer type button, then Set default command line for the silent install. The program will redetermine the installer type and offer you a minimal parameter string for silent installation.

Q: Why do you recommend not to execute the installation package from a batch file?

A: It’s not prohibited, but because of the difficulties in tracking the execution status of such a package, the information about the deployment process will often be wrong, and we cannot guarantee that this package will be deployed successfully.

Q: What should I do if I need to execute a few CMD commands before and after the installer?

A: Create a new deployment package with a batch file, add the installer, and if necessary, another batch file as Add-ons.For more information, see Add-ons.

Q: What should I do if I need to execute a few CMD commands before and after the installer, but the installer is multi-file?

A: Create two deployment packages: one with a batch file, and the other with the multi-file installer. If necessary, add a batch file to the 2nd package as an Add-on. Before deployment, add the 2 packages to the Software deployment list in the correct order in which they should be executed on the remote computer. For more information, see Add-ons.

Q: What should I do if I can’t use the Silent method to create a deployment package?

A: Try using other methods offered by TSD (Macro, System shot).

Macro

Q: When should I use the Macro method?

A: This method is suitable for most software with a standard installation wizard.

Q: In which cases is it not possible to use the Macro method?

A: Software vendors may develop their own installer, also using their own controls, which can imitate the look and behavior of a number of standard controls. The macro will not recognize the changes in such controls. Also, ads may be displayed in the installer. They may change over time and cause problems during deployment. TSD keeps track of the user’s interaction with such control elements and displays the following error message: “During the macro recording you have interacted with nonstandard control(s) which are not compatible with the Macro method”. In such a case, remote deployment will be impossible.

Q: What should I do if, after using the Macro method, TSD displays a message that interaction with non-standard control elements has occurred?

A: Try to create the deployment package again without interacting with such controls. If it’s not possible, try another method.

Q: When do I have to select the Macro method?

A: This method has no significant advantages over Silent and is only recommended for use when, for whatever reason, silent installation is impossible.

Q: What should I do if I can’t use the Macro method to create a deployment package?

A: You can always try using other methods offered by TSD.

System shot

Q: When can I use the System shot method?

A: This method is suitable for small software. We recommend using this method only if you’re an advanced user and when the other two methods cannot be used.

Q: In which cases is it not possible to use the System shot method?

A: You are strongly discouraged from using this method for the deployment of drivers, codecs, system utilities, and libraries.

Q: Is it possible that a package recorded using System shot and deployed remotely will not work?

A: Yes, it’s possible. Sometimes, if the target system architecture is different from the architecture of the system where the deployment package was created, conflicts may appear. This occurs due to some differences in the registry structure between x64 and x86 architectures.

Scan questions

Access is denied

Q: How do I deal with the errors “Access is denied” or “Unknown user name or bad password”?

A: These errors can occur for several reasons:

• Username or password is specified incorrectly.

Check your username and password.

• The specified user account does not have administrator rights on the remote machine.

You need to have administrator access to remote computers to be able to scan them (local administrator or domain administrator rights). If you have logged on as a domain administrator or remote computers have the same name and password for the local administrator account as your account, you can use the Current user scan option. Otherwise specify the user name in full format: DOMAIN\Administrator.

• Blank password.

Remote administrator access with a blank password is not allowed starting with Windows XP.

• The scanned computer has Windows XP Home Edition installed.

This version of Windows cannot be scanned remotely. It’s an OS limitation, and the Access denied error will be displayed at all times. However, it’s possible to scan XP Home locally by running the standalone audit tool tniwinagent.exe (located in the program’s installation folder) on that machine. It’ll generate an .inv file with scan results, which should be copied to the program’s Storage (it will be imported upon TSD’s next launch or immediately, if TSD is running) or imported by using the Storage main menu or any group’s context menu.

• Computers are not in the domain and have default settings.

Workstations running Windows XP, Vista, or later client versions and not connected to a domain don’t allow the local administrator to authenticate as himself by default. Instead, the ForceGuest policy is used, which means that all remote connections are mapped to the Guest account. But again, the administrator rights are required for running the scan. Thus, you need to update the security policy on each computer using one of the following ways:

• Run secpol.msc, expand Local policies / Security options, locate the Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts policy, and change its value from Guest to Classic;
• Disable the Use simple file sharing option in File Explorer’s Folder Options;
• Modify the registry: set the forceguest value, located in the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa” key, to zero.

For Windows client versions starting with Vista, an additional step should be taken: it concerns the User Account Control (UAC). It restricts administrator rights for remote logons in certain cases. You should either disable UAC or make changes to the registry: create a DWORD parameter (name: LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy; value: 1) in the “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\system” key. A reboot may be required.

You can modify both settings easily by running a .reg file with the following contents on such computers (omit the last two lines for Windows XP):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa]
"forceguest"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\system]
"LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy"=dword:00000001

Port numbers

Q: How can I find which port numbers are used by TSD, so that I can configure the firewall?

A: TSD uses the SMB protocol to scan Windows computers. It can be allowed by enabling the File and Printer Sharing exception in the Windows Firewall or TCP port 445 in other firewalls. You could also enable TCP port 139 (NetBIOS) for older systems.

TCP/IP security limit

Q: How do I deal with the following warning: “TCP/IP has reached the security limit imposed on the number of concurrent TCP connect attempts”?

A: This warning may appear when you run the network scan under Windows XP SP2/SP3 or Windows Vista SP0/SP1 with port scan enabled. In these operating systems, a controversial limitation of not more than 10 concurrent TCP connect attempts (“half-open connections”) has been introduced by Microsoft to reduce the speed with which malicious software spreads over the networks. When you see this message in the scanner log, it means that the program detects that some computers have no open ports and there is an event with ID 4226 (source: Tcpip) in the system Event Log with the same message. As a consequence of reaching the aforementioned limitation, the program cannot reliably detect whether ports on computers are open or not. That’s why the program starts to ignore the port scan results and connects to all computers using all selected protocols to provide successful scans. This policy remains active during the current session, that is, until the next program restart. To avoid this warning you can do the following:

• Disable the Scan ports option in the Scanner settings. Note that this will decrease the network scan performance;
• Patch your system using the widely known patch by LvlLord or this patch (based on the former). However, note that this is illegal according to the Windows EULA;
• Run TNI on the system that is not affected by this limitation: Windows Server 2000/2003/2008, Windows 2000, Vista SP2, or Windows 7.

No network provider accepted the given network path

Q: How to fix the following error: “No network provider accepted the given network path”?

A: Take the following steps:

1. Make sure that you can ping the remote computer by network name;
2. Make sure that the File and Printer Sharing exception is enabled in the Windows Firewall (or that NetBIOS is allowed in any other firewall), or the firewall is disabled;
3. Make sure that both Client for Microsoft Networks and File and Printer Sharing For Microsoft Networks are enabled in the properties of the network connection on the remote computer;
4. Make sure that the NetBIOS over TCP/IP setting in the properties of the network connection (Internet Protocol Version 4 – Properties – Advanced – WINS) is set to Default or Enabled and that the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service is set to Automatic and started;
5. Make sure that the Network security: LAN Manager authentication level security policy (secpol.msc – Local Policies – Security Options) is set to Send LM & NTLM responses (option #1) or Send LM & NTLM responses – use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated (option #2);
6. Run sfc /scannow.

Call was canceled by the message filter

Q: How can I fix the “Call was canceled by the message filter” error?

A: Take the following steps:

1. Run services.msc on the remote computer and make sure that the Windows Management Instrumentation service is set to Automatic and started;
2. Make sure that DCOM is enabled: run dcomcnfg, select Component Services – Computers – My Computer, right-click, choose Properties, open the Default Properties tab, and make sure that Enable Distributed COM on this computer is on;
3. Restart the remote computer;
4. Run the WMI diagnosis utility from Microsoft;
5. Follow these tips to repair WMI on the remote computer.

Deployment questions

Errors when adding deployment tasks

Q: How can I resolve the error: “application has no bitness specified”?

A: This message will appear if software bitness has not been set when creating a software deployment package. Go to the Software editor and set bitness in the passport. More information about bitness can be found in the Program bitness section.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “The [silent|macro|system shot] file is of unknown version”?

A: This error occurs when a package created in a newer version of TSD is being deployed using an old version. To solve the problem, update to the latest version of TSD. On the other hand, new versions of TSD support older version packages.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “The recorded macro file contains interactions with controls not compatible with the macro”?

A: The error is caused by user interaction with a control incompatible with the Macro method. You can see the incompatible control in the Macro editor: it will be highlighted on the screenshot. If it’s possible, try re-recording the method without using this control; if the error doesn’t disappear, then it’s most likely that this installer is not supported by the Macro method. Try using other deployment methods: Silent or System shot.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “Some parameters string(s) in the silent method have not been filled”?

A: The error occurs when a Silent package is added to the Software deployment list, and one or several parameter strings are not set. Open this package in the Software editor and make sure the parameter fields are filled in for the software and any add-ons. Tick Use empty command line for each software or add-on which do not require any parameters.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “this asset has neither a network name nor an IP address specified” or “this asset has no IP address specified”?

A: One of the nodes moved to the Deployment targets list has no IP address set. In Options, set the Handling of dynamic IP addresses setting to option #1 or #2, then ping the computer and make sure it’s the correct deployment target.

Deployment errors

Q: I use TNI storage, and when trying to deploy to one of my scanned nodes, I get the following error: “Remote service manager error: Access is denied”. What’s the problem?

A: This problem may occur if you’re using Active Directory. TNI uses 2 protocols to scan the network: SMB and RPC. SMB is the principal method of scanning. However, if an access error occurs, TNI will scan using the backup option that is RPC, for which having domain user privileges will be sufficient. Deploying software using the RPC protocol is impossible, therefore RPC scanning is disabled. The same SMB protocol is used for deployment, but domain administrator privileges are required.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “For correct deployment, the target user must be logged in on the remote computer and his session must be active”?

A: This error can occur if “Current user” is selected as the installation context, but the remote computer has no active sessions during deployment.

For more about this setting, see the Installation context section.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “Error creating remote service: The specified service has been marked for deletion” or “Creating remote service error: Overlapped I/O operation is in progress”?

A: The main causes of such issues:

• Opened Process Explorer (SysInternals);
• Opened Task Manager;
• Opened MMC;
• Opened Event Viewer;
• An instance of Visual Studio using the debugging service.

If you cannot accurately determine the cause, we advise you to restart the target node and repeat the deployment.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “While copying a file an error has occurred. The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.”?

A: This error occurs because the installer process was not shut down when this software was last deployed to the same computer, and presently TSD cannot copy the installer to the temporary directory on the remote computer because the installer file left from the previous deployment is busy. We recommend either rebooting or remotely connecting to the computer in order to kill the installer process.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “Silent installation was terminated due to timeout. The command line parameters or the timeout value may be inappropriate”?

A: This error occurs when the deployment of the software is not complete within the allotted timeout. Here are the possible causes and how to deal with them:

• The command line parameters used are unsuitable for silent installation in this case. To make sure the parameters are correct, first perform a Test run (locally).
• The target computer is low-power and/or under heavy load, which slows the software deployment, and the specified timeout is not enough to complete the deployment. To solve this problem, when setting a timeout, consider the possible scenarios that could affect deployment on the target computer.
• External factors on the target computer – such as no Internet connection or absence of a system package (VC++ Redistributable, .NET Framework, etc.) – will impede deployment even when the parameters are correct. To resolve this issue, contact tech support for the software and find out what packages are required for installation.

More about waiting for the installation process to complete: in the Timeout section here.

Q: What does this message mean: “The installer’s process has finished. To be sure that deployments finish successfully, specify the verification file in the software passport”?

A: During deployment, TSD only monitors the installer’s process itself on the target computer. This means that the deployment log may report no errors even if the process finished correctly, but has not in fact installed anything. We recommend using the verification file setting to further verify if the deployment was successful. In the Software passport, specify the path to one of the files that should be installed. If this file is missing after deployment, a warning message will appear in the deployment log.

Possible causes of incorrect installation include loss of Internet connection, absence of a system package (VC++ Redistributable, .NET Framework, etc.), and an error in command line parameters. To analyze the problem, perform a Test run (locally) from the Software editor, and then if the problem is still not evident, try installing the software manually on a remote computer both without CMD parameters and with the parameters set in TSD.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “The configuration.xml file was not found. Please check file existence”?

A: This error can occur when deploying MS Office to a remote node, but the configuration file is missing from the Software storage. To resolve the problem, edit the Office package (the file will be automatically created once the editor is opened), modify the configuration file if necessary, and repeat deployment.

Q: Why didn’t my Macro package deploy to the remote computer? It was recorded correctly!

A: This scenario is possible if the program you’re trying to deploy is already installed there, and the installer may be offering you to uninstall the program instead. Also, in another environment, the installer may have a different set of steps. Thus, certain steps in which actions were recorded may be missing during playback, or new unrecorded steps may appear.

Q: What can I do if a package was recorded correctly using the Macro method, but one of the following errors occurs: “Cannot find the installer window. You can take a look at the last screenshot of the installer window” or “Cannot find the installer window. Services are non-interactive on the remote computer”?

A: Deployment history will in most cases contain a link to a screenshot of the installer screen when the macro ceased playback (Deployment log will also contain the link.) The same entry will also contain a Software editor link to the action that stopped the playback. If the package is rerecorded, those links will become obsolete and be deleted. To accurately determine the reason why the necessary screen cannot be found during playback, compare the screenshot taken during the deployment with the one taken during the recording.

The TSD service can’t take a screenshot if services are non-interactive. In order to make them interactive, do the following:

• Open regedit on the remote computer and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows;
• Change the NoInteractiveServices registry key to 0.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “Installer process(es) terminated due to timeout.”?

A: This error will occur during deployment using the Macro method if the macro playback is over, but the installer process remains running until the 10-minute timeout has elapsed. Such a scenario will most often occur if the macro was recorded on a computer where the same program is already installed or if installer processes are monitored incorrectly according to its settings. For more information about waiting for installer child processes, see Monitoring installer processes in the Macro section.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “Cannot find the installer window. The installer process on the remote computer no longer exists, therefore, it’s not possible to obtain a screenshot of the installer’s last screen”?

A: This error will occur during deployment using the Macro method if the installer has closed before playing back all the recorded actions. To resolve this problem, make sure that the software is compatible with the target operating system and that the same steps are needed to install the software on the target machine as on the one where the package was recorded.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “Services are non-interactive on the remote computer; therefore, deployment of MSI files using the Macro method is impossible”?

A: Microsoft Installer is based on a client-server principle. MSI Installer’s client is responsible for the user interface and for collecting information through user interaction, while its server is directly responsible for installation. When services are non-interactive during remote installation, MSI’s client considers itself incapable of drawing the interface and closes immediately, and therefore the TSD service won’t find the expected installer window to interact with. In order to deploy MSI files, use the Silent method or enable interactive services on the remote computer.

In order to make services interactive, do the following:

• Open regedit on the remote computer and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows;
• Change the NoInteractiveServices registry key to 0.

Q: What can I do if the following warning appeared during deployment: “TSD Service is already running. Abort?”?

A: One possible cause for this warning is the TSD service still running on the target computer following the previous deployment because the installer process itself is hanging or still running. In order to continue with the current deployment, the hung TSD service has to be stopped. Another cause could be current software deployment to the same computer using another copy of TSD. In this situation, you must wait until the deployment is complete.

Q: What can I do if the following error message appeared when attempting to deploy a valid batch file: “Batch file process was started, but finished with error: “interpreter cmd.exe could not process the batch commands”.

A: Make sure that the script file and its parameters do not contain any network paths that the target machine might not have access to. For more information about network paths in script files, see Silent execution of script files.

MSI deployment and uninstallation

Q: What are the possible causes behind “Fatal error during installation”?

A: This error can occur for several reasons:

• Software doesn’t support the target OS.

Make sure that the program you’re trying to deploy can be installed on the operating system currently running on the remote computer.

• Installation prerequisites missing.

Check whether all the libraries that are required by the program (vcredist x86, x64, .NET Framework, etc.) are already installed on the remote computer.

• Security policy “Prohibit User Installs” enabled.

If the program only supports per-user installation, then the Prohibit User Installs security policy will prevent installation. Disable this policy for the duration of the deployment.

• Software is already installed.

Make sure that the program isn’t already installed on this computer. If you’re trying to update the program, uninstalling the old version beforehand may help.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “To uninstall the program, a system may request elevation of privileges. The current user has standard privileges”?

A: This error may occur if the program was installed in the per-user context. Therefore, to uninstall it, the same user’s context is required. However, the user does not have administrator rights to perform the uninstallation, and they can’t be granted to the MSI service remotely. To prevent this error, deploy and install software in the per-machine context (for all users). See here for more about the installation context.

Q: How can I resolve the error: “Cannot install program. Invalid command line argument. Consult the Windows Installer SDK for detailed command line help”?

A: Check the parameters in the Silent command line as they may contain errors. If MSI is the installer type, make sure that command-line options (for example, /s) are not used. Starting with TSD 2, MSI deployment no longer supports this format. Please only add properties as parameters, in the following manner: NAME_PROPERTY=Value_Property.

Java Installer deployment

Q: I’m trying to deploy Java using the configuration file, but it comes to nothing. Am I doing something wrong?

A: A number of errors in Java Installer versions 8.0–8.102 may prevent normal deployment of Java Runtime Environment and Java Development Kit on target computers. One problem is with the INSTALLCFG command line parameter which only accepts the absolute path to the configuration file. So, it accepts neither a network path nor a relative path (i.e. if the configuration file is in the installer folder).

The best solution available at this time is provided below:

• Create a batch file with the following content:
  for /f "Tokens=3*" %%I in ('reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Common AppData"') DO set CommonAppData=%%J
IF NOT EXIST "%CommonAppData%\Oracle\Java" MKDIR "%CommonAppData%\Oracle\Java"
IF NOT EXIST "%CommonAppData%\Oracle\Java\java.settings.cfg" @ECHO INSTALL_SILENT=1>"%CommonAppData%\Oracle\Java\java.settings.cfg"
• Before adding the batch file into TSD, place it into a separate folder and copy the Java installation configuration file into this folder.
• Also, add a command to the batch file to copy the configuration file into an existing folder on the target computer. Keep in mind that the configuration file will be copied along with the batch file to the target computer during deployment; i.e. both files will be placed in the same folder.
• Add the batch file to TSD as a multi-file installer; select the folder that contains the two files.
• In the Software editor, add the Java installer as an add-on, and set the path to the folder containing the configuration file (i.e. the folder where the configuration file will be copied by the batch file)in the command line parameter INSTALLDIR.
• Add another batch file as an add-on to delete the configuration file that was copied.

Q: I’ve added parameters from the configuration file to the Java command line, but during deployment nothing happens on the target computer even though TSD reports successful deployment. What can be done?

A: Due to an error in the Java installer, when it’s run as System (and that is the way during remote deployment), it cannot create the temporary configuration file. See the solution:

• Add a batch file with the following content to TSD:
  for /f "Tokens=3*" %%I in ('reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Common AppData"') DO set CommonAppData=%%J
IF NOT EXIST "%CommonAppData%\Oracle\Java" MKDIR "%CommonAppData%\Oracle\Java"
IF NOT EXIST "%CommonAppData%\Oracle\Java\java.settings.cfg" @ECHO INSTALL_SILENT=1 AUTO_UPDATE=0>"%CommonAppData%\Oracle\Java\java.settings.cfg"
• In the Software editor, add the Java installer as an add-on.

Q: Can I uninstall an old version of Java using your program?

A: Yes, however, it will be necessary to find out the name of the old version of Java on the target computer. Create a batch file similar to the example and specify the exact name of the version that should be uninstalled between the single quotation marks:

wmic product where "name = 'Java 8 Update 66'" call uninstall /nointeractive
wmic product where "name = 'Java SE Development Kit 8 Update 66'" call uninstall /nointeractive