Windows System Assessment Scan fails with Exit Code 5

Products

• Patch Management Solution for Windows

Issue/Introduction

Found the Windows System Assessment Scan (WSAS) is failing to complete intermittently on Clients with Exit Code: 5

Drilled down to the directory on the SMP Server: C:\Program Files\Altiris\Altiris Agent\Agents\SoftwareManagement\Software Delivery\{6D417916-467C-46A7-A870-6D86D9345B61}\cache and found that the STPatchAssessment.xml file is not being gererated/updated.

Reviewed the STPatchAssessment.log file in this same directory; found the following entry: MultiMachineScanner.cpp:1247 Error in patchScanEngine::CMultiMachineScanner::TargetMachineScanComplete: class STCore::CArgumentException at XmlDomAttribute.h:46: '': parameter name: 'value'

Application exception caught: Assessment result is empty

Message='Assessment result is empty' (ExitCode=5)

Environment

Patch Management Solution for Windows 7-5 through 8.5

Microsoft Windows, mulitple operating systems

Cause

Multiple causes can result in an exit code 5:

1. Flash is installed and/or flash is not patched at a current level - seen on Windows 2008 servers
2. The scan engine verified the InstalledBy but not the InstalledDate which returned a NULL value for the data and caused the System Scan to fail.
3. Trial versions of OSs.

 

 

Resolution

Cause 1 - Flash is installed.

• Verify flash components are or are not present through Programs and Features and in these folders:
  • C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\flash
  • C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\flash
• Uninstall or upgrade to the latest version

Case 2 - Faulty scan engine

• This issue was resolved in PMImport download v7.2.8 released on 3/21/2017.

Cause 3 - Trial OS

• We do not support trial versions of OSs for assessment scans.