Repair / reinstall / uninstall a Task Server agent manually

Products

• Deployment Solution
• IT Management Suite
• Client Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

How to repair / reinstall / uninstall a Task Server agent manually?

Environment

ITMS 8.x

Resolution

There are two methods to work around this issue.  One is to remove the agent completely and all files, then re-push the agent.  The policy for tracking the installation of the task server should be removed.  However, this should NOT be done on the NS (because the agent should never be removed from the NS), and is the hard way to solve the problem.

The recommended method is to reinstall the Client Task Server manually, as follows (the following steps can in fact be performed on the NS and any other site server):

1. Locate the executable for the installation:
   • \\<NSServerName>\NSCap\bin\win64\x64\ClientTaskManagement\ServerPackage\TaskServerSetup_x64.exe  OR find the .exe on the Package Server.
   • Location of the .exe on NS is: C:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\NSCap\bin\Win64\x64\Client Task Management\Server Package
2. Run the package and agree to all the license prompts
3. Choose "Custom Install"
   • If prompted to or given the option to Repair, we'd recommend a full removal rather than a repair.  Please follow the instructions below for that.
4. On the list of install options, there are 2 items.  Click the top option and select to install all so that all subcomponents are added.  For the HTTP service, make sure it is not installed.
5. When this is complete, task server should now be functioning.
   
   Note:
   If you need to install the Task Services manually, the following is an example of what you could run from the command prompt. 'Task Service Install (x64)' command line:
   '"C:\Program Files\Altiris\Altiris Agent\Agents\SoftwareManagement\Software Delivery\{840EC827-DBEF-43D7-A3E5-71E96CA4944B}\cache\TaskServerSetup_x64.exe" -a /ALL:a /qb REBOOT=ReallySuppress /a NSURL="http://smpserver.domain.com/Altiris/" /s true /r false'
   
   

Optional: Complete Removal

Sometimes, we've found that a removal may be necessary to clean up files prior to a reinstallation.  If so, please do the following:

1. Run the setup for the product, found here: \NSCap\bin\win64\x64\ClientTaskManagement\ServerPackage\TaskServerSetup_x64.exe
2. Choose to remove the product.
3. When the installation / removal is complete, verify the services are gone: Object Host and Client Dataloader
   • If they are not removed by the uninstallation, you can remove them by running Service Control in a command prompt, as follows:
         sc delete AtrsHost
         sc delete CTdataload
4. Restart if necessary (i.e. for removal of the services).
5. Reinstall using the same method, if desired.

Additional Information

How to uninstall and reinstall Task Management on the SMP (KB 178375)