Recovering from a broken install of the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager without a database backup and restoring communication with orphaned clients.

Products

• Endpoint Protection

Issue/Introduction

There are various reasons to reinstall the SEP Manager: Corrupt database, missing or incomplete registry entries, missing files or folders, Install in an RDP non-console session, wanting to move the SEP Manager to another drive are examples.

Resolution

Uninstalling and Re-installing the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager (SEPM) console.

1. Uninstall the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager (SEPM) from add remove programs
2. When prompted remove backup files and database
3. Reboot server
4. Reinstall the SEPM in default 8014 custom port
5. When the manager is completely installed reboot server
6. Log into SEPM and create new client packages that will restore communication with the clients
   

Here are the steps to create a package that will restore communication with the clients. Please follow steps:
Export a client install package with custom settings that specify removal of the previous client-server communication settings, then deploy the package.

Create custom client install settings

1. Log on to the SEPM you wish to have manage the client.
2. Click the Admin page, then click Install Packages.
3. Click Client Install Settings, then click the Task to Add Client Install Settings... This will open the Add Client Install Settings dialog.
4. At the bottom of the page under 'Upgrade Settings:' select the setting Remove all previous logs and policies, and reset the client-server communications settings.
5. Enter a name for these setting (example: Restoration settings)
6. Set all other options as desired, and then click OK.
7. Export a client using the custom client install settings created above.
   1. Click the Admin tab, then click Install Packages.
   2. Ensure that Client Install Packages is selected, and then click the package to be exported from the right-hand pane (32-bit or 64-bit).
   3. Click Export Client Install Package...
   4. Select your customized installation settings from the first drop-down list.
   5. Set all other options as desired.
   6. Click OK to export the new package.
   7. Deploy this package using the Migration and Deployment wizard to browse to the package you created.

Note: This procedure will only overwrite the Sylink.xml on a previously new (not migrated from Symantec AntiVirus (SAV)) install of SEP. If the client was migrated from SAV, the old Sylink.xml will not be overwritten because the SEP files are located in ...\Program Files\Symantec Antivirus not ...\Program Files\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection.