Windows upgrade readiness checker is scanning all disks for certain file names, and if it finds one of such files at any path, then upgrade is blocked.

Products

• Deployment Solution
• IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

Windows upgrade readiness checker has a defect where it scans all disks for certain file names, and if it finds one of such files at any path, then the upgrade is blocked and will not finish.

It doesn't show the actual file name and file paths, instead, it shows a 'user-friendly' driver name requiring a user to Google for file names:

There is no option to ignore these false alarms, there is no option to ignore/skip specific folders, and there is no button to delete all files automatically.

This issue has been observed on Windows Server 2016 and 2022 upgrades.

In these particular cases, it detected 'afamgt.sys' files manufactured by Adaptec (not Dell) located on Package Server share and Notification Server share (DS Driver Database).

The only upgrade path that is not affected is:

• Customer upgrades from 8.7.x and never had any previous version of DS (Deployment Solution)
• Customer didn’t import any of such problematic driver.

 Setup.exe scans the entire hard disk, instead of just Windows folder (or instead of actually installed drivers).

Environment

ITMS 8.7 RTM and earlier

Resolution

Follow these steps:

1. Identify all such drivers
2. Copy all such drivers to a network share or removable media (and then detach the media before OS upgrade)
3. Delete all the affected drivers from Driver Database
4. Wait till all the PSes remove deleted drivers from their hard drives
5. Perform OS upgrades on all the needed machines
6. Re-import deleted drivers

     NOTE: Steps '2', '3', and '6' above can be scripted

A script is attached showing an example of how such drivers deletion and re-import can be scripted.  The provided script only attempts to temporarily move from DriversDB problematic drivers that were shipped by DS, but the customers could have many more problematic drivers. You might need to extend the list of file names in the script.

Step '1' can also be partially scripted, but requires predefined list of files to search.

NOTE: 

The drivers are grouped in a single folder:

• Default path on NS is C:\Program Files\Altiris\Deployment\DriversDB\
• Default path on PS is C:\Program Files\Altiris\Altiris Agent\Package Delivery {20827DDD-C698-49E8-B312-830DF1D935B2}\cache\

Drivers for Preboot are stored in additional 2 folders. If the customer has imported some problematic driver into Preboot drivers, then the locations are:

• \Deployment\BDC\bootwiz\Platforms\WinPE\x64\Drivers\CUSTOM\Drivers\
• \Deployment\BDC\bootwiz\Platforms\WinPE\x86\Drivers\CUSTOM\Drivers\