Double Quotes in Software Inventory Package Causes Event ID 118

• Microsoft Systems Management Server versions 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2

SYMPTOMS

When you create a software inventory package and specify "Microsoft Excel.exe" (including the double quotation marks) as a filename, the following error message appears in the Systems Management Server Administrator User Interface:

   Couldn't create a new package.

   Event ID: 118
   Non-fatal Error in module: SMS_MAINTENANCE_MANAGER

   Operation:   Parse
   Object:      File
   Object name: Package Rule File
   Error code:  1

   Cannot compile the package rule file
   <drive>:\SMS\site.srv\maincfg.box\pkgrule\package.rul for site UUU.
   MachineName = GREEBO
   SiteCode = UUU
   Component = SMS_MAINTENANCE_MANAGER

CAUSE

Maintenance Manager cannot compile the PACKAGE.RUL with packages that contain filenames in double quotation marks. Therefore, when Maintenance Manager compiles, the PKG_16.CFG files it creates are 0 bytes in size and an event is written to the Application Event Log.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem:

1. Manually remove the problem package(s) from the Package.rul file.

2. Do not use double quotation marks (“) in a package filename.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server versions 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.