TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Symptoms
• Cause
• Identify Affected Machines
• Remediation
  • Step 1
  • Step 2
  • Step 3
  • Step 4
• Verify the Fix
• Resources

Introduction

ManagementStudio collects data from Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) regarding application and hardware usage to assess user and application readiness during migrations. Issues with SCCM agents may not be apparent until data for specific devices or applications does not appear as expected in ManagementStudio.

ManagementStudio offers datamining capabilities to analyse component health. This can help identify devices that have not reported recently, indicating potential SCCM agent problems.

Older versions of Windows require a specific driver for the SCCM agent to utilize software metering. A Microsoft hotfix can disrupt this functionality without administrators being aware, as other client features continue to function correctly. This document outlines the workaround to restore software metering.

Applies to:

• Microsoft Windows 7 SP1
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

Symptoms

Machines impacted by this issue may show no obvious signs until they are required to deliver software metering information. Reviewing the SCCM client log file for software metering, mtrmgr.log, may reveal the following errors:

• CSWMtrClientConfig::Load - Failed to get an instance of CCM_SoftwareMeteringClientConfig, error 80041002
• Failed to load software metering client config
• StartPrepDriver - OpenService Failed with error 80070424
• Failed to create instance of CLSID_ProcessEventProvider, error 80040154
• Failed to create instance of CLSID_SWMtrManager, error 80040154

Without loading the driver, clients cannot successfully gather hardware and software inventory data.

Cause

The issue is caused by the Microsoft Windows rollup patch, KB3125574, affecting Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. This problem arises if the patch is applied before the SCCM client is installed, commonly seen when organizations patch a "gold image" WIM file offline using SCCM.

To remediate this, deploy a script using an SCCM Compliance Rule to identify affected machines and manually install the driver.

Identify Affected Machines

To detect problematic machines from the SCCM console, identify machines that have not completed a Software Scan:

Review the mtrmgr.log file for affected machines. If the log displays entries similar to those outlined in the 'Symptoms' section, the likely cause is KB3125574.

Remediation

Step 1

Create an SCCM Configuration Baseline with one Configuration Item that includes two scripts. The first script checks for compliance by using PowerShell to verify the presence of a specific registry key:

The PowerShell script will return 'True' if the registry key is present or 'False' if absent.

Step 2

If the first script identifies the client as non-compliant, the second script will execute:

The script installs the Prep Driver from the local CCM folder on the client, pauses for 10 seconds to allow the installation to complete, and then restarts the CCMExec service. After re-initialisation, a hardware and software scan is triggered.

Step 3

Link both scripts using a Compliance Rule in SCCM. This rule checks for 'True' from the first script and only executes the second script if it receives 'False':

Step 4

Limit the Configuration Item to run only on Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 clients, as these are the only affected operating systems.

Once compliance settings are configured, deploy the Configuration Baseline to a device collection comprising Windows 7 and Server 2008 machines.

Verify the Fix

After deploying the Compliance Baseline, it will appear in the 'Configurations' tab of the SCCM client properties. Execution occurs based on the set schedule. Once complete, the 'Compliance State' status should change from 'Unknown' to either 'Compliant' or 'Non-Compliant':

The baseline will reevaluate after the remediation script runs to check if the Prep Driver has been successfully installed.

To confirm the fix, verify the following on one of the affected machines:

• Ensure the 'prepdrvr' registry key exists: 
• Check the mtrmgr.log for healthy output indicating successful operations.
   

Once the machine completes its hardware and software scans, this data should be sent to the Management Point and be available in the SCCM console:

Resources

• Compliance Baseline report
• Attachments:
  • SCCM Software Metering Fix_Baseline.cab (3.33 KB)