An SMS 2003 Advanced Client computer cannot retrieve user-based policies from the SMS 2003 server

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SYMPTOMS

A Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Advanced Client computer cannot retrieve user-based policies from the SMS 2003 server.

Additionally, the following error message may be logged in the PolicyAgent.log log file on the SMS 2003 Advanced Client computer :

XML Parse Error:
Reason: A semi colon character was expected.

This problem occurs when either of the following conditions is true:

The SMS 2003 server is in the domain that contains this domain controller and the name of the domain controller contains the ampersand (&) character.
The name of the user account that you use to log on the SMS 2003 Advanced Client computer contains the ampersand (&) character.

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RESOLUTION

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Systems Management Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

885643 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885643/ ) How To obtain the latest Systems Management Server 2003 service pack

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Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must have SMS 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed on the computer.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version          Size  File name
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   20-Jan-2005  08:19  2.0.1493.0  4,953,832  Sms2003-sp1-kb891634-x86-enu.exe

After you install this hotfix, the following files will have the listed attributes or later:

   Date         Time   Version              Size  File name
   -------------------------------------------------------------
   19-Oct-2004  19:45                  6,725,632  Mp.msi
   19-Oct-2004  19:45  2.50.3174.1122     53,248  Policymgr.dll
   24-Dec-2003  21:30  2.50.2726.154      40,960  Smsse.dll
   18-Jan-2005  16:45                        515  Smsconfig.inf

Installation instructions

To install this hotfix, follow these steps:

Create a shared folder in a location that can be accessed by the SMS site servers.
Copy the SMS2003-SP1-KB891634-x86-ENU.exe hotfix file to the shared folder that you created in step 1.
On each SMS primary site server and SMS secondary site server in your environment, log on by using an account that has administrative credentials, and then follow these steps:
1. Close SMS Administrator Console if it is open.
2. Connect to the shared folder that you created in step 1, double-click the SMS2003-SP1-KB891634-X86-ENU.exe file, and then follow the instructions in the wizard.
3. When you are prompted, reset the site.
  
  Note When you reset a site, any Management Points will be reinstalled and the hotfix will be applied. If you do not reset a site when you are prompted, you must reset that site manually for this hotfix to be correctly applied to the Management Points.

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Systems Management Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

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