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Step-by-step guide for upgrading your App-V 5.0 infrastructure to Service Pack 3

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~ Matthew Keyes | Premier Field Engineer

clip_image001Hi everyone, my name is Matthew Keyes and I’m a Premier Field Engineer here at Microsoft. Lately we have been getting some questions from customers regarding the proper procedure for upgrading App-V 5.0 infrastructure to SP3 so I put together a quick step by step outline that will guide you through the process.

Step 1: Upgrade the database using the SQL scripts

Be sure to update the two scripts as discussed in the following KB article:

3031340 - SQL scripts to install or upgrade the App-V 5.0 SP3 Management Server database fail (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3031340)

Note that there is no need to upgrade the reporting database because there are no changes in SP3 with regards to reporting.

a. Backup the following registry keys and verify that values exist and are set per the following TechNet article: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn858700.aspx#BKMK_check_reg_key_svr

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\AppV\Server\ManagementDatabase
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\AppV\Server\ManagementService

b. Update the permissions.sql with the correct accounts needed: The App-V_Admins group SID (or whatever the name of the group that has admin rights to the App-V console) for the read rights (PublicAccess) and the SID of the management server’s machine account for the write rights for database access. Also verify that the production database name matches the database name listed in database.sql. See the following for more information:

You can use the following PowerShell commands to resolve the SID’s:

$Account=”domain\App-V_Admins
(New-Object system.security.principal.NtAccount($Account)).translate([system.security.principal.securityidentifier]).value
$Account=”domain\machine_account_name$
(New-Object system.security.principal.NtAccount($Account)).translate([system.security.principal.securityidentifier]).value

The bolded text above needs to be updated with the account you will be using in production. Also note that the SIDs need to be pasted into permissions.sql without ‘S’s and ‘-‘s (dashes).

c. Run the management database scripts in SQL Management Studio. Follow the instructions that are listed in the ReadMe.txt file to install or upgrade to the App-V 5.0 SP3 Management Server database. You can find this file in the Management folder in the order indicated by the ReadMe.

d. Verify that the dbo.SchemaVersion table exists.

Step 2:  Upgrade the server infrastructure

Be aware that the management and publishing servers should be updated at the same time. More information on this can be found at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/library/jj713425.aspx.

a. First, check that all prerequisites have been met (see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn858705.aspx). Be aware that .NET 4.5 is a new prerequisites for Service Pack 3.

b. Run the installer.

c. Verify that the version of the console is 5.0.10107.0 which is the version for App-V 5.0 SP3. You can do this by going to http://localhost:1234/Console.html and then clicking About.

Note that all of the options should be grayed out and the upgrade configuration information will pulled from the registry.

Step 3: Upgrade the clients

More information on this can be found at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj713460.aspx.

a. First, check that all prerequisites have been met (see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn858705.aspx). Be aware that .NET 4.5 is a new prerequisites for Service Pack 3.

b. Execute the installer.

c. Verify that the client version is 5.0.10107.0. This can be viewed by going to Control Panel –> Programs –> Programs and Features.

Step 4: Upgrade the sequencer

More information on this can be found at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj713464.aspx.

a. First, check that all prerequisites have been met (see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn858705.aspx for more information). Be aware that .NET 4.5 is a new prerequisites for Service Pack 3.

b. Execute the installer.

c. Verify that the sequencer version is 5.0.10107.0. This can be viewed by going to Control Panel –> Programs –> Programs and Features.

That should do it - Hope this helps!

Matthew Keyes| Premier Field Engineer| Microsoft

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System Center All Up: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/ 
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/ 
Orchestrator Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/ 
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/ 
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager 
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/


How to submit and vote on product improvement suggestions for Microsoft App-V and UE-V

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imageHave you ever had a great idea on how to improve Microsoft Application Virtualization but weren’t sure how to communicate that idea back to the engineering team? Well now you can not only easily submit those ideas but vote for ideas others have submitted as well. Welcome to the Microsoft Application Virtualization customer feedback site! This Microsoft App-V UserVoice forum is actively monitored by the App-V engineering team and they want to hear from you!

And don’t worry, we didn’t forget about Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) or Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM). You can submit and vote on your favorite ideas for these technologies the exact same way using the links below:

Thank you for all of your valuable feedback – we can’t wait to hear from you!

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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System Center All Up: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/ 
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/ 
Orchestrator Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/ 
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/ 
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager 
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/

Hotfix Package 1 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0 Service Pack 3 is now available

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Hotfix160

The article below describes a hotfix package that contains hotfixes for Adobe Acrobat issues in Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0 (App-V 5.0) Service Pack 3 (SP3). The hotfix package resolves the following issues:

Issue 1: Virtualized Adobe Acrobat running through an App-V Client on Windows 7 crashes or stops responding because of DLL issues

Virtualized Adobe Acrobat running on Windows 7 may crash or stop responding because of an interoperability issue between App-V and Adobe. This issue causes App-V to sometimes load multiple copies of the same DLL from different locations. This, in turn, causes the virtual Adobe Acrobat application to crash or stop responding when certain operations are performed. This issue is fixed in this hotfix package.

Issue 2: Stop error is triggered by DLL issues when an App-V Client tries to load Adobe Acrobat packages

Some products, such as Adobe Acrobat, use DLLs that have file name extensions other than .dll. When an App-V Client loads virtualized packages of these applications, it does not recognize these files as DLLs and does not exclude them from the copy-on-write subsystem. A Stop error may occur when a package is run that uses these DLLs.

For additional details as well as a link to an App-V hotfix that resolves these issues please see the following:

KB3039022 - Hotfix Package 1 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0 Service Pack 3 (http://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3039022)

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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Main System Center blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
Orchestrator Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv

Forefront Endpoint Protection blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
Forefront Identity Manager blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/
Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/

KB: Mouse may become unresponsive after you launch an App-V application

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KBWhen you launch a process that is virtualized through Microsoft Application Virtualization version 4.5, version 4.6, or version 5.0 (App-V 4.5, App-V 4.6 or App-V 5.0) on a touchscreen-enabled device, the mouse pointer may become unresponsive. If you exit either the App-V application process or the wisptis.exe process, you’ll find that the mouse starts to work again.

Note that this also affects RDS/terminal servers if the Desktop Experience is enabled (that is, if the default server setting is not enabled).

This occurs because in some cases, App-V creates a second instance of the wisptis.exe process as part of the application launch. This may create a conflict between the wisptis.exe process that's already running (because the system is touchscreen) and the new wisptis.exe process that was triggered by the application launch. By exiting either the App-V application process or the wisptis.exe process, this conflict is removed.

For complete details as well as a couple different options for a resolution, please see the following:

KB2987845 - Mouse may become unresponsive after you launch an App-V application (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2987845)

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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Main System Center blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
Orchestrator Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv

Forefront Endpoint Protection blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
Forefront Identity Manager blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/
Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/

ConfigMgr 2012 R2

App-V 4.6 SP3 HF03 rapid upgrade process components and batch scripting example

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~ Paul Westervelt | Support Escalation Engineer

HOWDuring the course of the App-V 4.6 product life cycle there have been a number of changes to the base components that require updating to get to the latest version. As such, one of the issues that we see frequently on the App-V support team is folks wanting to update their environment to the latest supported version of App-V 4.6 SP3 HF03 as quickly and efficiently as possible.

While we have provided a method to install/upgrade the App-V product by using the MSI installation, we have found that the correct C++ runtime modules can be difficult to locate. For example, here are the installation instructions:

How to Install the App-V Client by Using Setup.msi

We find in the above article that the x86 versions of the prerequisite C++ files are required for a successful installation. Please review the Notesfor this article as they reference the x86 requirements.

However, the issue is that the runtime modules referenced in the above article will notallow for a successful upgrade of App-V 4.6 SP3 HF03 and will result in an error similar to the following:

Error 25010.  A prerequisite for installation is missing.
Installation cannot continue.

Reference: Installing the App-V 4.6 Desktop Client using SETUP.MSI fails with Error 25010

So with this in mind my post today primarily focuses on how to successfully upgrade your current version of App-V 4.x.

Be aware that you must first be at one of these minimum App-V 4.6 versions in order to apply App-V 4.6 SP3:

  • Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 RTM (4.6.0.1523)
  • Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 All Languages (4.6.0.20200)
  • Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 1 (4.6.1.20870)
  • Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 2 (4.6.2.24020)

For more information see App-V 4.6 SP3 System Requirements in Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 3

You will also need the following items:

1. MDOP/VLSC installation media (unless you are performing an upgrade the client should already be installed).

2. The C++ Runtime files that will allow you to process the App-V 4.6 SP3 and App-V 4.6 SP3 HF03 update using the MSIEXEC commands with a final reboot to finish the installation:

3. The App-V 4.6 SP3 update.

4. The App-V 4.6 SP3 HF03 update

To begin, create the following directory structure for the files:

Once the files are in place you can use the following batch script example to perform the installation. By using the /norestart switch for the App-V 4.6 SP3 client base installation, you can apply the HF03 update and reboot afterward to complete the overall installation.

The batch script example is below Note that you must replace SERVER\Sharewith a SMB share that you have available.

start /wait \\SERVER\Share\46SP3Client\prereq\x86\vcredist_x86.exe /q
start /wait \\SERVER\Share\46SP3Client\prereq\x86\vcredist_x86_ATL.exe /q
start /wait \\SERVER\Share\46SP3Client\prereq\x86\vcredist_x86_MFC.exe /q
start /wait \\SERVER\Share\46SP3Client\prereq\x86\vcredist_x86_2008.exe /q
start /wait \\SERVER\Share\46SP3Client\prereq\x86\vcredist_x86_2008_MFC.exe /q
start /wait msiexec.exe /i \\SERVER\Share\46SP3Client\prereq\x86\msxml6_x86.msi /quiet
start /wait msiexec.exe /i \\SERVER\Share\46SP3Client\x64\setup.msi /norestart /q
start /wait msiexec.exe /update \\SERVER\Share\46SP3Client\HF03\x64\AppV4.6SP3-WD-KB2986414-x64.msp /quiet

If you are having to perform a new installation for a client build, there will not be any of the App-V 4.6 client settings available that we would have from an upgrade. Instead, you would install one of the minimum required client versions mentioned earlier in this document, then the settings can be added to the above script by following the instructionsto apply the settings to the line for the client installation:

msiexec.exe /i "setup.msi" SWICACHESIZE="10240" SWIPUBSVRDISPLAY="Production System" SWIPUBSVRTYPE="HTTP /secure" SWIPUBSVRHOST="PRODSYS" SWIPUBSVRPORT="443" SWIPUBSVRPATH="/AppVirt/appsntype.xml" SWIPUBSVRREFRESH="on" SWIGLOBALDATA="D:\AppVirt\Global" SWIUSERDATA="^% LOCALAPPDATA^%\Windows\Application Virtualization Client" SWIFSDRIVE="S" /q

Paul Westervelt | Support Escalation Engineer | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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System Center All Up: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/ 
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/ 
Orchestrator Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/ 
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/ 
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager 
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/

Hotfix Package 2 for Microsoft App-V 5.0 Service Pack 3 is now available

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DOWNLOAD_thumb2The article below describes a hotfix package that contains hotfixes for Microsoft Office Click-to-Run and that address user profiles issues in Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0 (App-V 5.0) Service Pack 3 (SP3).

For a complete listing of issues that are fixed as well as download and installation instructions, please see the following:

KB3060458 - Hotfix Package 2 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0 Service Pack 3 (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3060458)

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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Main System Center blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
Orchestrator Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv

Forefront Endpoint Protection blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
Forefront Identity Manager blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/
Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/

ConfigMgr 2012 R2

Quick note on Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 OS and SQL Server requirements

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HOWWe still get a lot of questions regarding what operating system and SQL Server versions are supported with the App-V 4.5 so I thought I’d take a minute and clarify that here.

For App-V components such as management servers, streaming servers, the data store, the web service and the console, the latest OS that’s supported is Windows Server 2008 R2. Note that this assumes you’re on App-V 4.5 Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2 (SP1 or SP2).

For the database, the following versions of SQL Server are supported:

  • SQL Server 2000 SP3a or SP4
  • SQL Server 2005 SP1, SP2, or SP3
  • SQL Server 2008 with no service pack or SP1
  • SQL Server 2008 R2 (32-bit or 64-bit)

This information was current when this article was published but you can find more details and the latest information regarding the minimum hardware and software requirements here.

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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System Center All Up: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/ 
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/ 
Orchestrator Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/ 
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/ 
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager 
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/

KB: App-V 4.x apps don't set Windows 8 deployment requirements in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1

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You may discover that the operating system requirements are not automatically selected when you add a Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.x application for Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 as a package in the System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Administrator console. If you see this, we have a work around detailed in the article below.

KB3070370 - App-V 4.x apps don't set Windows 8 deployment requirements in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3070370)

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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Main System Center blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
Orchestrator Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv

Forefront Endpoint Protection blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
Forefront Identity Manager blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/
Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/

ConfigMgr 2012 R2 App-V 4.x


Hotfix package 6 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0 SP2 is now available

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DOWNLOAD_thumb2

The article below describes hotfix package 6 for Microsoft App-V 5.0 Service Pack 2. The hotfix package includes a hotfix for an issue where Office Click-to-Run applications do not start when you try to open Office documents from Microsoft SharePoint. The problem breaks integration with SharePoint and prevents Office Click-to-Run applications from starting when the user tries to edit Office documents that are hosted on SharePoint sites.

For complete details as well as a downloadable hotfix that resolves this issue, please see the following:

KB3065017 - Hotfix package 6 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0 SP2 (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3065017)

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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Main System Center blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
Orchestrator Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv

Forefront Endpoint Protection blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
Forefront Identity Manager blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/
Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/

ConfigMgr 2012 R2

The Microsoft App-V 5.0 Sequencer and Client Troubleshooting Guide

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~ John Behneman | Senior Support Escalation Engineer

jbHello everyone, John Behneman here again. I’d like to share with you a document I just completed that provides strategies, troubleshooting framework, and a consistent framework to assist our customers new to Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0 (App-V 5.0). It is not a training guide in the traditional sense, but rather it’s meant to provide a quick overview of troubleshooting techniques specific to App-V 5.0. It highlights typical issues we see at Microsoft on a daily basis and provides a starting point with tactics for troubleshooting these issues. Public references from Microsoft employees and MVPs will be provided, however be aware that some of these links are from outside sources and thus may change without warning.

NOTE: Due to the inclusion of 3rd party references there is no warranty or guarantee of accuracy of the references provided. All information is provided ‘as is’, and in addition, some of the information may be dated and may not apply to the latest versions of App-V 5.0 due to the evolution of the product since its inception.

General App-V Guidance

As a rule, running the latest versions of the App-V 5.0 client and sequencer are considered a best practice, buta word of caution that thorough testing in a non-production environment should be done for all App-V 5.0 packages before upgrading a production environment. Due to the nature of the product, installing hotfixes can be less of a feature set change than installing service packs. App-V 5.0 was rewritten from scratch and totally re-architected versus it’s version 4.6 predecessor, and with Service Pack 3 it has evolved significantly from the RTM release as noted in this 3rd party blog post:

Tim on App-V 5.0 SP3: http://www.tmurgent.com/TmBlog/?p=2211

Be thorough in your preparations when making big leaps from say 5.0 RTM to 5.0 SP3. A jump this significant has the potential to run into problems if you’re not aware of how the changes may affect you. The prerequisites have changed during the evolution and failure to read the latest documentation is a recipe for trouble. As of version 5.0 Service Pack 2 Hotfix Package 4, the Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable must be installed for proper functionality as indicated in the following KB article.

2956985 - Hotfix Package 4 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0 SP2 (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2956985/)

As mentioned in the blog post below regarding error 1053, the MSI installer will not detect missing prerequisites but the EXE installer will detect if it’s necessary to install the prerequisites and do so accordingly. This is an example of how one can get into trouble if they don’t read the documentation and end up using the client setup.msi or update service package .msp installer instead of setup.exe. One can determine a missing prerequisite by running the setup.exe of any App-V component against the end point, whether it is a client or server. The article below documents this known issue with the App-V 5.0 client when upgrading to SP2 or higher:

Support Tip: App-V Client service fails to start and generates error 1053

The article above represents a good reason to be cautious when upgrading. Typically it is recommend to upgrade to the latest hotfix within a given service pack level if the service package level is fairly current. For example, if you are running 5.0 SP2, it is recommend to install hotfix 5. If on 5.0 SP1 then install hotfix 3. Our goal is to fix the immediate problem not create and troubleshoot new ones.

Ref: Current list of App-V 5.0 file versions

Please be aware that the App-V client version should be higher than the package sequencer version. We have seen problems when customers use the current version of the sequencer yet their clients are significantly older. Ideally the sequencer should be within the same service pack level as the client. For example, 5.0 SP2 has two versions of the sequencer, RTM and hotfix 4. An RTM package should work fine on RTM and HF4 or higher client version, whereas running a package sequenced on 5.0 SP2 hotfix 4 on a 5.0 SP2 RTM client may work but it’s not recommended.

As new fixes and features are introduced, a best practice is to use the latest version of both the sequencer and the App-V client. Ideally the sequencer and client versions are the same or the client is a version higher but within the same service pack level. Keep in mind that the sequencer is not updated every time a service pack is released. It is only updated when fixes or features are added to the sequencer. The client, the workhorse and most significant component of App-V, is also the most updated component.

With App-V 5.0, one of the ways to determine the version installed is to audit the Control Panel\Programs and Features utility. As shown here, the version of the App-V client is 5.0.10107.0 which is App-V 5.0 SP3:

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Oh, but wait, if we select “View installed updates” from the screenshot above we discover Hotfix 1 is installed:

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Because of the possibility for confusion here, the following registry key is the recommended way to verify the installed version of App-V:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AppV\Client

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To determine the version of the sequencer used to create a package, load the package in the most current version of the sequencer by selecting “Modify an Existing Virtual Application Package” and choosing “Edit package” and select the “Change History” tab. There is a lot of noteworthy information for a package on the Sequencer “Change History” page:

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Sequencer Guidance

The starting point for troubleshooting packaging issues is knowing the sequencer, how it works and best practices. This requires reading the Sequencing Guide:

By far the most difficult cases we receive are sequencing/packaging cases, which can be due to a number of factors:

  • Limited Sequencing experience and training.
  • Limited experience in the industry.
  • Misconceptions about the product and limited knowledge of best practices.
  • Trying to sequence old or poorly written applications (the most common issue).
  • Not knowing how the applications work or application requirements.

The best sequencers are application packagers, professionals who have experience repackaging applications to prevent application incompatibilities when large numbers of applications are delivered to desktops or RDS servers. App-V is sold as solution to mitigate application compatibility issues, however keep in mind that this does not make it an application compatibility solution. In the past the most common incompatibility was the DLL conflict which side-by-side assemblies were designed to correct (we used to call it “DLL hell” back in the Windows 98 days). Sequencing complex applications requires a very special skill set that many do not have, which is why sequencing can be a challenge.

There are 4 basic sequencing problems:

  1. A virtualized application fails to work as expected (due to any number of reasons).
  2. A virtualized application runs slowly (4.6 to 5.0 conversion or application ported from UNIX or another OS?).
  3. The virtualized application works but one or more features do not (can be caused by failing to exercise a feature during sequencing).
  4. Although rare, the sequencer will not sequence an application; the sequencer either hangs or crashes and fails to create a package. In this scenario, open a case with Microsoft or decide whether the application is truly a good candidate for virtualization.

A couple of points to understand about sequencing and testing applications which are easily over looked:

1. If a feature of an application fails to work virtualized, verify it works installed locally. We have seen countless cases where the feature didn’t work locally installed, and obviously if it doesn’t work locally installed it will not work virtualized. This is why it is important to know how an application works locally before virtualizing it. This cannot be emphasized enough.

2. Always use the latest version of the App-V sequencer and client. Hours have been spent troubleshooting a problem just to find out the latest version of the sequencer or client resolves it.

3. If possible, test on a clean OS with no antivirus or other 3rd party agents installed, preferably a cleanly installed OS as a basic test. This mainly applies to the App-V client but is also applicable to the sequencer. For a sequencing system, it should have the same policies as the endpoints, with the exception of the previous statement.

4. Sequencer OS version and App-V client OS version should match. If they don’t this can cause package failures. It’s possible to create a working package sequenced on one OS version and deployed to another but it’s not guaranteed to work. There is a lot of confusion and misinformation surrounding this issue. Some have been taught to sequence everything on an older OS like Windows 7 so that they can streamline deployment to Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2012, and while most of the time this will work, sometimes it will not. Office is a good example of a program that typically doesn’t allow this approach. A few SoftGrid and App-V evangelists have sold App-V as an application compatibility solution but remember that it is not.

PVAD or Not to PVAD

Understand PVAD (SFT_MNT) verses VFS and how it influences the virtualization of an App-V 5.0 package. This is very important. In App-V 4.X, a best practice was to sequence everything using SFT_MNT (MNT) which meant installing applications to the Q drive, the default virtual drive used by the 4.6 sequencer. Unfortunately, not all programs work when installed to the Q drive and have to be installed to the C drive which is consider a VFS install. The following articles provide more information on this topic:

This is also true with App-V 5.0, where some applications will not work when sequenced as PVAD (same as 4.x SFT_MNT or MNT) and others will not work when sequenced as VFS. This is why testing is required to determine which type of installation works for a given application. This means sequencing an application at least twice (once as a PVAD and then VFS) if the original attempt fails to generate a working package.

The best practice for App-V 5.0 is to sequence applications as VFS, which is now the default in App-V 5.0 SP3. The App-V product group removed the PVAD option in the SP3 sequencer although PVAD can be added back via a registry key or command line option (EnablePVADControl). Once again, some applications will not work as a VFS package and must be sequenced as PVAD, therefore you will need to know how to enable PVAD when required. The following article explains this change and provides a method to restore the PVAD prompt:

Merged Roots in App-V 5.0 SP3 – Free from the PVAD

The following article confirms that some applications require that you use PVAD:

Tim on App-V 5.0 SP3: http://www.tmurgent.com/TmBlog/?p=2211

Snippet from above article:

The MVPs have a short list of apps that we have found that need “PVADing”, including:

WinZip
ArcGIS Desktop tool
Avaya CMS Supervisor R17
Wonderware InTouch 10.x

Additional references on this topic:

Problem: The Sequencer fails to capture files required for a package to work properly

A common failure of a new package is missing files. This is often due to default exclusions of the sequencer. Some applications write files to user’s %Appdata% or %LocalAppdata% profile location, and this will be evident in a Process Monitor trace where the application executable fails to find a file in the %AppData% or %LocalAppdata% locations. The Sequencer also reports on excluded files during the final phases of the sequencing process. Most of the time this can be corrected by removing these default exclusions found on Tools\Options\Exclusion Items tab:

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The following blog post provides more details, but the bottom line is that in some cases, removing the LocalAppData and LocalAppDataLow exclusion is required to create a working package. One example of this is Apple QuickTime. It installs a dependency to the AppData directory so you will receive a DLL/EXE errors when launching the packaged application if the default exclusions are in place.

App-V Support Tip: Look out for this issue when sequencing your apps

Another way to determine if a nonfunctioning package is missing files is to use the devirtualization technique outlined in the following blog post:

AppV: On Devirtualization

If devirtualization of the package produces a working application on the sequencer then the package problem must be related to one of the following items mentioned in the blog:

  1. Virtualization subsystems (Virtual COM, Virtual Objects, Virtual Services, VFS, etc.)
    • Can be tested / addressed by enabling “Allow all named objects to interact with the local system” and “Allow all COM objects to interact with the local system” on the advanced tab of the Sequencer.
  2. Incompatibilities with virtualization as a whole (drivers, COM+, etc.).
  3. Information that could have been captured incorrectly in the FilesystemMetadata.xml file (Short Names, Directory Opacity).
  4. Registry Opacity.
  5. Static Dependencies.

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While we are on the Advanced tab it’s worth noting the 3rd option “Allow virtual applications full write permissions to the virtual file system” introduced in SP2 Hotfix 4. Some old (and poorly written) applications write files to the application installation folder instead of %Appdata%. Prior to the introduction of this feature, applications like these would fail due to an access denied event when the application attempts to create a file in the installation directory. Now, enabling this setting allows this behavior. Please see the following blog posts for more detailed information regarding these 3 settings:

Item 2 in our list above (incompatibilities with virtualization as a whole) is addressed by this blog post, which is a commonly asked question. App-V may not work with some drivers and COM+ objects which means an application may not be suitable for virtualization.

Applications Suitable for Virtualizing in Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V)

Potential workarounds for these COM issues are detailed in the following:

App-V: On COM+

Item 3 in our list above (information that could have been captured incorrectly) regards incorrect entries in the FilesystemMetadata.xml which is contained in the .AppV file of the package. To access this file, make a copy of the *.AppV file and rename it to .zip, then open the ZIP file and extract the FilesystemMetadata.xml and examine it for incorrect entries. Capture sequencer debug logs on the client (see next section) to get more detail. Please engage Microsoft Support if necessary as incorrect entries in this file are most likely due to an issue with the sequencer.

Item 4 on our list above (Registry opacity)is explained in the following documentation:

Item 5 in our list above addresses the sequenced application’s dependences. If the dependences are not included in the package then they need to be installed on client before the App-V package will work. These could include C++ runtime, Java, .NET, etc.

Sequencing and troubleshooting App-V packages is more of an Art than a science which makes this blog a must read:

On the Art of Troubleshooting App-V Applications

Sequencer logs

The App-V 5.0 logging location has changed from the 4.6 location. Just like the client, it now logs to the Event Viewer, and debug logging is not enabled by default. Sequencer-Debug logging is not visible until View\Show Analytic and debug logs is checked in Event Viewer. Select and right-click one of the 2 debug logs to enable them. The debug logs are useful when the Sequencer misbehaves during sequencing, such as the sequencer crashes or error messages prevent package creation, etc. Unfortunately these logs are not always helpful when trying to determine why a sequenced package fails to work on a client.

After sequencing an application, human readable artifacts can be found in the %LocalAppData%\temp\Scratch folder on the sequencer:

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A Report.xml file is created during package generation and this is definitively the first place to start when troubleshooting sequencing issues.

Notes on how to read the Report.xml file (also visible in the Sequencer UI at certain stages):

  • All UI reporting messages (best practice messages like “Reboot pending” and sequencing issues like “files excluded”) are preserved in the resulting Report.xml file with every package. This is the same format that was introduced in 4.6 SP1.
  • The report is in XML format and can be viewed easily with an XML reader (e.g. Internet Explorer, Notepad or XML Notepad).
  • Each entry is an error (“Issue Code”) with a Description (both “Short” and “Full”) which describes the problem.
  • Pay particular note to the files that were excluded. When a package is not functioning on the client or when devirtualized, these are your first candidates for issues.
  • Other messages may present potential problems as well, please go through these before looking in the ETL logs or going to Process Monitor.

Example Report.xml file:

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One additional topic we should address before moving on is how Environment Variables are processed. See the following for more information:

App-V 5: On Environment Variables

Virtualizing Microsoft Office

Overcoming the challenges of virtualizing Office is a fairly common call at Microsoft. We usually recommend not virtualizing Office due to the limitations with integration, plug-ins and future package upgrade issues, however please review the “Known issues and limitations...” article listed below to before committing to virtualizing Office. Most issues have been documented but sometimes the content online or in our Knowledge Base can be missed because you may not know the proper key words to search. Please reach out to one of the many App-V forums for help. Many people have successfully virtualized Microsoft Office so the forums can be a rich source for answers on this topic.

With Office 2013, the Office Deployment Toolkit (ODT) is used to create App-V packages and not the sequencer. Sequencing Office 2013 using the standard sequencer is not supported. See the following for more information:

Supported scenarios for deploying Microsoft Office as an App-V package

Since Office 2013 virtualization is now achieved through the ODT, this means the Office support team now owns most of the code tree and has the resources necessary to help in many virtualization issues. The following flow chart can be used to determine whether App-V or Office support is required should you need assistance:

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While the details of troubleshooting Office packages is beyond the scope of this guide, the following references are available to help with these issues:

Office Add-in references:

References for Internet Explorer and Java:

Troubleshooting the App-V 5.0 client

The App-V client is the most important component of an App-V infrastructure. It hydrates the App-V packages and integrates with the rest of the App-V infrastructure. Knowing how to troubleshoot the App-V client is the most important aspect of supporting App-V. Most of the critical App-V cases we get here in support are due to App-V client failures. The following App-V 5.0 Application Publishing and Client Interaction guide is a must read, especially the Copy on Write (COW) section which covers the component that produces the most problems:

App-V 5 SP2 Application Publishing and Client Interaction

If you don’t have time to read the 43 page “Application Publishing and Client Interaction” document you can get a “Fundamentals” jump start reading the following posts:

I hate to sound redundant but it bears repeating: Always test using the latest version of the App-V 5.0 client, especially if troubleshooting an RDS client. By far, the RDS client is the most difficult to troubleshoot due to profile management, folder redirection and Citrix integration issues. Citrix integration is supported by Citrix, but at times for troubleshooting it is ideal to test without Citrix and profile management in the picture.

A great many App-V client issues are related to 3rd party components, consequently troubleshooting may require eliminating as many 3rd party programs as possible. Ideally, test with the latest App-V 5.0 client installed on a clean OS, with no folder redirection, profile management or antivirus. If the issue is not reproducible in this “clean” scenario then you know the App-V 5.0 client works properly. Adding 3rd party components until the issue returns is the recommended troubleshooting process, unfortunately few like this approach because it is time consuming, however it is the only way to determine root cause. App-V client errors no one has ever seen before can usually be attributed to 3rd party processes.

Unlike App-V 4.x, App-V 5.0 does not require configuration adjustments to work as a standalone client; it’s standalone by default, making testing very straight forward. An App-V package can be deployed locally using one of 2 methods: PowerShell or install using the package MSI file generated by the sequencer. The following blog post provides the details:

If extensive testing is required, I recommend that you check out AppVManage. It’s a free 3rd party tool that allows you to deploy and remove packages at the click of a button. It is a great training tool as well since using it will introduce all the important App-V 5.0 concepts and features.

AppV_Manage Introduction

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As you can see from the screenshot above, AppVManage will publish packages globally or to users, with or without configuration files, unpublish, mount and analyze. The Analyze feature displays package configuration information helpful in determining if two or more packages will work together correctly in a connection group, specifically the COM configuration of the two packages, which must be the same. Please see the following for more information:

AppVManage allows for a standalone test lab using the App-V client; there’s no need for anything else. For App-V 5.0 client and package issues this is the perfect setup. After installing AppVManage, configure it to use a local content store as shown in the screenshots below. To test a package just drop the package folder into the local content share, click refresh and AppVManage will discover it. Also notice that it displays the current version of the App-V client along with the version of AppVManage. AppVManage training is beyond the scope of this document but there is ample help and documentation on the AppVManage website.

Local content share with package folders:

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Contents of the Office2013Full package folder:

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AppVManage configured to use the local content share, notice the versions at the bottom:

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The tabs reveal the various App-V 5.0 Client tasks that can be accomplished with this tool:

  • Publishing Tab– Displays all the packages available in the content share and controls to manage them.
  • Client Packages– Displays the status and detail about packages and how they are published.
  • Connection Groups– Shows connection groups and provides the ability to create and manage them.
  • Debug Packages– Launch various tools within a given package VE in order to troubleshoot it.
  • Client Config– Shows client configuration settings and tests Management server connectivity.
  • Event Viewer Shows events from the default event logs, Client\Admin and Client\Operational.
  • Debug Events– Displays all available debug etl channels and controls to enable and disable.
  • Tool Config Displays the current configuration of AppVManage andcontrols to change.

For more detailed information about AppVManage tool functions please see the following reference:

AppV_Manage Tab Descriptions

Microsoft has a free App-V downloadable troubleshooter available at http://aka.ms/appvdiag . This is a data collection tool used primarily by Microsoft support but it can be leveraged by anyone to collect data and discover known issues present in an App-V environment. After running the diagnostic, a Troubleshooting Report is displayed. This information is also available by opening the ResultReport.xml in Internet Explorer. Double-clicking on it may generate several warning messages about running scripts so select ‘Yes’ and ‘Allow blocked content’ if prompted to do so. The following is an example of the output from the Troubleshooting report, where in this example the machine is missing a TermSrvReadyEvent exclusion which will cause problems if Hotfix 2984972 is installed on a client machine.

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To find the data collected, go to Start -> Run and enter in %localAppdata%

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This will take you to %userprofile%\AppData\Local (see screenshots below). The Diagnostic data is stored in the ‘ElevatedDiagnostic’ directory:

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All the data collected is capture to a *.cab file which you can attach this to a Microsoft Support case if desired. You can also extract the data to see what it collected.

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2971404- Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) troubleshooter

If a problem is isolated to the App-V client, run it on the client. If related to publishing failures then run it on the Management/Publishing servers and the client simultaneously. If the packages are deployed using Configuration Manager, the ConfigMgr support team may need to be engaged. The App-V diagnostic does capture the ConfigMgr client agent logs.

The diagnostic has a tracing feature which enables all App-V 5.0 debug logs of the App-V component on which its run. When the diagnostic gets to the following screen please duplicate the issue, then once duplicated click Next.

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As mentioned previously, when the diagnostic completes it saves all the data to a *.cab file assuming it was downloaded and run from http://aka.ms/appvdiag . If run from a link provided by a Microsoft Support Engineer, it will be uploaded to Microsoft so long as the computer has Internet connectivity.

The following chart contains a list of important logs captured by the diagnostic:

Appv 5.0 Client Information

Log

Content/Purpose

ResultReport.xml

XML that displays all collected Data in IE

Get-AppvClientConfiguration.txt

App-V 5 Client configuration

Get-AppvClientMode.txt

App-V 5 Client mode

Get-AppvClientPackage.txt

App-V 5 Client Packages

Get-AppvPublishingServer.txt

App-V 5 Client Publishing server

Get-AppvVirtualProcess.txt

App-V 5 running virtual processes

<Computer_Name>_evt_AppVClient-Admin.txt

AppV 5.0 Admin event logs enabled by default

<Computer_Name>_evt_AppVClient-Operational.txt

AppV 5.0 Operational event logs enabled by default

<Computer_Name>_sftlog.txt

App-V 4.6 Client log

<Computer_Name>_CCMLogs.zip

Collection of SCCM agent logs

<Computer_Name>_APPVdebug-4895_000001.etl.txt

App-V 5 Debug event output consolidated into one text file.

<Computer_Name>_PendingRebootStatus (Status is TRUE).txt

Reboot status, if “Status is True” the machine needs to be rebooted.

<Computer_Name>_evt_System.txt

OS System event log

<Computer_Name>_evt_Application.txt

OS Application event log

<Computer_Name>_Hotfixes.TXT

Recent hotfix updates installed

<Computer_Name>_Installed-Software.txt

List of installed Software on the OS

<Computer_Name>_AppVRegistryKeys.zip

Collection of App-V registry hives

<Computer_Name>_GPResult.txt

List of Group Policy objects applied to the OS

<Computer_Name>_msinfo32.nfo

System information collected from the machine

The logs highlighted in yellow are the ones to look at first. The <Computer_Name>_APPVdebug-4895_000001.etl.txt is the log created when duplicating an issue on the client and it contains all debug tracing.

Details regarding the required fundamental knowledge to troubleshoot issues and the tools to do so, how to translate the errors in these logs to something meaningful and how learn the various troubleshooting techniques can be found in the following:

Before we leave the diagnostic, there are a couple of things that I should mention. When you run the troubleshooter you will have two options: Normal and Advanced. Always choose NORMAL unless told otherwise by Microsoft.

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If a computer does not have Internet connectivity or the diagnostic fails to run for some reason, the following screen may be displayed:

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Either try the suggested solutions or run the diagnostic on another machine and choose to run it on a different computer. It will download a payload to transfer to the other machine; please follow the prompts, the wizard will walk you through it.

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Screenshot with instructions on running the diagnostic from another computer:

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One last note about the diagnostic: Please run with an account that has local administrative rights, otherwise it will not be able capture all of the necessary data.

Common App-V client issues

Moving to App-V 5 as App-V 4.6 Mainstream Support Ends

Adobe Acrobat

Requires App-V 5.0 SP3 HF1 client. Adobe Acrobat must be sequenced with 5.0 SP3 sequencer. It is believed that Adobe will post an official 5.0 recipe for Adobe Acrobat on their website in the future.

Citrix Servers

Recommended updates for RDS/Citrix servers

Configuration Information

Information on Connection Groups

Various Other Errors

How To’s

Operations: How Things Work

Performance Related Issues

PowerShell Information

Configuration Manager Integration

Publishing Errors

Roaming Profiles/UE-V/ User Profile Management

Scripting and Deployment Configuration Files

VDI Scenarios

Virtual Environments

Other Troubleshooting Resources

In conclusion, I want to thank Tanner Slayton for reviewing this doc and doing edits, as well as the App-V worldwide community for the content and tools referenced in this document.

John Behneman | Senior Support Escalation Engineer | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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System Center All Up: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/ 
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/ 
Orchestrator Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/ 
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/ 
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager 
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/

Moving to Microsoft App-V 5.0 as App-V 4.6 Mainstream Support Ends

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HOWFirst, don't panic.  Mainstream Support ending doesn't mean that if you are using App-V 4.6 you are suddenly going to be unsupported.  What it does mean, however, is that after July 14, 2015 there won't be anymore hotfixes or service packs. App-V 4.6 won't be unsupported until July 14, 2020, so you can keep using it for a good deal longer.  However, what this does mean is that your organization needs to seriously think about moving to App-V 5.0 since, for one, it has many more years left in the support lifecycle.

Have questions about making the move? Microsoft’s own Steve Bucci has some answers to questions you are probably asking right now. Check out his post below:

Moving to App-V 5 as App-V 4.6 Mainstream Support Ends

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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System Center All Up: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/ 
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/ 
Orchestrator Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/ 
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/ 
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager 
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/

Microsoft Application Virtualization mdop

Microsoft App-V 5.1 and MDOP 2015 now available for download

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DOWNLOADWe are pleased to announce the release of the newest version of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, MDOP 2015. It is now available for download for volume license customers, as well as via MSDN, with complete support for Windows 10. In addition to Win10 support, here are just a few of the additional enhancements available in the latest release:

To learn more about MDOP, check out the complete materials available on TechNet.

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

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Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

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WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/

Now available: Hotfix Package 4 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 3

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HotfixThe article below describes a hotfix package that contains the latest hotfixes for Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 3 (App-V 4.6 SP3).

This hotfix package fixes the following issues:

Issue 1: Microsoft Excel cannot save spreadsheet files onto a network share if there's already a backup file present on the same network share.

Issue 2: Mouse and touch input fail when you run a virtual Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application.

Issue 3: The TermSrvReadyEvent registry entry has been added to the list of object exclusions because it shouldn't be virtualized. Installing this update adds the exclusion automatically.

Note that a workaround for this issue is provided in update 2984972. The "Known issues" section describes how to manually add the exclusion.

For complete details as well as download and installation instructions, please see the following:

KB3074456 - Hotfix Package 4 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 3 (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3074456)

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

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Main System Center blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
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Orchestrator Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv

Forefront Endpoint Protection blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
Forefront Identity Manager blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/
Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/

A simplified Microsoft App-V 5.1 Management Server upgrade procedure

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~ Paul Westervelt | Support Escalation Engineer

HOWThe purpose of this article is to demonstrate how you can streamline the App-V 5.1 Management Server upgrade process outlined on TechNet . This article will walk you through the process step-by-step, highlighting potential problems areas and recommending corrective actions.

Notes on upgrading the SQL database

Unlike App-V 4.x management servers, upgrading App-V 5.X servers does not automatically upgrade the App-V 5.0 SQL database. Either the appv_server_setup.exe executable or the database update scripts must be manually run to upgrade the App-V database prior to upgrading the App-V 5.0 SP1 Management Server to App-V 5.1.

If the APP-V 5.1 appv_server_setup.exe executable is used to upgrade the App-V database, it must be run locally on the SQL server hosting the App-V database and requires that all appv_server_setup.exeprerequisites be installed on the SQL server prior to execution. If a prerequisite is missing, the installer will report the missing prerequisite and exit. If this happens, install the missing component and restart the upgrade. If the App-V Management server database is already at Service Pack 3, no database upgrade is required to upgrade to App-V 5.1.

Notes on the Internet Explorer 10 requirement

The App-V 5.1 Management Console requires IE 10 or higher for HTML 5 functionality. It will also work with most current 3rd party browsers (e.g. Chrome, Firefox, etc.) but some management operations and features may not be available due to limitations in these browsers. For optimal functionality, Internet Explorer 10 or higher is recommended. When the App-V 5.1 console is launched using a previous version of Internet Explorer, an error message is displayed indicating that a higher version of IE is required. Upgrading the browser to IE 10 or higher will resolve this issue.

Notes on the upgrade sequence

This process assumes an upgrade from Management Server 5.0 Service Pack 1 to App-V 5.1. Microsoft Application Virtualization clients and the App-V sequencer can be upgraded before or after upgrading the Management Server, however to benefit from all App-V 5.1 fixes and enhancements, all components should be upgraded to App-V version 5.1. Please upgrade the following components in the order listed below:

1. App-V SQL Database (MUST BE DONE FIRST)

2. App-V Management/Publishing Server

3. As mentioned previously, App-V Clients and the App-V Sequencer can be upgraded before or after the App-V Server.

Step 1: Extract the SQL scripts

The SQL script files need to be extracted from the App-V 5.1 appv_server_setup.exe file. This is done by executing the following command in an elevated CMD prompt:

appv_server_setup.exe /layout /layoutdir=c:\extractedinstallationfiles

The extractedinstallationfiles folder will be automatically created if it does not exist and the folder name may be changed to whatever directory path is necessary. The files needed will be located in the DatabaseScripts\ManagementDatabase and DatabaseScripts\ReportingDatabase subfolders in the extractedinstallationfiles folder.

Step 2: Run the SQL scripts to upgrade the databases

First, verify that SQL Server is upgraded to the required service pack level. SQL Server 2012 and 2008 R2 both require service packs.

To upgrade the Management database, only a subset of the SQL scripts found in the DatabaseScripts\ManagementDatabase folder are required. We will be running these 3 scripts:

1. CreateTables.sql
2. CreateStoredProcs.sql
3. UpdateTables.sql

Please note that prior to running the third script (UpdateTables.sql) you will need to make the following modification:

a. Open the UpdateTables.sql script in SLQ Management Studio.
b. Remove the following from the bottom of the script:

-- Erase the current schema version from the SchemaVersion table (the new current version will be written during the install)
RAISERROR('Removing current schema version', 0, 1) WITH NOWAIT
GO
DELETE FROM [SchemaVersion]
GO

Once UpdateTables.sql has been updated, execute the three SQL scripts in the order listed above against the App-V Management database in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.

IMPORTANT: After running the UpdateTables.sql script, please verify that the SchemaVersion table Version column contains a value of 2 (right-click the table, click Select top 1000 Rows). If this column contains a NULL or no value at all, publishing will fail. If this is the case, run the UpdateTables.sql script again to insert a value of 2 into this table. It should look like this:

clip_image001

After the three Management SQL scripts complete successfully, execute the following SQL command against the App-V Management database:

GRANT SELECT ON dbo.SchemaVersion TO PUBLIC

To update the App-V Reporting Database, the following SQL scripts from the DatabaseScripts\ReportingDatabase folder are required:

1. CreateTables.sql
2. CreateReportingStoredProcs.sql
3. CreateStoredProcs.sql
4. CreateViews.sql
5. InsertVersionInfo.sql
6. ScheduleReportingJob.sql

These should be run in the order listed above against the App-V Reporting Database. Once each of these scripts completes successfully the database upgrade is complete.

Step 3: Upgrading the Management/Publishing/Reporting servers

Log in to the App-V Management Server, then launch Regedit and check the following registry keysunder HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\App-V\Server\ManagementService:

· MANAGEMENT_DB_SQL_SERVER_NAME
· MANAGEMENT_DB_SQL_SERVER

If MANAGEMENT_DB_SQL_SERVER_NAME is blank, change the value to be the same value as MANAGEMENT_DB_SQL_SERVER. If MANAGEMENT_DB_SQL_SERVER_NAME is left blank, the App-V installation will write a “.” (the period character) in the registry value. As a result, the Management Console will not connect to the database and will generate the error message below:

Error: You do not have access to this information. Please check your credentials

This error actually has nothing to do with permissions on the Database SQL Server; it’s generated because the Management Server is looking for a local instance of SQL which does not exist.

You should also check and correct the registry entries located under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\App-V\Server\ReportingService:

· REPORTING_DB_SQL_SERVER_NAME
· REPORTING_DB_SQL_SERVER

Once the registry values are verified/updated, run appv_server_setup.exe and follow the wizard through the setup dialogue process, providing the appropriate responses as you go. The Database and Remote SQL server screens should be populated with the correct database configuration settings.

Related information can be found in the following posts:

We solicit and appreciate your feedback. Special thanks to John Behneman and David Falkus for their contributions to this article.

Paul Westervelt | Support Escalation Engineer| Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

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System Center All Up: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/ 
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/ 
Orchestrator Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/ 
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/ 
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager 
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/

App-V Support Tip: Installation of App-V 4.6 SP3 client fails with error 0x57

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~ Keshav Deo Jain

Tools

Hi everyone, my name is Keshav and I’m an App-V support engineer here at Microsoft. I recently came across an interesting issue where the App-V 4.6 SP3 client fails to install so I thought I would share what we found with you here. It’s a rare problem but at least with this you’ll know how to fix it in case you ever happen to run across it.

The Problem

In certain scenarios, installation of the Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 3 Client (APP-V 4.6 SP3) fails with the following error:

ProductCode specified: {5D80483C-D297-4E04-9EDF-DD58521E9565};{342C9BB8-65A0-46DE-AB7A-8031E151AF69}
::MsiGetProductInfoW error 0x57.Failed to get ``LocalPackage'' value for product code {5D80483C-D297-4E04-9EDF-DD58521E9565};{342C9BB8-65A0-46DE-AB7A-8031E151AF69}.
SoftGrid Action: SWI41sp1UpgradeFix Details: Child exited with code 87
SoftGrid Action: SWI41sp1UpgradeFix Details: 41sp1UpgradeFix.exe failed with error: 87
SoftGrid Action: SWI41sp1UpgradeFix Details: Action ended
CustomAction SWI41sp1UpgradeFix returned actual error code 1603 (note this may not be 100% accurate if translation happened inside sandbox)
Action ended 15:02:57: SWI41sp1UpgradeFix. Return value 3.

Background

Before we dig further towards the solution, let’s have a look at some important MSI properties for App-V 4.6 installers:

Product

version

Upgrade code

Product Code

Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client.

4.6.1.20870

{515E0D38-8D2E-4B0C-B189-E9BAD1E773EE}

{342C9BB8-65A0-46DE-AB7A-8031E151AF69}

Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client

4.6.2.24020

{515E0D38-8D2E-4B0C-B189-E9BAD1E773EE}

{5D80483C-D297-4E04-9EDF-DD58521E9565}

Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client

4.6.3.24870

{515E0D38-8D2E-4B0C-B189-E9BAD1E773EE}

{8D00DBC4-DEB4-4910-9D7C-30A5C6898195}

This how the upgrade table looks like for APP-V 4.6 SP3:

UpgradeCode

VersionMin

VersionMax

Language

Attributes

Remove

ActionProperty

{515E0D38-8D2E-4B0C-B189-E9BAD1E773EE}

 

4.6.3.24870

 

513

 

OLDPRODUCTS

{515E0D38-8D2E-4B0C-B189-E9BAD1E773EE}

4.6.3.24870

  

2

 

NEWPRODUCTFOUND

clip_image002

The table above has some value defined for the Attribute which has the following meaning:

Attribute

Meaning

512 + 1 = (513)

1 = Migrates feature states by enabling the logic in the MigrateFeatureStates action.

512 = Detects the range of versions including the value in VersionMax.

2

Detects products and applications but does not remove.

What this all means is that if the installer finds any App-V product with an upgrade code of {515E0D38-8D2E-4B0C-B189-E9BAD1E773EE} and a version less than “4.6.3.24870” then the installer tries to migrate the existing product installed on the machine to the recent version (which we are trying to install).

Cause

So based on the information above, we can see that App-V 4.6 SP3 is trying to migrate the features of App-V 4.6 SP1 ({342C9BB8-65A0-46DE-AB7A-8031E151AF69}) and App-V 4.6 SP2 ({5D80483C-D297-4E04-9EDF-DD58521E9565}.

Since this is a migration, the installer for App-V 4.6 SP3 needs the cached installer files for the previous version. Generally these files are cached under C:\windows\installer or the ccm cache, however in this scenario these installer files seem to be missing:

ProductCode specified: {5D80483C-D297-4E04-9EDF-DD58521E9565};{342C9BB8-65A0-46DE-AB7A-8031E151AF69}
::MsiGetProductInfoW error 0x57.Failed to get ``LocalPackage'' value for product code {5D80483C-D297-4E04-9EDF-DD58521E9565};{342C9BB8-65A0-46DE-AB7A-8031E151AF69}.

If you tried to repair the App-V 4.6 SP2, you would probably get the error below. Here as well, the App-V 4.6 SP2 installer is trying to find the locally cached installer.

clip_image003

 

The Resolution

In a case like this, we simply need to remove the installed version of the client (App-V 4.6 SP2 or APP-V 4.6 SP1) before installing APP-V 4.6 SP3. The uninstall command line for these products are below:

Product

Version

Command line:

Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client.

4.6.1.20870

Msiexec /x {342C9BB8-65A0-46DE-AB7A-8031E151AF69}

Microsoft Application Virtualization Desktop Client

4.6.2.24020

Msiexec /x {5D80483C-D297-4E04-9EDF-DD58521E9565}

NOTE: If uninstalling the old client fails for whatever reason, you can usually fix that with our utility here:

Fix problems that programs cannot be installed or uninstalled

Keshav Deo Jain| Support Engineer | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

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Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/ 
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Orchestrator Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/ 
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/ 
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager 
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/


App-V Support Tip: Publishing Server URL is unreachable after upgrade to 5.1

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~ John Behneman | Senior Support Escalation Engineer

imageHello everyone, John Behneman here again with a quick note on a Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.1 issue you may see after doing an upgrade from 5.0.

After upgrading App-V 5.0 Management and Publishing servers to App-V 5.1, you may encounter a problem where publishing no longer function properly and the following issues appear:

- Accessing the Publishing URL in Internet Explorer from directly on the Publishing Server (e.g. http://localhost:82, where 82 is the port assigned to the Publishing Server Service) generates the following error message:

The website cannot display the page

- The event below is seen in Event Viewer\Applications and Servers logs\App-V\Server-Publishing-Private\Debug:

Failed to pre-load publishing metadata.
Message: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
Details: 
Stack Trace:
   at Microsoft.AppV.Server.Publishing.PublishingMetadataSerializer.PackageSerializer.Load(XElement pkgElement, PublishingMetadata& data)
   at Microsoft.AppV.Server.Publishing.PublishingMetadataSerializer.RootSerializer.Load(XmlReader reader)
   at Microsoft.AppV.Server.Publishing.PublishingMetadataSerializer.LoadFromFile(String filePath)
   at Microsoft.AppV.Server.Publishing.DataManager.ProcessRawMetadata()
   at Microsoft.AppV.Server.Publishing.DataManager.PreLoadPublishingMetadata()
   at Microsoft.AppV.Server.Publishing.DataManager..ctor()

Cause

This can occur if the PublishingMetaData.xml file on the App-V Management Server was not regenerated after the App-V 5.1 upgrade. The default location of this file is C:\programdata\microsoft\appv\server\Management\PublishingMetadata.xml.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, rename or deletethe PublishingMetadata.xml file on the App-V Management Server and run an IISREST from an elevated command prompt. An IISRESET may be required on each of the Publishing Servers as well.

John Behneman | Senior Support Escalation Engineer | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

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System Center All Up: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/ 
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/ 
Orchestrator Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/ 
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/ 
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager 
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/

App-V 5.1 Support Tip: Management console generates “Could not load file or assembly Newtonsoft.Json” error

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~ John Behneman | Senior Support Escalation Engineer

imageHello everyone, John Behneman here once again with another quick note on an Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.1 issue you may see after doing an upgrade from App-V 5.0.

After upgrading the App-V 5.0 Service Pack 1 Database and Management Server, the following error is generated when loading the App-V management console:

Could not load file or assembly 'Newtonsoft.Json, Version=4.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=30ad4fe6b2a6aeed' or one of its dependencies. The located assembly's manifest definition does not match the assembly reference. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131040)

If you run into this issue, here are the steps you can take to resolve it:

1. Make a backup copy of the  “%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Application Virtualization Server\ManagementService\Web.config file.

2. Edit the Web.config file and make sure that the following two stanzas exist and match the ones below:

<dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="Newtonsoft.Json" publicKeyToken="30AD4FE6B2A6AEED" culture="neutral"/>
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-6.0.0.0" newVersion="6.0.0.0"/>
      </dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="WebGrease" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35"/>
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-1.6.5135.21930" newVersion="1.6.5135.21930"/>
      </dependentAssembly>

An example of a working web.Config runtime section is below:

<runtime>
<assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="Newtonsoft.Json" publicKeyToken="30AD4FE6B2A6AEED" culture="neutral"/>
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-6.0.0.0" newVersion="6.0.0.0"/>
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Http" publicKeyToken="31BF3856AD364E35" culture="neutral"/>
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-5.2.0.0" newVersion="5.2.0.0"/>
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="System.Net.Http.Formatting" publicKeyToken="31BF3856AD364E35" culture="neutral"/>
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-5.2.0.0" newVersion="5.2.0.0"/>
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Helpers" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35"/>
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-3.0.0.0" newVersion="3.0.0.0"/>
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Mvc" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35"/>
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-5.2.0.0" newVersion="5.2.0.0"/>
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.Optimization" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35"/>
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-1.1.0.0" newVersion="1.1.0.0"/>
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="System.Web.WebPages" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35"/>
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-3.0.0.0" newVersion="3.0.0.0"/>
      </dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="WebGrease" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35"/>
        <bindingRedirect oldVersion="1.0.0.0-1.6.5135.21930" newVersion="1.6.5135.21930"/>
      </dependentAssembly>
    </assemblyBinding>
  </runtime>

At a bare minimum, the following runtime section must exist to resolve this error message:

<runtime>
<assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
            <dependentAssembly>
                <assemblyIdentity name="Newtonsoft.Json" publicKeyToken="30AD4FE6B2A6AEED" culture="neutral"/>
                <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-6.0.0.0" newVersion="6.0.0.0"/>
            </dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
                <assemblyIdentity name="WebGrease" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" culture="neutral"/>
                <bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-1.6.5135.21930" newVersion="1.6.5135.21930"/>
            </dependentAssembly>
        </assemblyBinding>
    </runtime>

For more information see the following:

App-V 5.1 Serverupdate klemmt

John Behneman | Senior Support Escalation Engineer | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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System Center All Up: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/ 
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/ 
Orchestrator Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/ 
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/ 
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager 
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/

KB: Non-administrator users can't log on if CEIP is enabled in a UE-V deployment

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In a Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) deployment that has Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) enabled, non-administrator users are unable to log on to the computer if they do not already have a profile on it.

This issue occurs because the files in the C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Microsoft\UEV\SQM folder were created with the incorrect permissions. Specifically, only the SYSTEM account and the Administrators group have Full Access, and the Everyone entry was not added correctly. Because of this, non-administrator users cannot read or copy files from that folder when they create the folder structure for a new profile.

For complete details as well as a resolution, please see the following:

KB3110762 - Non-administrator users can't log on if CEIP is enabled in a UE-V deployment (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3110762)

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

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Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv

Forefront Endpoint Protection blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
Forefront Identity Manager blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/
Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/

OpsMgr 2012 R2

UE-V remote data collection: How to capture ETW tracing of a settings refresh problem when applying Settings Templates

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~ Paul Westervelt | Support Escalation Engineer

FIXHi everyone, this is Paul Westervelt from the Cloud & Infrastructure Solutions App-V/UE-V Support Team with a quick support tip on Microsoft User Experience Virtualization.

One of the most difficult aspects of troubleshooting UE-V is trying to capture the application of settings that have been modified on a Source System when those settings are not being applied to the secondary systems. What has us scratching our heads is that we have confirmed that the settings were made on the source system, and we see that the Settings Templates have been updated from the modified date on the corresponding PKGX files located in SettingsStoragePath, however they still don’t show up.

To find out what’s happening we’ll need to get a trace, but since the settings get applied during the login process we will need to be able to start the tracing prior to the user logging into the target system. In order to do this we can perform the traces from a remote session. By using the SysInternals utility PSExec, we are able to create a remote command window that will allow us to issue the ETW logman commands from the remote system. I explain how to do this below but here’s a reference article that explains in general what this process requires:

2782997 - How to Enable Debug Logging in Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2782997). See Scenario 2: Tracing a Desktop Settings Issue

Our Scenario

System A = Source system
System B = Target system (the one that does not get the correct settings update)

1. System B is not in a session.
2. System A has had all the changes made and verified.

Getting Ready

Our basic process to gather the trace is the following:

1. Open an administrative command prompt on System A and use PSExec to open a remote command window to System B.
2. Create the logman trace.
3. Access System B, login and reproduce the settings issue.

Before we begin however, we will need the following configured on the 2 systems:

1. Download PSExec. The current version is 2.11 and can be found at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553.aspx.
2. Place PSExec in a local folder on both systems (e.g. C:\UEV_Trace)
3. Make sure that File and Print Sharing is enabled on both computers. This is required for the remote connection.

Gathering the Data

1. Make sure that System B is logged out and has no active sessions
2. Login to System A and modify the setting being traced
3. Confirm that the settings are changed and that the wallpaper is correct
4. Confirm that the Settings Storage location is updated
5. On System A, open an Administrative command window
6. Change folders to the location where the files were saved earlier (e.g. C:\UEV_Trace)
7. Run the following command: psexec \\system_b cmd
8. Wait until the command window title changes to \\system_b
9. Change folders to the C:\UEV_Trace folder
10. Run the following two commands in the Administrative command window:

logman create trace UEV -P "Microsoft-User Experience Virtualization-App Agent" -ow  -o uevtrace.etl
logman update UEV -P "Microsoft-User Experience Virtualization-Agent Driver"

11. In the command window run logman start UEV
12. Lock System A
13. Login to System B and reproduce the refresh issue
14. If the issue is reproduced and the setting refresh fails, complete the following:
    a. Unlock System A
    b. In the command window run logman stop UEV
    c. Collect the ETL file and transfer it to the Workspace site.
15. If the issue DID NOT reproduce, complete the following:
    a. Unlock System A
    b. In the command window run logman stop UEV
    c. Delete the ETL file
    d. Repeat all of the settings modification steps until the issue reproduces

Once we have a successful reproduction of the problem, collect the ETL file and convert it to text (human readable) using the following command:

Netsh trace convert uevtrace_00000x.etl DUMP=TXT

Since the conversion needs to be done on a system that has the UE-V client installed, it is best to go ahead and process the conversion before removing the files from the target system.

Our goal is to provide troubleshooting options and we welcome your feedback and any recommendations for making this post better.

Paul Westervelt | Support Escalation Engineer | Cloud & Infrastructure Solutions | App-V, UE-V, SCSM

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Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
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The RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/
The Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/

The Forefront Endpoint Protection blog : http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
The Forefront Identity Manager blog : http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
The Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
The Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/

Hotfix Package 1 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.1 is now available

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DOWNLOAD_thumb2

Hotfix Package 1 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.1 (App-V 5.1) has been released and is now available for download. The Knowledge Base article below describes Hotfix Package 1 and the fixes that are included. For complete details as well as installation instructions and a download link, please see the following:

KB3115834 - Hotfix Package 1 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.1 (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3115834)

J.C. Hornbeck| Solution Asset PM | Microsoft GBS Management and Security Division

Get the latest System Center news onFacebookandTwitter:

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Main System Center blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/

Configuration Manager Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
Data Protection Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
Orchestrator Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/orchestrator/
Operations Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/
Service Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
Virtual Machine Manager Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm

Microsoft Intune: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/
WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
RMS blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/rms/
App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
Server App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv

Forefront Endpoint Protection blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/clientsecurity/
Forefront Identity Manager blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ms-identity-support/
Forefront TMG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/
Forefront UAG blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/edgeaccessblog/
Application Proxy blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/applicationproxyblog/
The Surface Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/surface/

ConfigMgr 2012 R2

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