Before you begin troubleshooting Application Pack deployments, it's important to first make sure that you're using the latest version of SmartDeploy. When you're logged in to the console, if you see the Update Available link in the top-right corner, click it to download and install the latest version of SmartDeploy.
You're welcome to submit a support ticket for help with your Application Packs. But you can troubleshoot some common issues related to Application Pack deployments.
How can I tell that my application is deploying?
You can view the Application Log in Event Viewer to confirm that the Application Pack is extracting and to confirm the correct command is being executed per your Application Pack configuration.
The application deployment never starts; only a clock icon appears and never goes away.
First, you'll want to confirm that your target client doesn't appear in gray or faded text in the Computer Management workspace. Gray text is an indication that the client has not checked in recently and is not checking for new messages. If this is the case, first restart the SmartDeploy Enterprise Client service on the endpoint, and allow about 5 minutes for the service to start and the client to check in with your console. You'll also want to make sure that the required ports are open between your client and console host. For more information, you can view our article: Which ports are required by SmartDeploy?
Application Pack deployments may also queue when a previous application deployment appears to be in process. On the target PC, delete the SD folder in C:\Windows\Temp if present the .SPK Application Pack file.
The application deployment appears to start, but the application never installs.
We see this problem when the installation syntax that is set in the Application Pack is incorrect and the application installation has generated an error or some other prompt requiring user interaction. Because these application installations are run in the System context, you won't be able to see these prompts as a user, and the installation will remain hung in the background.
When this happens, use the Task Manager to end the installation process, or restart the client PC. Then, delete the SD folder in C:\Windows\Temp if present. Then, revisit your Application Pack configuration to make sure that you have the correct syntax set in your command line arguments.
Test your application installation as system.
To test the installation of your application as system, follow these steps:
- Download the PsExec tool from Windows Sysinternals.
- Extract the PSTools Zip file to a convenient location.
- Open a command prompt as Administrator, and change directory to the folder that contains PsExec.exe.
- Run this command: psexec.exe -s -i cmd.exe
- Click Agree if you are prompted by the toolset.
- Run the command whoami to confirm that the command prompt is nt authority\system.
- Test your installation by using the command prompt.
