SCCM Current Branch - Updates and Servicing issue

I've been working with a customer this week upgrading ConfigMgr Current Branch to 1906. However I encountered a problem even before I got started.

In the ConfigMgr console. I could see that 1906 was available to download.

However all options were greyed out.

I've had similar problems in the past and the trusty CMUpdateReset tool usually got me out of trouble. However not this time. I ran the tool but the problem persisted. 1906 disappeared from the console but when it reappeared the options were still greyed out. 

There were some fairly catastrophic messages in the dmpdownloader.log file.

WARNING: Failed to find a certificate matching the following thumbprint: .

ERROR: DmpDownloader:GetMessages: Failed to get messages.. Exception: System.AggregateException: One or more errors occurred. ---> Microsoft.Management.Services.Common.NotSupportedException: {~~  "_version": 3,~~  "Message": "An error has occurred - Operation ID (for customer support): 926c3692-bde5-4c8d-a6fa-7297f93d226a - Activity ID: fb69f026-d17f-4bed-8c57-4a7ded103f37 - Url: https://fef.msub03.manage.microsoft.com/Hybrid/StatelessConnectorService/StateMessages?$filter=Mode eq 1&$top=500"

I don't know if there was an easier or less dramatic way to solve this but I fixed it by removing and re-adding the Service Connection Point (this is a perfectly harmless operation).

Normal service was resumed and I could upgrade the site.

I hope this helps. Until next time.....

Configuration Manager (CB) Upgrades - what you should not do

System Center Configuration Manager landing page

The Configuration Manager Product Group shared this information on our monthly call last night. There was no objection to me publishing it here. I hope you find it useful.

This is a list of things that you absolutely should NOT do in relation to upgrading Configuration Manager (Current Branch) to a newer version. It seems that some IT Pros are being creative in trying to resolve problems and in some cases are making them worse.

So, here we go - #4 is my personal favourite.

1. Do NOT manually clean up EasySetupPayload folder for CM update that is being downloaded/processed.
2. Do NOT manually clean up CMU without confirming the correct state and content library for the Easy Setup package.
3. Do NOT restore the CM database/CM site server if there is an error with CM update (fix the issue and "retry installation").
4. Do NOT reinstall the Service Connection Point if an update is in progress.
5. Do NOT use 1602 cd.latest to install a standalone primary site (Note: you can use this method to install a child primary to a 1602 CAS).
6. Do NOT use 1602 cd.latest to upgrade a 1511 site or R2 SP1 (or earlier) site.
7. Do NOT manually clean up any CM_Update* tables.
8. Do NOT restart CMU service during installation.
9. Do NOT keep the CMUStaging\<Guid> folder open during installation.
10. Do NOT copy files in CMUStaging.
11. Do NOT restart SMSEXEC during payload download (dmpdownloader.log shows if the package content is downloading). The Notification can get lost in that scenario.

Microsoft will try to make most of these more resilient in release 1606.

I hope this helps. Until next time......