App-V client refresh results in error code: xxxxxx-xxxxxx2A-0000274D

I was talking to App-V Support Engineer John Behneman the other day about some of the more popular cases and what kinds of issues those folks were seeing and he tells me about how common it is for new App-V admins to accidentally install more than one App-V component on the same box.  I haven't actually tried that myself but apparently it can cause all kinds of errors and problems and frustration so I asked him to write me up a quick post using an example he's seen.  His story is below but I can sum it up in  a single sentence for you here: Don't install more than one App-V component on a computer.

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I had an interesting call the other day from an App-V customer new to 4.5.  His App-V 4.5 clients were receiving the following error message when trying to do a DC Refresh against the Virtual Application Server (VAS):

"The SoftGrid client could not update the Desktop configuration information from the server SG1.
No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it"
Error code: 450260-19D06C2A-0000274D.

Note: The VAS is now called “System Center Application Virtualization Management Server”

A typical cause of this error is the "Application Virtualization Management Server" service not running, but when we launched the services.msc we found that the service did not exist.  What was even more strange was that the Application Streaming Server Service was there.  Apparently what had happened was that both the “Microsoft Application System Center Application Virtualization Streaming Server 4.5” and then the “Microsoft Application System Center Application Virtualization Management Server” had been installed on the same server.

Although this is something that will definitely cause problems, I can see how it might seem like the logical choice if you're not familiar with the product.  Looking at the layout of the MDOP menu, I can see where the order of the App-V components could be confusing as well:

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Regardless of the order of the items on the list, the key takeaway is this:

Step 1: Click on View directory of documentation and Release Notes.

Steps 2: Only install one role on any given computer.  Note that in most common scenarios you'll ultimately need the client, the sequencer to create your packages, and the Microsoft Application Virtualization Management Server.  Unless you're deploying to branch offices or other advanced scenarios, chances are you won't need the Microsoft Application Virtualization Streaming Server.

For an in depth look at deployment options using the new System Center Application Virtualization Streaming Server 4.5 please refer to the following article:

App-V Centralized Management & Scalable Infrastructure

Ok, now back to my customer’s situation.  How did we fix it you ask?  Well the fix turned out to be pretty simple as we just uninstalled the “Microsoft Application System Center Application Virtualization Streaming Server 4.5” and did a repair install of the “Microsoft System Center Application Virtualization Management Server 4.5”.

To do a repair install just go to Add or Remove Programs and highlight “Microsoft System Center Application Virtualization Management Server” and click change, then next, and on the Program Maintenance screen check Repair and next and then Install.  That's all there is to it. After the repair install the VAS worked properly.

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Thanks John!

J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer