How To Fix Task Sequence Error 0x80004005 In SCCM

The error code “0x80004005” In SCCM is the most common error code you will ever see.

You will see the error “0x80004005” when you are deploying an operating system via a SCCM task sequence.

The error “0x80004005” means Unspecified error, To find out what has caused this error you will need to look at the SMSTS.log file to see what caused this error.

How To Fix The 0x80004005 Error

When troubleshooting the “0x80004005” error the first thing we need to do is check the SMSTS.log file for errors. To do this follow these steps.

1. During the task sequence, press F8 to open a Command Prompt window.
2. If the command prompt does not load then you will need to enable the F8 command support in your boot image.
3. Type notepad and hit enter
4. open the file X:\Windows\Temp\SMSTSLog\SMSTS.log  or  X:\Windows\Temp\SMSTSLog
5. Check the log for errors

You can also save the log files to a USB stick and then open the log file on your computer using CMTrace.exe

In the SMSTS.log below you can see the errors “Failed to get client identity 0x80004005” and “SyncTimeWithMP Failed 0x80004005” and “Failed to select MP” To find resolutions to these issues google each error for more information on them.

It is also possible to see which step failed when running a SCCM task sequence, I will cover how to check that in the next section.

0x80004005 Whilst Running SCCM Task Sequence

You could also see this error when running the task sequence.  Below is a screenshot I took when I got the error a few days ago.

First thing we need to do is work out which task sequence step is causing the error.  To do this follow these steps

• Open the SCCM console
• Go to \Monitoring\Overview\Deployments
• Left click on the required task sequence
• then click on view status
  
• Find the machine name that had the error (Should be under error tab)
• Left click on the computer under asset details
• Select more details
  
• Now look at the exit codes to work out which step caused the error
  

Now we know which step caused the error we can now work out how to fix it.

Drivers

If the error was caused by a driver confirm the following

• Are the drivers being applied to the correct machine model
• Are the drivers distributed

You could try to re-download the drivers and add them back in to SCCM again.

Is the drivers getting applied via a command line?  I have seen an issue where there is a syntax error in the command line, for example (Setup.exe /auto upgrade / noreboot /dynamicupgrade /compat scanonly)  Should of been (Setup.exe /auto upgrade / noreboot /dynamicupgrade /compat /scanonly)  it was missing a / before scanonly.

To test the command line you can log on to the machine and manually run the command line and see if it installs as expected.

Applications

If you identify an application is causing the error we will need to check the applications install command. To do this follow these steps

• Open the SCCM console
• Go to \Software Library\Overview\Application Management\Applications
• Locate the application and right click > Properties
• Click deployment types tab
• Select the application and click edit
• Click programs tab
• Verify the installation program command is correct
  
• I recommend to manually run this command on a machine that does not have the application installed to verify it installs correctly

Ccmsetup Failed With Error Code 0x80004005

This error usually points to an issue with the Management Point server.  Check in the SCCM console that there are no errors relating to the MP.

Next confirm that the “Configuration Manager Client Package” has been distributed correctly, to do this follow these steps

1. Open the Configuration Manager Console
2. Click on Software Library
3. Click on packages
4. Select Configuration Manager Client Package
5. Check the content status, is it distributed to all DPs, has it failed to distribute to any?

An Error Occurred While Retrieving Policy For This Computer

This error can appear before you have started to run the task sequence. You will see the error as per below.

An Error Occurred While Retrieving Policy For This Computer (0x80004005). For more information, contact your system administrator or helpdesk operator.

The main causes for the above error are

• DNS issue
• Time sync
• Self-Signed Certificate Has Expired

To troubleshoot this issue we need to look in the smsts.log file to find the root cause.  At the above screen press F8 and open the smsts.log file (Should be in the location x:\windows\temp\smstslog\smsts.log).

DNS Issue

If you see the below errors the issue should be because of DNS issues.

• unknown host (gethostbyname failed)
• sending with winhttp failed; 80072ee7
• Failed to get client identity (80072ee7)

Is the DHCP server setting the correct DNS servers? Can you ping the dns name of the SCCM server?

Time sync

If you see the below errors then the issue should be a time sync issue

• SyncTimeWithMP() failed. 80072ee7
• Failed to get time information from MP: http://MPserverFQDN
• An error occurred while retrieving policy for this computer

To fix this issue go in to the client machines BIOS and make sure the time and date are set correctly then run the task sequence again.

I recommend you to press F8 and open the command prompt and run the  date and time  commands to confirm the correct date and time are set.

Self-Signed Certificate Has Expired

If the self-signed certificate has expired this will also cause the above error.  To check if it has expired do the following.

• Open up the SCCM console
• Go to \Administration\Overview\Site Configuration\Servers and Site System Roles
• Left click on the SCCM server that is serving the PXE boot
• Right click on distribution point > Properties
  
• Click on the communication tab
  
• Check the expire date
• If it has expired re-create the certificate

Conclusion

This is not going to be a quick fix as the error message is a generac error and anything can be the issue.

First make sure the date and time in the computers bios is correct, then confirm DNS resolution is working and make sure the SCCM self-signed certificate for the distribution point has not expired.

Then follow the steps above and you should be able to find what is causing the issue.