Member Avatar for whiskeyjar

I have installed Symantec 8.1 on 18 XP workstations by using the NT Client install option located in the Symantec System Console. For the past month, one workstation has not had its virus definitions updated. (Definitions were being updated consistently before then). I visited the workstation yesterday and found that Symantec had an exclamation point next to the icon. I uninstalled it and attempted to re-install via the client install option again, but I received the following error:

"Unable to detect the standard network share, ADMIN$, on <computername>. The network path was not found. It will not be possible to install Symantec Antivirus client software on this machine until the machine is available and ADMIN$ network share is accessible". :mad:

Any ideas or suggestions as to how to remedy this situation would be greatly appreciated. The personal firewall in XP is turned off. Everything else is working fine; the computer is able to access everything else on the network and responds to ping. Many thanks in advance.

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Short note expanding on the replies from , , and with a compact troubleshooting path to try before a manual reinstall.

Symantec’s remote/NT client installer uses the administrative shares (C$, ADMIN$/system root and IPC$) to copy and launch the setup remotely, so even if ADMIN$ appears locally you still need network-level access (correct credentials, Server service, SMB/RPC ports and firewall exceptions) for the console to reach it. (manualzilla.com)

Quick, ordered checks to run from the management/console machine

  • Verify you can reach the share interactively: try Explorer or this command (supply admin credentials if needed):
net use \\computername\ADMIN$
  • Confirm the Server/LanmanServer service is running on the target:
sc query lanmanserver

  • From the target run net share to confirm ADMIN$ is actually published; if ADMIN$ disappears intermittently, check the AutoShareWks/AutoShareServer registry values and scan for malware. (learn.microsoft.com)

  • If ADMIN$ is present but the console still fails, open the Windows Firewall / add the File and Printer Sharing exception (this opens UDP 137/138 and TCP 139/445) or push those exceptions via Group Policy — XP SP2’s firewall will block the SMB/RPC traffic needed for remote installs if not permitted. Do not leave the firewall off; add exceptions or use GPO for a permanent rule. (learn.microsoft.com)

Notes for the cases mentioned in the thread

  • If Norton (or other consumer security) was removed recently (as noted), use the vendor removal tool to clear leftover drivers/services before retrying (leftovers can block SMB/RPC). (support.norton.com)
  • As discovered, a temporary firewall off may make the install work, but the right fix is to open the proper exceptions or deploy the rule with GPO so the client stays manageable. (learn.microsoft.com)

If those steps still fail, capture the exact error from the Symantec install log and the output of net use \\computername\ADMIN$ and sc query lanmanserver — that will point to authentication, service or port-level failure.

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Member Avatar for bentkey

The ADMIN$ share is a standard windows share that is automatically created. Look in Control Panel/Computer Management/Shared Folders/Shared and see if it's there. If not, something has corrupted you configuration. It should exist and point to "C:\winnt" or whatever your system folder is. You're not supposed to ever do anything with this share.

Member Avatar for whiskeyjar

Thanks for the speedy reply, bentkey. I checked the shared folders and the ADMIN$ directory is there; I will attempt to deploy again. Thanks again for your help.

Member Avatar for thezukiman

I have the same problem and the admin$ is there in the admin control panel etc... but my console doesn't see it no matter whether i'm logged in as administrator or the user of the machine...the only thing I did different with this machine than any other that I configure is it came with a 3 month subscription to Norton Antivirus and I uninstalled it so that I could put our corporate version on it so it wouldn't run out in 3 months...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

:confused: thezukiman (as in Suzuki motorcycles)

Member Avatar for idunno

double check that xp sp2 firewall. i just had the same problem with the ADMIN$ share while using nt client install from the symantec system console. I ran killfirewall.bat that i found on http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=422503 then it worked like a charm. We don't need the windows firewall in our environment - using symantec web security.

Member Avatar for idunno

when the user rebooted the windows firewall came back on and then i lost communication with the client through symantec system center - shut the firewall off again and communications were restored. need to find a more permenent way to shut off the firewall - probably through group policy

double check that xp sp2 firewall. i just had the same problem with the ADMIN$ share while using nt client install from the symantec system console. I ran killfirewall.bat that i found on http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=422503 then it worked like a charm. We don't need the windows firewall in our environment - using symantec web security.

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