Here’s the whole scenario, from the beginning:
We had AMS v4.6 running on computer A, using an MSDE database, also installed on computer A.
We then installed SQL Server 2005 Express on computer B, and AMS v4.7 on the same computer, and pointed the new AMS at the new database. Then, we tried to migrate our old data from the MSDE on computer A to SQL Server on computer B, by running a backup job on the AMS on computer A, and then trying to restore the backup on the AMS on computer B.
As detailed earlier in this thread, our efforts to migrate the database failed. So the new database on computer B was more or less empty. I think that the tables were created when we installed the new AMS, but that’s it.
So then we (unwisely?) took a chance and just stopped the AMS on computer A, and let the clients figure it out. They all re-pointed themselves to the AMS on computer B. But that AMS was using an “empty” database.
At this point all of the client machines “froze up”, but not really. That is to say, anything that was already running on them (interactive processes or services) kept running just fine, but as soon as we tried to do anything that involved opening a file, we would lose desktop interactivity. We could still use non-interactive remote management tools, at least to some extent. And we found that if we remotely killed the process Avagent.exe, we could regain interactive control of the computer.
Unfortunately we found that out too late, and had already restarted most of the computers in the network, which also solved the problem.
So, I guess the question is: what exactly happened, and why?
Thanks,
Ben