SCCM Client on Windows XP ? No it’s not Supported

Prajwal Desai
Posted by Prajwal Desai

You cannot install SCCM client on Windows XP computer. That’s because its not supported anymore by Configuration Manager current branch.

Recently I was asked if SCCM client agent can be installed on Windows XP machine by any means. Well, the answer is NO and you should not be using Windows XP OS on any of your computers.

Windows XP OS is outdated and is not being developed and supported anymore. It would be a great risk if you still have Windows XP running on any computer in your setup.

While most of you are already aware of this fact however sometimes out of curiosity some of us would like to see the Configuration Manager client can be installed on Windows XP.

Microsoft Product Lifecycle – Windows XP

Windows XP operating system has been removed from support for Configuration Manager clients. Microsoft clearly states this fact in the article on deprecated OS for Configuration Manager clients.

You must always ensure you are using supported version of OS before you push ConfigMgr client agent. Keep an eye on deprecated client operating system list.

SCCM Client on Windows XP
Deprecated OS for Configuration Manager clients

Windows XP OS was supported by ConfigMgr but with SCCM version 1511, the support was removed. Windows XP is simply not manageable by Configuration Manager current branch.

Furthermore when you go to Search product lifecycle page and search for Windows XP OS, you will find the support end dates. The support end date for Windows XP was 8/30/2005 according to Microsoft product lifecycle page.

SCCM Client on Windows XP
Microsoft Product Lifecycle – Windows XP

What happens when you install SCCM client on Windows XP

Suppose you are using Configuration Manager current branch and when you perform a client push on Windows XP machine, the agent will not install.

First of all your Windows Server would fail to access admin share of the Windows XP machine. That’s because SMBv1 is not installed on server. Also Microsoft publicly deprecated the SMBv1 protocol in 2014.

WNetAddConnection2 failed (LOGON32_LOGON_NEW_CREDENTIALS) using account (00000180)
WNetAddConnection2 failed (LOGON32_LOGON_NEW_CREDENTIALS) using account (00000180)
NetUseAdd failed: 384: dwParamError = 0
 NTLM fallback is enabled
 WNetAddConnection2 failed (LOGON32_LOGON_NEW_CREDENTIALS) using account PRAJWAL\sccmadmin (00000180)
 Attempting to connect to administrative share '\WINXP\admin$' using machine account.
 Failed to connect to \WINXP\admin$ using machine account (384)
 ERROR: Failed to connect to the \WINXP\admin$ share using account 'Machine Account'
 ERROR: Unable to access target machine for request: "2097152006", machine name: "WINXP",  access denied or invalid network path.

And suppose you enable the SMBv1 protocol on the server (which you shouldn’t) and push the client agent, you will find the following lines in ccm.log file.

Notice the line “OS is Windows 2003, Service Pack less than 2, returning as this is an unsupported OS“.

OS is Windows 2003, Service Pack less than 2, returning as this is an unsupported OS
OS is Windows 2003, Service Pack less than 2, returning as this is an unsupported OS

Yes, since Windows XP is an unsupported OS by SCCM, you will surely find this line in the log file.

Connected to administrative share on machine WINXP.PRAJWAL.ORG using account 'PRAJWAL\sccmadmin'
 Trying the 'best-shot' account which worked for previous CCRs (index = 0x0)
 Attempting to make IPC connection to share <\WINXP.PRAJWAL.ORG\IPC$> with Kerberos authentication
 SspiEncodeStringsAsAuthIdentity succeeded for IPC$ authentication!
 SspiExcludePackage succeeded for IPC$ authentication!
 SspiMarshalAuthIdentity succeeded for IPC$ authentication!
 NetUseAdd succeeded for IPC$ authentication!
 Searching for SMSClientInstall.* under '\WINXP.PRAJWAL.ORG\admin$\'
 System OS version string "5.2.3790" converted to 5.20
 Service Pack version from machine "WINXP.PRAJWAL.ORG" is 1
 OS is Windows 2003, Service Pack less than 2, returning as this is an unsupported OS
 Unsupported NT version "5.2.3790" on machine "WINXP.PRAJWAL.ORG"
 Unable to connect to remote machine "WINXP" using Kerberos with machine account, error - 0x80070005.
 NTLM fallback enabled, remote machine "WINXP" is continuing with client push.
 Unable to connect to WMI on remote machine "WINXP", error = 0x80070005.

I just wanted to show you all what happens when you push SCCM client on Windows XP machine. The SCCM client on Windows XP isn’t supported any more. Hope you got the answer.

SCCM Client on Windows XP FAQ’s

Some of the questions related to installing SCCM client on Windows XP.

Does Microsoft Support Windows XP ?

No, the Support for Windows XP ended on April 8, 2014. Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or technical support for the Windows XP operating system.

Can I Install SCCM client agent on Windows XP ?

No, the SCCM client agent is not compatible with Windows XP operating system.

What was the support end date for Windows XP ?

The support end date for Windows XP was August 30 2005 according to Microsoft product lifecycle page.

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Prajwal Desai
Posted by Prajwal Desai
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Prajwal Desai is a Microsoft MVP in Intune and SCCM. He writes articles on SCCM, Intune, Windows 365, Windows Server, Windows 11, WordPress and other topics, with the goal of providing people with useful information.
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