In this article:  

• Issue description

• Prerequisites

• Possible causes

• Resolution

• Related topics and articles

• How to reach support

Issue description  

While deploying the ADAudit Plus agent either automatically or manually you may encounter errors that prevent the installation from completing successfully. These issues generally arise due to network timeouts, connectivity failures, permission restrictions, or required services not running on the target machine.
This article outlines the common error messages seen during agent installation and provides guidance to diagnose and resolve each scenario.

Prerequisites  

Before troubleshooting agent installation errors, ensure the following:

• The target machine is online and reachable from the ADAudit Plus server.

• The service account being used has local administrator privileges on the target machine.

• You can access the admin$ share (\<server_name>\admin$) on the target machine using the service account.

• Windows Firewall or third-party security tools allow:

• RPC communication

• Remote registry access

• Admin share access

• Required Windows services on the target machine are running:

• Remote Registry

• Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

• No unstable network conditions (packet drops, high latency, or intermittent connectivity).

Possible causes  

Agent installation may fail due to one or more of the following:

• Network timeout during the agent installation process.

• The target computer is not reachable or offline.

• Firewall restrictions blocking ping, RPC, or admin share access.

• Remote Registry service disabled or not running on the target machine.

• The service account does not have privileges to access the admin share or create services on the remote machine.

• Underlying network connectivity issues between the ADAudit Plus server and the target computer.

Resolution   

Error: Could not install client software

A network timeout occurred during the agent installation.

• Verify that the network connection is stable.

• Re-establish connectivity and retry the installation.

Error: Could not connect to the machine

Occurs when the target machine cannot be reached.

• Ensure the target computer is online.

• Test connectivity using ping <machine_name/IP> from the ADAudit Plus server.

• Confirm that Windows Firewall or any third-party firewall is not blocking communication.

• Verify that RPC communication is allowed and enabled on the target machine.

Error: Initiating connection to remote service failed

Occurs when ADAudit Plus cannot authenticate or initiate the remote installer.

• Verify you can ping the target machine. If not, resolve the connectivity problem first.

• Ensure the Remote Registry service is running on the target computer.

• Check access to admin share (\<server_name>\admin$) using the ADAudit Plus service account.

• If access fails, follow the documentation to create a user account that has adequate rights to perform the agent installation.

• After granting the appropriate permissions, make sure to update the user credentials in:

• ADAudit Plus UI > Domain Settings > Modify Credentials and

• Windows Services > ManageEngine ADAudit Plus Service > Log On tab,
  using an account that has administrative rights and can successfully access the admin share on the target machine.

No communication available from agent to the server. Last event read time: (recent event time)

On the target machine, verify whether it can reach the ADAudit Plus web console. Open a web browser and enter the following in the address bar:
Protocol://ServerName:Port

Where:

• ServerName is the hostname of the server (or NAT device) hosting ADAudit Plus.

• Protocol is the communication protocol used between the agent and server (HTTPS by default).

• Port is the configured agent communication port (8555 by default).

This helps confirm whether the agent can successfully communicate with the ADAudit Plus server.

No communication available from the agent to the server (initial profile fetch not happening)

From the target computer, check whether the ADAudit Plus web console is accessible using a browser. Open any browser and enter the URL in the format:
Protocol://ServerName:Port

Where:

• ServerName – The hostname of the ADAudit Plus server or NAT device.

• Protocol – The protocol used for agent communication (HTTPS by default).

• Port – The port configured for agent–server communication (default: 8555).

Incorrect function  

• Ensure that the target machine is not in the middle of a shutdown or log-off process while the agent installation is running.

• Confirm that the system has sufficient free disk space before starting the agent installation.

Hexadecimal value 0x05 is an invalid character

• This error appears when the agent encounters issues reading event data.

• Upgrade ADAudit Plus to any build version 6058 or later. If the problem continues after upgrading, please contact support for further assistance.

Related topics  

• Troubleshooting ADAudit Plus Agent Installation Issues

• Event Collection Troubleshooting - General Errors

How to reach support