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Deleted updates keep returning in Patch Manager

I have recently taken over maintenance of our Patch Manager operation from a previous employee who left our organization. During the course of approving, declining, or deleting updates I have noticed that many I have declined/deleted seem to keep popping back up and returning to the list, this forcing me to repeat the process. Over the last month, however, I have now noticed that it appears ALL updates I have declined/deleted in the last 30 or so days keep coming back the very next day after I removed them, all showing as having the Arrival Date as the day I deleted them.

How is this possible and why is it happening? I am growing more and more frustrated with the time I have to waste re-declining/re-deleting all of these (several thousand) only to see that my work was useless the next day.

I am running Patch Manager version 2.1.0.1087 currently and know I should probably update to 2.1.3 but haven't attempted yet.

Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

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lindsey.serrano

Hi Dale,

Try checking out the link below and see if the instructions given can be helpful.

Uninstall an update using Patch Manager - SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. Help and Support

shtech

Unfortunately this does not help my situation. None of the updates I need to remove have ever been installed anywhere. They only show up in my Patch Manager console. I decline/delete them but they return the next day.

frgpugs

Here is what I think is happening?

You are deleting third party updates from Administration and Reporting > Software Publishing instead of from Update Services > SERVERNAME > Updates.

If im right you are deleting the package from the sync of the catalog and not from the approved/published section. When the server syncs with the catalogs again it will get any that are missing.

So again assuming im correct, heres what you do. Delete third party updates that are superceded from the UPDATES section toward the top. Decline microsoft updates that are superceded. Dont delete microsoft updates and dont decline third party updates.

Hopefully that helps.

shtech

Thanks for the suggestion... But I am in Update Services > SERVERNAME > Updates... and deleting from All Updates. Most of what I am deleting is stuff from Microsoft, not Third Party either. It is very strange and has me scratching my head and rather frustrated with it all.

frgpugs

That is strange then.

Do you do maintenance on the SPM DB regularly?

When was the last time you ran the server cleanup wizard or the WSUS SQL cleanup script?

shtech

I'm going to have to say no... Having "walked into" the task of maintaining Patch Manager after the previous staff member left, I have not yet learned how to do maintenance on the SPM DB or run the WSUS SQL cleanup script. I do, however, routinely run a server cleanup about once every other week. Should it be more often?

shtech

So yesterday afternoon I ran the Server Cleanup Wizard again, then proceeded to delete again (for the umpteenth time) all the updates that had reappeared (over 2000 of them), ran the Server Cleanup Wizard again... and today all the same updates are back.... UUGGHHHH!!!!!!! Am I the only one with this issue?

frgpugs

Here is a link to the re-index script from microsoft

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/6f8cde49-5c52-4abd-9820-f1d270ddea61

I would run it once a month or when you run the cleanup wizard. I have both things set up to run automatically once a week on sundays, the cleanup wizard is scheduled through patch manager and the index script as a scheduled task in windows.

frgpugs

did the re-index script help at all?

shtech

To be honest, I have been so busy I haven't even had a chance to look at this much less try it out.... And I'm not really familiar with running this script (where, how, etc). I'm new to all of this... but thanks for the link.