Pulseway agent and Intune "Fresh start"

[TorW]

Hi all. We are deploying the preconfigured Pulseway v9.x agent with Intune (MSI file), and that works well.

However, whenever we do an Intune "Fresh start" on a client that has the Pulseway agent installed and working, we get a duplicate entry for the client in the web app. I assume it's because technically the agent gets reinstalled by Intune and in the process gets a new value in HKLM\Software\MMSOFT Design\PC Monitor\ClientIdentifier.

Now, because the new and the old install is indistinguishable from each other in the web app, it's almost impossible to know what entry should be removed and what entry should stay.

Is there a way to identify these obsolete entries in the web app, or maybe look up the client identifier value somewhere? Or maybe some other method we can use to clean up duplicated hosts that will never, ever come back online?

Edited February 17, 2023 by TorW

[dnelson]

I would suggest modifying HKLM\Software\MMSOFT Design\PC Monitor\ComputerName before/after installation to allow you to distinguish them. Besides that in Account > Manage Systems you should be able to tell them apart by the time they were last online.

 

Depending on the logistics of your installation, you may be able to store the original ClientIdentifier in a temporary registry key. This would allow you to reinstall, and then replace the new Identifier with the original one. If you can keep the device from checking in before the key is replaced you may be able to save yourself the hassle of manually removing duplicate systems.

[Anne]

Hey @dnelson Thanks for replying, we really appreciate it! 

[TorW]

On 2/17/2023 at 9:46 PM, dnelson said:

I would suggest modifying HKLM\Software\MMSOFT Design\PC Monitor\ComputerName before/after installation to allow you to distinguish them. Besides that in Account > Manage Systems you should be able to tell them apart by the time they were last online.

 

Depending on the logistics of your installation, you may be able to store the original ClientIdentifier in a temporary registry key. This would allow you to reinstall, and then replace the new Identifier with the original one. If you can keep the device from checking in before the key is replaced you may be able to save yourself the hassle of manually removing duplicate systems.

Thanks for your answer!

This is a pretty convoluted solution that doesn't lend itself to automation very well. We have over 1000 clients to manage and I'm not a fan of manual Rube Goldberg machines in ops, but some useful techniques in your answer anyway

It would be even more useful if uninstalling a PW client with the MSI (what Intune does) also removed it from the web app, because as far as I know only the other way around works now. I.e. when you remove a client from the web app while it's online, the client will uninstall itself. Correct me if I'm wrong ... !