Repair a Tivoli Storage Manager server instance service on Windows

During a typical Tivoli Storage Manager server installation on Windows (using the Tivoli Storage Manager initial configuration wizards), the Tivoli Storage Manager server service is created and referenced in the Tivoli Storage Manager management console as well as the Windows Services Control Manager. This allows the Tivoli Storage Manager server to run in the background.

If the Tivoli Storage Manager server service becomes damaged or corrupted (which means that the Tivoli Storage Manager server cannot start in the background as a Windows service, but can still start in the foreground using the dsmserv.exe executable), the following steps can be taken to "repair" the Tivoli Storage Manager server service. Note: In the following examples "TSM Server1" (the default first Tivoli Storage Manager server instance) will be the Tivoli Storage Manager server instance being repaired. If not repairing the first Tivoli Storage Manager server instance, make sure to note which Tivoli Storage Manager server instance is being repaired and adjust the examples accordingly to match.

1. Stop the Tivoli Storage Manager server if it is running in a foreground MS-DOS window.

2. Make a copy the dsmserv.opt, dsmserv.dsk, volhist.out, and devcnfg.out files which are located in the program files\tivoli\tsm\serverX directory by default(where X is replaced by the Tivoli Storage Manager server instance number that is being repaired ex: program files\tivoli\tsm\server1).

3. Start the registry editor (Start -> Run -> regedit.exe) and CAREFULLY delete the following keys relating to the Tivoli Storage Manager server instance number above. Note: A registry export of the following is highly recommended before deleting the keys as a safety precaution.
HKLM\Software\IBM\ADSM\CurrentVersion\console\<hostname>\Server1
HKLM\Software\IBM\ADSM\CurrentVersion\server\Server1
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\TSM Server1

4. Open the Tivoli Storage Manager management console and select the machine name from the left panel. Right click and select "Add a new TSM server". This should bring up the "Initial Configuration Task List for TSM" wizard.

5. Install a new Tivoli Storage Manager server instance by following the first three wizards. Make sure to check the following in the Server Initialization wizard:
a. Verify the Tivoli Storage Manager server instance number being installed matches the one that was deleted in step 3 above (ex: Server1).
b. Verify the server instance directory location is the same path as the one where the original dsmserv.dsk, dsmserv.opt, volhist.out, and devcnfg.out used to reside (in step 2 above)
c. Make sure to NOT reference the original production db, log, and disk volumes in the "Server Volume Location" step. Point to a set of brand new volumes (which will be discarded later). Use the default size values.

6. After the new Tivoli Storage Manager server instance is configured/installed per step 5 above, it should be running as a Windows service. Stop this service from the Tivoli Storage Manager management console or Windows services control manager.

7. Restore the backed up copies of the dsmserv.dsk, dsmserv.opt, volhist.out, and devcnfg.out from step 2 into the new server instance directory. This will effectively wipe out the references to the temporary db, log, and disk volumes created in step 5 above, and restore the original Tivoli Storage Manager server instance state.

8. At this point, the original Tivoli Storage Manager server instance should be ready for use as either a foreground program or Windows background service. Start the Tivoli Storage Manager server instance via the Tivoli Storage Manager management console and verify that everything is working correctly.

9. Delete the temporary db, log, and disk volumes created in step 5 above. They are no longer needed.