"Please enter a three-letter site code" error message when you use the Systems Management Server 2003 Administrator Console to modify the address of a child site

When you use the Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Administrator Console on an SMS parent site server to modify the Standard Sender Address properties for a child site, you may receive the following error message in the SMS Administrator Console:

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

• The child site for the address that you want to modify was installed by a custom unattended installation script.
• The SiteName property that is contained in the custom unattended installation script is longer than 56 characters.

Note When you manually run the Setup.exe program to install a new SMS 2003 site, the Systems Management Server Setup Wizard does not let you use a site name that is longer than 56 characters.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix installation instructions

To install this hotfix, follow these steps:

1. Create a new folder in a location that your SMS site servers can use. Copy the SMS2003-RTM-KB873395-X86-ENU.exe update file to this new folder.
2. On each computer that has the SMS Administrator Console installed, log on to your site server by using an account that has administrative credentials on all the primary SMS site servers in your environment.
3. Quit the SMS Administrator Console if it is running.
4. Run the SMS2003-RTM-KB873395-X86-ENU.exe file, and then follow the instructions in the wizard.