Ask-A-Geek Exclusive Script: WSUS Error Checker

This WSUS Error Checker script is useful for sys admins who work with software distributions through WSUS.  It will work on any system running ActiveState Perl and it doesn’t require any special modules to be installed.

In short, the WSUS Error Checker prompts for a computer name on the network and retrieves the windowsupdate.log file. It reads the log file and reports back any errors that were encountered.  This saves the time from having to navigate and open the logs manually to see if there are any reported error messages.

Instructions:
(to run this script it is likely you’ll need to run it under a domain admin account)

Save the file and rename it to a .pl extension (ie: wsus.pl).

Edit the file and look at the line that reads my $log = “\$pcnamec$windowswindowsupdate.log“; and make sure the path is accurate for your environment. Minus the extra slashes, that reads: computernamec$windowswindowsupdate.log. The slashes are important so don’t remove them. Save the file with the new changes.

Run the Perl script and when it prompts for a computer name type it in.

That’s it! This can save you hours of work if you frequently use WSUS to diagnose issues with software deployments.