Fix: Software Center Can Not be Loaded Error in SCCM

In this post, I will cover multiple solutions to fix Software Center can not be loaded error that appears upon launching the SCCM Software Center. You can use these solutions when Software Center fails to load with errors.

The Software Center is an application that is installed along with SCCM client agent. When you install the Configuration Manager client on a Windows device, it automatically installs Software Center.

There are instances when the Software Center fails to load, and it usually shows an error. One such common error is Software Center can not be loaded, and we will see how to troubleshoot this error and fix it.

Sometimes the software center crashes without any errors indicating the installed dot net framework is corrupted. In rare cases, software center doesn’t load because one of the dependency components is missing on the computer.

I often get many questions on Prajwal Desai forums regarding the software center errors. Every error code has a unique solution associated with it, and you have to examine the SCCM log files to determine the root cause of the issue.

Review Software Center Log Files for Troubleshooting

Before we proceed further, whenever you encounter errors with Software Center, you must always review the log files. The SCCM Software Center log files are located on the client computer in C:\Windows\CCM\Logs folder.

There are three important SCCM log files for troubleshooting Software Center issues:

• SCClient_domain@username_1.log – Records the activity in Software Center for the specified user on the client computer.
• SCClient_domain@username_2.log – Records the activity in Software Center for the specified user on the client computer.
• SCNotify_domain@username_1.log – Records the activity for notifying users about software for the specified user.

Fix Software Center Can Not be Loaded in SCCM

When you attempt to launch the Software Center, the following error pops up: Software Center can not be loaded. There is a problem loading the required components for Software Center. You can try launching Software Center at a later time. If the problem continues, you can contact your helpdesk.

The error Software Center can not be loaded in SCCM has multiple solutions and I will be listing these solutions in this post.

Solution 1: Reinstall SCCM Client

When you’re troubleshooting Software Center can not be loaded error on client computer, the first step that you can try is reinstalling the SCCM client agent.

You may argue that Software Center loaded perfectly fine previously. However, there are chances that your software center got corrupted and reinstalling the client agent fixes most of the issues.

The client reinstallation process involves uninstalling the ConfigMgr client agent on the computer and manually installing the client agent on the same computer.

You can refer to the following guide on reinstalling SCCM client agent on computer.

Solution 2: Repair ConfigMgr Client

When you notice the software center isn’t loading properly on a computer, you can try repairing the Configuration Manager client agent.

Using ccmrepair, you can easily repair SCCM client agent using command line. CCMrepair repairs all the components on SCCM client agent. You can refer to the following guide on different ways to repair SCCM client agent on a computer.

Once you have repaired the client agent, restart the computer and then launch the Software Center. The Software Center can not be loaded error should be fixed now.

Solution 3: Check Software Center Dependencies

When you install a Configuration Manager agent on a computer, the agent relies on different components to function. For example, you must update the .NET framework to version 4.8 so that you don’t encounter any errors on SCCM clients, install latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable etc.

Configuration Manager 2107 and later versions require at least .NET version 4.6.2, but recommends the latest version of .NET Framework 4.8. CCMSetup doesn’t automatically install .NET version 4.8. Ensure you install a supported version of Dot Net Framework for SCCM clients.

Coming back to software center dependencies, many of the components are services or features that Windows enables by default. You shouldn’t disable these components on Configuration Manager clients. If any of the below components or services are disabled, the Software Center will not load correctly.

The below table lists all the dependencies external to Configuration Manager client.

Windows Component	Description
Windows Installer	Required to support the use of Windows Installer files for applications and software updates.
Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS)	Required to allow throttled data transfers between the client computer and Configuration Manager site systems.
Task Scheduler	Required for client operations, such as regularly evaluating the health of the Configuration Manager client.
Remote Differential Compression (RDC)	Required to optimize data transmission over the network.
SHA-2 code signing support	Clients require support for the SHA-2 code signing algorithm. For more information, see SHA-2 code signing support.

Solution 4: Troubleshoot Software Center Issues with Log Files

If you have tried above solutions and if you still encounter Software Center can not be loaded error, you must review the Software Center log files to determine the issue.

Suppose that you launch Software Center on a client computer, and you see Software Center can not be loaded error. The below screenshot shows the exact Software Center error that you see.

As soon as you see the above error, on the client computer go to C:\Windows\CCM\Logs folder. Use CMTrace log file viewer or other ConfigMgr Log file viewers to open the log files.

For Software Center loading errors, the log file that you need to review is SCClient_domain@username_1.log. Open this log file and carefully review each line.

The below log file shows the WMI queries to CCM_PROGRAM and multiple errors are resulting in SCCM Software Center can not be loaded. For example, Exception Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.Data.WmiException: Provider load failure.

The below lines are pasted from SCClient_domain@username_1.log.

Exception caught in Connect, line 246, file C:__w\1\s\src\DataAbstractionLib\WmiDataProvider\WmiConnectionManager.cs - Type System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException: Call was canceled by the message filter. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80010002 (RPC_E_CALL_CANCELED)) (Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.Data.WmiConnectionManager at Connect)
StackTrace: at System.Management.ThreadDispatch.Start()
at System.Management.ManagementScope.Initialize()
at Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.Data.WmiConnectionManager.Connect(String machineName, String namespaceName, Boolean monitorEvent)
Unhandled exception was caught. (Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.SingleInstanceApplication at OnGetException)
Failed to convert the internalException. The error code will be 0. (Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.Data.WmiException at get_ErrorCode)
Exception caught in OnGetException, line 193, file C:__w\1\s\src\SoftwareCenterApplication\PDApp.cs - Type Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.Data.WmiConnectionException: WMI repository is not connected, error code 0 (Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.SingleInstanceApplication at OnGetException)
StackTrace: at Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.Data.PlatformDataConnector.Connect()
at Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.Data.ClientConnectionFactory.CreatePlatformConnector()
at Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.SCClient.d__18.MoveNext()
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
at System.Runtime.CompilerServices.TaskAwaiter.ThrowForNonSuccess(Task task)
at System.Runtime.CompilerServices.TaskAwaiter.HandleNonSuccessAndDebuggerNotification(Task task)
at Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.SCClient.d__16.MoveNext()
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
at System.Runtime.CompilerServices.AsyncMethodBuilderCore.<>c.b__6_0(Object state)
at System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.InternalRealCall(Delegate callback, Object args, Int32 numArgs)
at System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.TryCatchWhen(Object source, Delegate callback, Object args, Int32 numArgs, Delegate catchHandler)

From the above log snippet, consider this error: “Microsoft.SoftwareCenter.Client.Data.WmiConnectionException: WMI repository is not connected, error code 0“. This error indicates there have been issues with WMI repository on the client machine. If the Repository becomes corrupted, then the WMI service will not be able to function correctly. In such cases, the SCCM software center fails to load and shows the error Software Center can not be loaded.

If WMI is corrupted, you can receive various errors depending on what activity was being accomplished at the time. To fix WMI issues on a client, you must rebuild the WMI repository. After you rebuild the WMI repository, the WMI issues are resolved and software center should load correctly.

Conclusion

Software Center troubleshooting in SCCM is a complex topic. Whenever you encounter Software Center can not be loaded error in SCCM, you can try the above-mentioned solutions. Some errors in Configuration Manager have more than one solution and most important, troubleshooting begins by reviewing log files. If something else worked for you, feel free to add them in the comments section.