Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager

I have seen many errors similar to SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 when distributing packages to SCCM remote Distribution Points (DPs). Let’s explore the basic troubleshooting steps you need to follow to fix ConfigMgr content transfer errors like this.

If you see the “SendFiles Failed 0x80070003” error in SCCM, it usually means there is an issue with file transfer or path configurations.

This post provides all the steps, so you should be able to identify and fix the issue causing the “SendFiles Failed 0x80070003” error.

The following are a few errors that could indicate an issue with package distribution to some of the DPs in your ConfigMgr environment. In most scenarios, the package might be successfully distributed to most DPs.

Patch My PC

Error 0x80070003

However, the content transfer (distribution) didn’t work for several remote DPs. You can review the SCCM DP logs (especially PkgXferMgr.log) mentioned below to get more details on errors.

  • CSendFileAction::SendFiles failed; 0x80070003
  • CSendFileAction::SendContent failed; 0x80070003
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager - Fig.1
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager – Fig.1

Meaning

The content transfer error 0x80070003 translates to The system not finding the path specified—source: Windows.

Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager - Fig.2
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager – Fig.2

Package Issue?

First, you must ensure the package is deployed to all the DPs or most other DPs. This will help you understand whether there is no problem with the package itself. If there is any problem with a particular package, then all the content transfers to remote DPs will fail.

SCCM DP Logs

Check the SCCM log files related to DPs. The PkgXferMgr.log file is your best friend for remote DP distribution/package replication issues.

distmgr.logPackage Application distribution process
PkgXferMgr.logRecords the actions of the SMS_Executive component responsible for sending content from an SCCM primary site to a remote DP.
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager – Table.1

Redistribute Package

Redistribution of the package is one of the ways you need to try to fix the issue.

  • Re-distribute the package back to the remote DP
    • From the Content Locations tab
    • Select the Remote DP
    • Click on the Redistribute button
  • Wait for an ample amount of time and analyze the log files to confirm whether the issue is solved or not
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager - Fig.3
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager – Fig.3

Remove & Add Back

Removing the package from the DP and add back is one of the most worked tricks in my experience. Let’s try the following steps:

  • Remove the problematic distribution point (DP) from the package distribution
    • From the Content Locations tab
    • Select the Remote DP
    • Click on the Remove button
  • Wait for ample time and analyze the log files to confirm the DP has been removed from the package.
  • Add the package back to the remote DP.
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager - Fig.4
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager – Fig.4

Antivirus Exclusion

I have seen multiple scenarios where content distribution is blocked because of antivirus software installed on SCCM servers.

Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager - Fig.5
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager – Fig.5

It would be best if you made sure that the exclusion recommended by Microsoft is in place for all antivirus applications. These changes in antivirus policies might help you resolve the SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error.

Antivirus Exclusion for Distribution points. More details are available in Microsoft Docs.

Antivirus Exclusion for Distribution Points
Client installation folder\ServiceData
ContentLib_drive\SMS_DP$
ContentLib_drive\SMSPKGDrive_Letter$
ContentLib_drive\SMSPKG
ContentLib_drive\SMSPKGSIG
ContentLib_drive\SMSSIG$
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager – Table.2

Network Bandwidth Control Appliances

I have seen third-party network appliances (like Riverbed) used to optimize the network bandwidth between the primary server and remote DP, which can also interfere with content transfer. This point is not about the peer-to-peer applications installed on the client and SCCM servers.

  • Ensure that the Configuration Manager content is not changed/modified by any of the network appliances.

Firewall Issues

This is not necessarily the firewall application installed on your remote DP or primary server. Instead, it’s more about firewall appliances from the network team. There might be many firewall devices between two data centres where the remote DP and the primary server are located.

You must ensure all the required Firewall ports are opened between the remote DP and the primary server. Do you know RPC Dynamic Ports? TCP 49152-65535.

NOTE! This error is not related to firewall ports, but I added it for your information. You normally get RPC-related errors when you have Firewall ports-related issues.

FromToUDPTCPProtocolDirection
Site ServerDP135445/135/All the ports between 49152 to 65535RPC EPM/RPC Dynamic/SMBUnidirection
Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager – Table.3

Not Resolved?

If this content transfer error (SendFiles Failed 0x80070003) has not been resolved yet, you need to perform a network trace to understand the root cause of the issue. In the following blog post, I share examples of real-world network traces.

SCCM Real World Network Trace Examples Microsoft RPC Remote Procedure Call How To Manage Devices (anoopcnair.com).

Resources

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Author

Anoop C Nair is Microsoft MVP! He is a Device Management Admin with more than 20 years of experience (calculation done in 2021) in IT. He is a Blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group HTMD Community leader. His primary focus is Device Management technologies like SCCM 2012, Current Branch, and Intune. He writes about ConfigMgr, Windows 11, Windows 10, Azure AD, Microsoft Intune, Windows 365, AVD, etc.

4 thoughts on “Fix SCCM SendFiles Failed 0x80070003 Error | ConfigMgr | Configuration Manager”

  1. I had similar issue with newly configured SCCM 2103, after configured new SCCM site, server was not able to deploy Configuration Manager Client Package it was throwing an error “CSendFileAction::SendFiles failed; 0x80070003 SMS_PACKAGE_TRANSFER_MANAGER 6/18/2021 10:59:46 AM 11376 (0x2C70)
    CSendFileAction::SendContent failed; 0x80070003 SMS_PACKAGE_TRANSFER_MANAGER 6/18/2021 10:59:46 AM 11376 (0x2C70)”
    all the setup configuration and setting were is in place but there was no look.

    finally found the solution: as per our fix is to create 2 empty file as below.

    1- create an empty file in client upgrade folder source location.
    2- once done, go to inboxes\hman.box folder and open empty notepad file and saved it as client.acu

    Redistribution should trigger automatically after sometime, monitor the behavior for 15-20 mins.

    Reply
  2. I had similar issue, and it is resolved after updating the content to all DP.
    Right click on package/application and click ” Update Distribution Points”.

    Reply

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