Fixing SCCM Console Connection Errors Caused by Corrupted Performance Counters

We recently expanded SCCM Console access to a number of additional users. Before access was granted, each user completed a short training session, and their SCCM permissions were heavily restricted as expected.

However, several machines began displaying an error when launching the SCCM Console:

Cannot connect to the SCCM database

If you’re an SCCM administrator, this error will look very familiar — and in most cases, a simple permissions adjustment resolves it.
This time, however, three machines continued to fail despite checks on:

• SCCM role-based permissions
• WMI and DCOM configuration
• CU1 installation
• General machine configuration

With the usual suspects ruled out, it was time to dig deeper.

Reviewing the SMSAdminUI.log

The next place to check is the SMSAdminUI log file:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Configuration Manager\AdminConsole\AdminUILog

On all three affected machines, the following errors appeared:

The performance counter '# result objects in memory' was not found
The performance counter '# exceptions' was not found
The performance counter '# images' was not found

These errors strongly suggested that the local performance counter repository was corrupted.

How to Fix the Error

1. Uninstall the SCCM Console

Completely remove the SCCM Console from the affected machine.

2. Rebuild the Performance Counter Repository

Open an elevated Command Prompt and run:

LODCTR /R

Once the rebuild completes, you should receive a confirmation message indicating that the performance counters have been successfully restored.

3. Reinstall the SCCM Console

After the counters are repaired:

• Reinstall the SCCM Console
• Reapply any required hotfixes (e.g., CU1)

At this point, the SCCM Console should open without further issues.

Feedback

If you have any feedback about this guide or have encountered similar issues, feel free to leave a comment below — your input helps improve the documentation for everyone.

About The Author

Andrew Armstrong

Andrew Armstrong is a UK-based IT professional with 26+ years of hands-on experience in Windows, Windows Server, SCCM/ConfigMgr, Active Directory, PowerShell, and enterprise infrastructure. He founded TechyGeeksHome in 2010 and has published over 1,500 practical guides covering real-world IT problems and solutions. When not solving IT problems, Andrew develops free Windows utilities including Ultimate Settings Panel, which has been downloaded over 850,000 times.

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