K2 provides a convenient native MSI package to install our agent on supported versions of Windows. Usually, installation is as easy as double clicking the MSI and following the prompts, but sometimes things can go wrong during the installation or a previously working installation can stop checking in.
This article is designed to give you strategies you can use to repair a failed installation of the Kolide Launcher agent on Windows or to repair an agent that has stopped checking in.
Step 1 - Download the latest MSI from the K2 onto the impacted Windows Device
Having the latest MSI directly sourced from the K2 app is a critical step you must complete before a repair can be attempted. Attempting to repair a malfunctioning Windows agent with the original MSI you downloaded may cause unexpected behavior or the repair process to fail.
To download the latest MSI package, you can do one of the following:
Option #1 - Download From Slack
If your organization has installed our Kolide Slack app, you can message the Kolide app with the command installers .
From there, simply select "Windows (.msi)" from the dropdown.
Option #2 - Download from the K2 web application
If you have access to the Kolide K2 web application, you can download the agent by accessing https://k2.kolide.com/x/settings/my/downloads and selecting the "Windows (.msi)" option.
Step 2 - Right Click The MSI and choose "Repair"
Right click on the MSI you downloaded and press "Repair."
Once the repair process is complete, the device should re-connect immediately to K2. If you were prompted to reboot, please do so.
Should you encounter one of the following errors during the process, please follow their corresponding instructions to recover.
"This Action is Only Valid For Products That Are Installed"
This message can appear during the repair process if either the Windows device never previously had launcher installed, or, it was installed with a different version of our installer. Please follow the "Uninstall and Reinstall Process" outlined below.
"You do not have sufficient privileges to complete this installation" (or any error message related to permissions)
This error message can sometimes occur if you have the Service Manager (services.msc) open during the installation process. If this manager is open it can prevent Windows from correctly modifying and restarting services. Close the service manager and attempt a repair again to avoid this error.
If this persists, please follow the "Uninstall and Reinstall Process" outlined below.
"Another version of this product is already Installed"
This message can appear during a repair, or an install process if a different version of the MSI was used. Please follow the "Uninstall and Reinstall Process" outlined below.
If the Repair failed to work and did not produce an error message
In rare circumstances, this repair process may not work and produce no actionable errors. If this is the case, we recommend taking the following steps:
Reboot your device - There are instances where the corresponding service cannot successfully start itself without a full system reboot.
Uninstall and reinstall the agent - Please see the "Uninstall and Reinstall Process" documented at the end of this article.
Contact Support. If you still are having issues connecting the Windows Agent to K2, please contact us at support@kolide.co or press the chat widget on the lower-right corner of the K2 Web Application.
Uninstall and Reinstall Process
In some cases, you will need to uninstall and reinstall the kolide agent.
Verify that "Kolide launcher kolide-k2" does not appear in the list of Uninstallable Programs (type "appwiz.cpl" in the Run box to access this screen or click the shortcut link on the affected Windows device).
If it does appear, uninstall it.
Reboot the machine. This is necessary to ensure that the Windows Service is fully removed.
Double click on the MSI file to install it, and follow any prompts to complete the installation.
You may need an additional restart.