If your WSUS MMC console keeps crashing when opening a certain computer group, it could be an corrupted computer entry in the database.
If your console crashes whenever you open a specific folder, click “Copy Error to Clipboard” and check the error message.
In my case, the error message was:
System.Xml.XmlException -- '', hexadecimal value 0x16, is an invalid character. Line 1, position 153345.
Source
System.Xml
Stack Trace:
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(String res, String[] args)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseNumericCharRefInline(Int32 startPos, Boolean expand, StringBuilder internalSubsetBuilder, Int32& charCount, EntityType& entityType)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseCharRefInline(Int32 startPos, Int32& charCount, EntityType& entityType)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseText(Int32& startPos, Int32& endPos, Int32& outOrChars)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseText()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseElementContent()
at System.Xml.XmlReader.ReadStartElement()
at System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializationReader.ReadStringValue()
at System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializationReader.ReadTypedPrimitive(XmlQualifiedName type, Boolean elementCanBeType)
at Microsoft.Xml.Serialization.GeneratedAssembly.XmlSerializationReaderApiRemotingCompressionProxy.Read1_Object(Boolean isNullable, Boolean checkType)
at Microsoft.Xml.Serialization.GeneratedAssembly.XmlSerializationReaderApiRemotingCompressionProxy.Read2_GenericReadableRow(Boolean isNullable, Boolean checkType)
at Microsoft.Xml.Serialization.GeneratedAssembly.XmlSerializationReaderApiRemotingCompressionProxy.Read339_Item()
at Microsoft.Xml.Serialization.GeneratedAssembly.ArrayOfObjectSerializer623.Deserialize(XmlSerializationReader reader)
at System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer.Deserialize(XmlReader xmlReader, String encodingStyle, XmlDeserializationEvents events)
** this exception was nested inside of the following exception **
The position “Line 1, position 153345” might be different on your server.
This message could indicate, that one or more systems on your WSUS good corrupted entries in the database.
To check this, open a MSSQL Server Management Studio and open the database \\.\pipe\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##SSEE\sql\query (If you are using the Windows integrated database or the database (If you are using an MSSQL server).
Open the database SUSDB and open the table tbComputerTargetDetail. Check if the columns ComputerMake or ComputerModel contain any wrong looking entry (I had a computer make Dell_).
If there is an entry, overwrite it with a valid value and recheck your WSUS console.