Client Firewall fails to install with "Log reader error: could not format string."

Looking at AutoUpdate log file in C:\ProgarmData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\Logs\ALUpdate20211018T131123.2233090.log I see the following when it was trying to install the Client Firewall:

Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): SetupAction::Execute: Creating thread to install product Sophos Client Firewall
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): Running setup action thread...
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): SetupAction::Run: Installing Product Sophos Client Firewall
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): ALUpdate(Action.Execute): Installing Product Sophos Client Firewall
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): SetupAction::Run: Preparing...
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): SULUpdateLocation: Prepare
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): Path to decode files to: C:\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\cache\sophos_autoupdate1.dir\decode
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): Path = "C:\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\cache\sophos_autoupdate1.dir\decode\scf"
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): SULUpdateLocation::Prepare... manifest verification...
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): CheckManifest: required file missing=setup.dll error=File missing
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): ALUpdate(Install.Failure): Sophos Client Firewall
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): SetupAction::Execute: Caught PrepareException exception: Package incomplete
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): Setup action thread finished with result state 0
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): SetupAction::Execute: Thread to install Sophos Client Firewall returns 0
Trace(2021-Oct-22 18:02:35): UpdateCoordinator::UpdateNow: Update Mode for Sophos AutoUpdate is: 0

On my machine folder C:\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\cache\sophos_autoupdate1.dir\decode\ does not contain a folder called "scf". It does contain sau, savxp & sed64 however. It looks as though it was unable to unpack the scf installation files from the install package.

Is anyone else having this problem?

    Cheers

    Chris

I also have problems with installing updates recently (Windows 10) and cannot update now - log shows 'cannot format string' error. I can't help you but hope someone else can come to both or our aids.

Hello Chris and Christine,

the stand-alone (unmanaged) version ESC provides wasn't meant as a "personal" one - just an aside.
SCF - that reached  EOL on June 30th -  has effectively been retired and and replaced by a stub in August update (see Components for the release dates).  As it's no longer supported it should be uninstalled. It looks like the stub is gone (which leads to the updating error) but the download does not fail - this might or might not be deliberate.

Christian

Ok, so you're saying Sophos is no longer provding any Firewall product for unmanaged ESC, we have to use the Windows firewall or another provider to get firewall protection back?

I have turned off SCF, turned on Windows Defender, uninstalled SCF and done an update and the install failure errors have gone and SCF has dissapeared from the SESC Console.

    Chris

In fact I seem to have sorted out my problem by uninstalling and reinstalling. I had tried this on another workstation and Windows Defender was preventing it but that's now sorted too. Hope I'm not speaking too soon, but my recent problems with updating seem to have gone away. Many thanks to all who tried to help

Hello Chris,

Sophos is no longer providing any Firewall product for unmanaged ESC
no longer a Client Firewall at all. Never had one in Central/Intercept X, for ESC doesn't matter whether managed or SA 

Christian