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Changing the regional related (small) stuff! Dot vs. Comma

During OS deployment you normally set the regional settings to match the nationality of the user who are to receive the computer! This can be anything from the OS UI and keyboard,  to Date and time formats, and is normally done using sysprep values like SystemLocale, UserLocale, UIlanguage etc. One problem though, is the UserLocale value, which sets all the Date and time formats. These settings are all pre defined in the system based on the regional setting, which means all machines running English UserLocale will get the settings defined for en-US by Microsoft. But every now and then, you [...]

By |2012-02-23T15:48:12+01:00februar 23rd, 2012|General info, OS Deployment|3 Comments
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Coretech shutdown utility 0.81

Updated version of the shutdown utility is ready for download. Thanks to Tom for reporting a bug in the previous version. Bug Fixes: Fixed Memory Leak, which let the program consume up to 160MB. Fixed /eb switch generating a file instead, changed argument syntax to /ebM:xxx and /ebL:xxx   ShutdownTool.exe [/t] [/d] [/m] [/r | /l] [/f] [/c] [/eb] [/es] [/er] No args                 Shutdown procedure with default settings. /?                             Display help. /t:xxx                     Sets countdown time to xxx seconds. (Default 60) /m:xxx                  Sets max allowed extension to xxx minutes. (Default 1440) /d:"xxx"               Sets description to xxx.                                  This can also be [...]

By |2012-02-19T18:31:20+01:00februar 19th, 2012|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info, Tools|14 Comments
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Personal notes no 8. Kill a running process

Sometimes you want to shutdown a running process before running an installation of a piece of software. In that case the native XP/win7/server08, utility TASKKILL comes in handy. In a case where I had to upgrade MS Office Communicator to Lync! this would fail if OC was active on the users machine. So I just ran this command to close it before uninstalling. cmd.exe /c TASKKILL /IM communicator.exe /T /F No need to call any 3rd party tools like PSkill or any thing else..

By |2012-01-19T09:49:00+01:00januar 19th, 2012|General info, OS Deployment, Personal|1 Kommentar
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Clean up your wims

Generally I always use the append method of capturing my images (MDT’s ZTIBackup.wsf will do that for you, as explained here). This allows me to store multiple versions of my production image in the same image file. The biggest benefit of storing multiple images in the same wim file is of cause utilization of the single storage capabilities, as each file is only stored once, hence, space requirements for storing images are less. One problem though, is the amount of images, or INDEXES in the wim. First of it can be kind of messy if you have lots of index [...]

By |2012-01-09T08:27:03+01:00januar 9th, 2012|General info, OS Deployment|Kommentarer lukket til Clean up your wims
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Error installing SQL Reporting Builder 3.0 in ConfigMgr. 2012

It has happen to me before, and it will happen again. I ran my ConfigMgr. 2012 administrator console without starting it as Administrator. When trying to edit a report I got the error message: Report Builder 2.0  is not installed as a click-once application on report server The error message is kind of funny, as I had already configured ConfigMgr. 2012 to launch Reporting Builder 3.0 and not the default 2.0 version. When I finally managed to start the Configuration Manager Administrator console as administrator I successfully launched Reporting Builder 3.0 for information about tweeking ConfigMgr. 2012 to launch report [...]

By |2012-01-04T20:21:22+01:00januar 4th, 2012|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)|Kommentarer lukket til Error installing SQL Reporting Builder 3.0 in ConfigMgr. 2012
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Get original Driver for Lenovo biometric fingerprint scanner

I have had all kinds of trouble installing the Biometric fingerprint scanner that comes with most all new Lenovo laptops. Using the Lenovo software works, but I also installs al kinds of stuff that I don’t want, or need for that matter. Instead I choose to go with the original drive for the Hardware , exactly as I would do with  Storage and network drivers.. All Lenovo machines ( that I know of anyway), that has a built in Biometric fingerprint scanner, uses hardware from AuthenTec, formerly UPEK, so all there is to it is to pull the correct drivers [...]

By |2012-01-04T14:22:00+01:00januar 4th, 2012|General info, Hardware & Drivers, OS Deployment|Kommentarer lukket til Get original Driver for Lenovo biometric fingerprint scanner
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Check If needed OSD packages are present on a DP

  I have a few customers who have many sits, end even more Distribution Points. They also have several different task sequences for deploying everything from XP to Server08R2. Every now and then, they will create new DP’s that needs to be updated with packages, and because of space and bandwidth issues, they do not necessarily want everything distributed to these DP’s. So how do we go about adding only the stuff we need to the new (or existing) DP?   1 – Download “ConfigMgr DP Util” by Cory Becht , and install it on your Computer. 2 – Run the [...]

By |2011-12-09T15:46:47+01:00december 9th, 2011|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info, OS Deployment|5 Comments
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Så er det d. 6. december, og dagens TechNet julespørgsmål er..Nu med svar!

System Center 2012 suiten indeholder en række meget spændende produkter. Et par af disse produkter, indeholder en mulighed for at brugeren kan logge på en “Self service web portal” og shoppe efter software. Dagens spørgsål: Hvilke System Center 2012 produkt(er) tilbyder denne feature som standard? og det rigtige svar er……………………..SC ConfigMgr. 2012 og SC Service Manager 2012 der begge en Self Service Web portal hvor alle vores kære User kan shoppe software. Tak for alle svarene, den heldige vinder med første korrekte svar er Thomas Hjortevang. Proceduren er den samme som sidste år, første mail med det rigtige svar i [...]

By |2017-08-22T13:15:36+01:00december 5th, 2011|General info|2 Comments
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Make your Microsoft TechNet signature look real nice!

  For everyone posting and answering questions on the Microsoft TechNet forums, you might know that you can add a signature to you profile which will then be added to your Question/reply/answer. This is a nice feature, as you are then able to tell “the world” about yourself, every time you poste something. Now if we look at my dear Boss, Kent Agerlunds signature, you will see that it’s actually quiet nice. Simple yet informative! One thing you might notice though, is the lack of hyperlinks to Blogs, Twitter and Linkedin. It also does not stand out from the text [...]

By |2017-08-22T13:14:48+01:00november 22nd, 2011|General info|5 Comments
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Configure Client remediation in ConfigMgr. 2012 to monitor only using Settings Management

When you install the ConfigMgr. 2012 client, you also get a scheduled Windows task that run daily health checks on the client, and if needed remediates the client. That is a great feature for most our clients, but maybe not a feature you want to implement on all clients. On some servers you might not allow uncontrolled software installations, even if it is an attempt to reinstall the client. To prevent the client from being remediated configure the NotifyOnly registry key from FALSE to TRUE in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\CCM\Ccmeval\NotifyOnly When knowing the registry key and value, it’s easy to configure a CI [...]

By |2011-11-15T21:34:04+01:00november 15th, 2011|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info|2 Comments
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How to create a context menu for SMS Client Center in the Configuration Manager 2007 console

If you have ever worked with Configuration Manager 2007 you properly know about the great freeware tool called SMS Client Center created by Roger Zander. The latest version of SMS Client Center can be downloaded from here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/smsclictr/files/SCCM%20Client%20Center/ You install the tool locally on your computer and it does not require the installation of the Configuration Manager console. You can connect to one Configuration Manager client at a time by typing the dns name or ip address of the client. But you can actually launch the tool from within the Configuration Manager console without the need to manually typing in [...]

By |2011-10-29T21:16:47+01:00oktober 29th, 2011|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info|5 Comments
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Be among the first to pre-order the Mastering Configuration Manager 2012 book

I’m proud to be one of the authors behind the Mastering Configuration Manager 2012 book. The book is set to release in March 2012 and will guide the reader thru the awesome world of Configuration Manager 2012. You can expect the book to deliver solid background information about each of the features in Configuration Manager 2012 along with examples of best practices and how to make your daily life as a Configuration Manager administrator a lot easier. Pre-order the book http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1118128982/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=syscenblo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1118128982  The Authors When you look at the my fellow authors, you will see names that are all well known [...]

By |2011-09-22T20:23:28+01:00september 22nd, 2011|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info|2 Comments
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Updated version of the shutdown utility

The shutdown utility has been updated and the latest version can be downloaded here the usage of the tool is described in this post this post Change log for version 0.7: Fixed logo overlapping long descriptions. Fixed bug, where program would restart instead of logging off, when logoff option was choosen. Thanks for all the feedback

By |2011-09-18T21:18:08+01:00september 18th, 2011|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info|10 Comments
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Looking for Configuration Manager 2012 training

Looking for Configuration Manager 2012 training? Look no further. Our Mastering Configuration Manager 2012 class has been running with great success since May 2011. We have teamed up with some of the best training providers worldwide, which is your guarantee for a high quality learning experience in modern equipped training facilities. At the moment we have scheduled two different classes, a Mastering Class with Kent Agerlund and a combo class with Kent Agerlund & Johan Arwidmark. The combo class will introduce you to the new features of ConfigMgr. 2012 with a high focus on OS deployment using ConfigMgr. 2012 & [...]

By |2011-09-12T17:59:04+01:00september 12th, 2011|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info, Training|4 Comments
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Reuse old PC name during Standalone OSD

In the situation where you want to reinstall a PC using a Standalone media, you will have to incorporate some way of naming the PC, or it will pick up a random name like MININT-XXXXX. In a reinstallation scenario however, the PC will already have a Name assigned, and this name can quiet easily be picked up from the computers registry hive files. To do this just run this .vbs script, before formatting the disk. It will pick up the name and assign it to the OSDComputerName variable, which will automatically be added to the Unattend.xml (or sysprep.inf if XP) [...]

By |2011-09-06T13:01:15+01:00september 6th, 2011|General info, OS Deployment|10 Comments
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Enable LENOVO TPM Security Chip (and other stuff) from a TS

  I have some customers who run strictly Lenovo Computers (laptops and Desktops). On a lot of these computers the security Chip has been disabled or is in Inactive mode, thus not allowing the use of Bitlocker. I just finished messing around with activating the TPM Chip in the BIOS From a Task sequence on those LENOVO computers, and once all the minor obstacles were figured out, it turned out to be quiet easy. The first thing I wanted to do was to check if the TPM chis was already Active, and if not, Activate it. This is actually real [...]

By |2011-08-25T10:23:00+01:00august 25th, 2011|General info, OS Deployment|20 Comments
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Asset Intelligence 3rd. party software utility

Configuration Manager 2007 and 2012 allows you to import licens information from a CSV file. The data are shown in the License 15A – General License Reconciliation Report. The problem for many is, that it’s often a bit to difficult to create the CSV file in the correct format. Highly inspired by the CM2007 AILW utility we decided to create our own tool and make it work for both Configuration Manager 2007 and the upcoming 2012 version. You can download the utility here. Configuring the utility Once you have downloaded our utility you have to: Copy CT-AILW.exe to C:\Program Files\Coretech\AILW\ [...]

By |2011-08-16T11:19:27+01:00august 16th, 2011|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info|44 Comments
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Updated version of the Configuration Manager shutdown utility

Based on feedback we have updated our Shutdown utility described in this post to include a company log. To display the logo, create a jpg, png or bmp files in the same folder as the utility and name it shutdowntool.jpg/png/bmp – simple Download the new version here: ShutdownTool-0.6.0.zip Once again, credit goes to Claus Codam for being the main developer

By |2011-08-02T09:21:19+01:00august 2nd, 2011|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info|8 Comments
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Configuration Manager shutdown utility

To suppress or not suppress a computer restart when deploying software and software updates that is the question. No matter what you do, you most likely will not win the “best colleague of the Month” award. If you do not force a computer restart you might face problems like: Non-compliant computers Computers being in reboot pending mode which might prevent them from installing new software and software updates If you do force a restart you might face problems like: Very unhappy users Scenarios where you restart while the end-user is using the computer for a demo or presentation End-users calling [...]

By |2011-07-28T07:29:51+01:00juli 28th, 2011|Configuration Manager (SCCM), General info|102 Comments
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