Create Shortcut With Elevated Rights
How do I create a shortcut that runs as Administrator?
System Center 2012 ConfigMgr Dashboard– Because we want you to look smart
Do you know the feeling when it feels like you have lost your head and can’t find the information your need? You start browsing the 468 canned reports and quickly spend a couple of hours still without finding exactly what you need. @ Coretech we know the feeling, but instead of keep being frustrated we decided to do something about it. Our solution is a System Center 2012 dashboard where we can see all the information we need in an easy way. Our dashboard will provide you with information in 3 layers and 3 dimensions….it sounds smart and Yes, it [...]
Get Direct Collection Memberships And Machine Variables Information
On several occasions I have had the need to pull information on SCCM devices, and recently I was asked to do a backup of all client direct memberships and some specific machine variables. So I thought I would share my latest version of a script that does that. The script takes an argument that will allow you to limit the process to only a set of named clients or just one if you prefer. Param($clients) The script starts by create a class to contain the information pulled from SCCM, making it easier to work with afterwards. Add-Type -Language CSharpVersion3 @" [...]
Deploy Office dependent applications with custom requirements based on architecture of OS and Office with SCCM 2012 R2.
In this blog post I’ll go through how to set up a custom requirement detecting whether a computer is running x86 or x64 version of Windows 7 or Windows 8 (Works for 8.1 as well). Furthermore I’ll set a requirement that detects whether Outlook.exe is a 32-bit or 64-bit edition. The detection is flexible and independent of the Office Version. Shorter explanation about the environment where the new application is about to be deployed: Environment contains a great mix of: - Windows 7 x86 with Office 2010 32 bit edition - Windows 7 x64 with Office 2010 32 bit edition [...]
SMSTS.log Size and History is Reset During Refresh Scenarios
If you have changed the default values for LogMaxSize and LogMaxHistory in your SMSTS.ini in your boot media, some of you might have experienced that these values gets reset to their default values (1000000 and 1) during a refresh scenario. This causes us to loose build history and makes troubleshooting quite difficult as logs are incomplete. Well, our friends over at E1 have created a nifty little tool that you can use to overcome this issue. The tool will change the following variables that controls the log behavior, these are normally read-only and can not be changed the way we [...]
Change device ownership in Configuration Manager with PowerShell
All newly enrolled devices are enrolled as Personal Devices by default in Configuration Manager and we cant change the default behavior. If the Device Ownership is Company, then we can inventory all the installed applications and we can also do mandatory installations. If the Device Ownership is Personal, then we can inventory only applications that are installed through Company Portal. If your company policy is that all the devices must be company-owned, then you can use this script to query a specific collection devices and it will set the Device Ownership to Company. Import-Module $env:SMS_ADMIN_UI_PATH.Replace("\bin\i386","\bin\configurationmanager.psd1") $SiteCode = Get-PSDrive -PSProvider CMSITE [...]
Why System Center Updates Publisher aka SCUP is still a great tool
Welcome to the Coretech x-mas blog Calendar where we will give you a little insiders tip every single day in December. Even if I don’t deploy 3rd party updates with SCUP 2011 I still use the tool for two purposes. I always upgrade my ConfigMgr clients and consoles to the latest CU using the built-in cab files. This allow me to use my existing software updates collections and I don’t have to worry about specific platforms since the detection rules in SCUP will take care of that. You can find the cab files on the site server in %Program [...]
Upgrading ConfigMgr 2012 R2 Primary site server from Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server 2012 R2
Maybe my most boring blog post ever, but just finished upgrading the primary site server from Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server 2012 R2. After the upgrade I performed a ConfigMgr Site reset (not required, but just in case). Testing out the different features and all but one looked to be doing just fine. The only feature that didn’t work was the Software Update feature. A quick look in the wsyncmgr.log file revealed that the server wouldn’t synchronize between the primary site server and the WSUS server. Sometimes the solution is just too easy and almost not even worth blogging [...]
Why do my ConfigMgr clients not report having the new CU3 installed?
Recently I had to deploy CU3 to a lot of clients and I ran into a funny issue. After a couple of days I only saw about 10-15% of the clients reporting the new CU3 being installed although my CU3 packages seemed to be running fine and hitting almost 90% of all clients in the organization. It turned out that our Heartbeat discovery was configured with the default settings which is “run every 7 days”. The heartbeat discovery data generated on each client is only about 10-12 kb in size and contains information about the client version. [...]
Device based vs User based MDM policies in ConfigMgr 2012 R2
With ConfigMgr and Intune you have long been able to manage devices like Android, iOS and Windows with mail profiles, security settings, Wi-Fi profiles and VPN profiles. Deployment of those profiles has undergone a fundamental change with the release of ConfigMgr R2 and CU3. To understand those changes you first to understand how policies were deployed in the past. Back in the old days “prior to R2 CU3” On the ConfigMgr side, even if you deployed policies to a user it would always be deployed to the device. What happened in the background the policy generated would not be generated [...]
Slides and links from my session @Techdays in Sweden
As always thanks for attending and for making speaking in Stockholm being a fun thing to do. As promised during the session here are the links to the blog posts I mentioned, the script I used and the slide deck. Autmating the WSUS Cleanup process https://blog.ctglobalservices.com/kea/house-of-cardsthe-configmgr-software-update-point-and-wsus/ SQL PowerShell audit script http://stevethompsonmvp.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/powershell-sql-audit-script/ Splitting existing ConfigMgr database into multiple SQL files http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/jnelson/archive/2009/07/27/140199.aspx Pre-creating the database before installing Configmgr – download script Post 2012 CU2 hotfix to speed up user policies in hybrid MDM scenarios - https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2994331 Management point replicas - https://blog.ctglobalservices.com/kea/working-with-database-replicas-on-your-management-point/ Multiple software upate points and shared db - http://blogs.msdn.com/b/steverac/archive/2013/02/07/configuring-multiple-software-update-points-in-a-configmgr-2012-primary-site-what-to-expect.aspx Slide deck [...]
Coretech System Center Dashboard
I’m proud to announce our System Center dashboard with the Configuration Manager 2012 connector. What is the dashboard Coretech’s System Center dashboard with the Configuration Manager 2012 connector enables enterprise client management administrators to make the right decisions at the right time. The dashboard can provide status on deployments, compliance, mobile devices and client health. The Dashboard also provides accurate information that supports continuous improvements in client management. The primary goal of our Dashboard is to communicate information clearly and efficiently to both administrators and management. At Coretech we know that effective visualization gives you the information needed to analyze [...]
Troubleshooting Certificate deployment on iOS devices with ConfigMgr & Intune
Last week I had an issue trying to enroll certificates thru ConfigMgr/Intune via NDES on iOS devices. The enrollment worked like a charm on Windows Phone 8.1 devices. The error I got in the crp.log file (Certificate Reqistration Point component) was key usage in CSR 160 and challenge 224 do not match To fix the issue you have to modify the certificate NDES General Purpose certificate template and remove Signature in proof of origin. You will find the property in Extensions After that iOS devices started appying the certificates.
Coretech Automated Software Update Management–CASUM
We love to automate and spend time on interesting tasks – If you are like us, why not use our latest tool CASUM and get done with Patch Tuesday in 10 seconds. Download today more detailed informatil will follow
Change Temporary Location for SCCM Media Creation
When you create Task Sequence media in Configuration Manager, the environment variable TMP is used to locate temporary storage for the creation process. By default this points to the users temp folder, which is usually on C: drive with limited space. While this is normally not a problem for creating an online boot media, creating offline media with many driver packages, software packages etc. you are bound to run into trouble. It is not only the Create TS Media wizard that uses this location, is also used when a WIM file needs to be mounted, so every time you create [...]
Using Server V.Next as a ConfigMgr 2012 R2 CU3 site system role
Does it work? Sure it does, is it supported? – No way In my test I deployed the new Windows Server Technical Preview 9841, installed the distribution point, management point and software update point requirements. Here you see the distmgr.log file distributing content to my cm03.corp.viamonstra.com distribution point – notice the server version number. Windows 10 client downloading from the Server vNext distribution point Management Point works like a charm Application Catalog point running from a Windows 10 client Software update point configured as the second SUP works. The SUP is installed using the same shared database as my Windows [...]
Windows 10 as ConfigMgr 2012 R2 client
No, the client is not supported and yes it works with most of the features. In my case I used Jason Sandy’s startup script to get my client installed. Here is a few screenshots of what I have tested so far: Client is installed and assigned The Application Catalog feature works Application and package deployment works like a charm Compliance Settings tested and working Inventory works Software Update scanning works OS deployment works – just check the blog post from Johan Arwidmark - http://www.deploymentresearch.com/Research/tabid/62/EntryId/192/Beyond-unsupported-Deploying-Windows-Technical-Preview-with-MDT-2013.aspx
Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 and R2 PowerShell Provider
Updated 23.03.2015! As you might have already noticed that Configuration Manager PowerShell Provider is lot like Active Directory, Registry etc. provider. To run a cmdlet you need to be inside CMSITE. If you are still using SP1+, then: 1. you can´t use New-Item cmdlet to create folders 2. you can´t set the location to sub folders 3. Get-ChildItem does not work at all If you are using R2+, then 1. You can use New-Item to create folders 2. You can change the location i.e. sub folders etc. 3. Get-ChildItem only prints out folder objects but not collections, applications etc. inside [...]
Scripts and links from my sessions @IT/Dev connections
A big thanks to all who attended at our sessions. Below are the links to the scripts and blog post we referenced during the session. Hope to see you all again next year! Managing Configuration Manager with PowerShell [download id="217"] Building Custom Tools Using PowerShell [download id="216"] Truly Better Together: Configuration Manager 2012 R2 and PowerShell [download id="215"] Quick and Dirty – Build Configuration Manager 2012 Admin Console Extensions automatically - http://cm12sdk.net/?p=2299 Configuration Manager 2012 R2 Developer Excel Sheet - http://cm12sdk.net/?p=2326 Does Your Hard Work Advance the Ecosystem? - http://blogs.msdn.com/b/powershell/archive/2011/02/07/does-your-hard-work-advance-the-ecosystem.aspx Coretech Collections Tool - https://blog.ctglobalservices.com/kaj/coretech-configuration-manager-2012-r2-powershell-automation-module-0-1/ Before you start using these script examples on your production environment, please make [...]
Links and downloads from SCU 2014 in Basel
Below is a list of the links and scripts that I used in my two sessions today on Compliance Management and Troubleshooting ConfigMgr. Compliance examples – download Configuration Manager Support Center: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42645 Microsoft System center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager Toolkit: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36213 Optimizing ConfigMgr database: http://stevethompsonmvp.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/optimizing-configmgr-databases/ Background on maintenance task: http://stevethompsonmvp.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/how-to-determine-if-the-configmgr-rebuild-indexes-site-maintenance-task-is-running/ Configuring SQL Backup and recovery, includes link to demo: http://stevethompsonmvp.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/configmgr-2012-site-backup-and-recovery-overview/ Autmating the WSUS Cleanup process https://blog.ctglobalservices.com/kea/house-of-cardsthe-configmgr-software-update-point-and-wsus/ SQL PowerShell audit script http://stevethompsonmvp.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/powershell-sql-audit-script/ Splitting existing ConfigMgr database into multiple SQL files http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/jnelson/archive/2009/07/27/140199.aspx Pre-creating the database before installing Configmgr – download script SQL Script to for fragmentation on the SQL DB Checking [...]
Scripts and links from the ConfigMgr 2012 Site Review session @IT/Dev connections
A big thanks to all who showed up at our session, Steve and I had a fantastic time and could easily have gone on for 75 more minutes Below are the links to the scripts and blog post we referenced during the session. Hope to see you all again next year! Optimizing ConfigMgr database: http://stevethompsonmvp.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/optimizing-configmgr-databases/ Background on maintenance task: http://stevethompsonmvp.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/how-to-determine-if-the-configmgr-rebuild-indexes-site-maintenance-task-is-running/ Configuring SQL Backup and recovery, includes link to demo: http://stevethompsonmvp.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/configmgr-2012-site-backup-and-recovery-overview/ Autmating the WSUS Cleanup process https://blog.ctglobalservices.com/kea/house-of-cardsthe-configmgr-software-update-point-and-wsus/ SQL PowerShell audit script http://stevethompsonmvp.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/powershell-sql-audit-script/
Links from the ConfigMgr 2012 R2 precon @IT/Dev Connections
Thanks for a great day @Aria in Las Vegas. As promised here are the links we (@Jarwidmark and @Agerlund) mentioned during our preconference: Pre-creating the database using this script SQL backup and restore http://stevethompsonmvp.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/configmgr-2012-site-backup-and-recovery-overview/ Software Update Report dashboard rdl file Software Update step-by-step: http://blogs.technet.com/b/gary_simmons_mcs/archive/2013/12/09/creating-a-custom-report-for-system-center-2012-r2-configuration-manager-part-1.aspx PowerShell Script to set permissions in Active Directory for OSD http://www.deploymentresearch.com/Research/tabid/62/EntryId/160/PowerShell-Script-to-set-permissions-in-Active-Directory-for-OSD.aspx Hydration for System Center 2012 R2 http://www.deploymentresearch.com/Research/tabid/62/EntryId/149/The-Hydration-Kit-for-System-Center-2012-R2-is-available-for-download.aspx Script for Deploying a reference image (VM) fully unattended http://www.deploymentresearch.com/Research/tabid/62/EntryId/172/Deploying-a-reference-image-VM-fully-unattended.aspx Link to Jason Sandy's startup script for ConfigMgr Client: http://blog.configmgrftw.com/configmgr-client-startup-script/ Video - Compliance Settings and Control End–User Installed Software http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/MMS/2013/UD-B307 Coretech Configuration Manager shutdown utility https://blog.ctglobalservices.com/kea/configuration-manager-shutdown-utility/ How to [...]
House of Cards–The ConfigMgr Software Update Point and WSUS
A Card house; fun to build but not very solid and when one card falls the whole house often goes down with it. It’s a little like that with the WSUS server and Configuration Manager. Installing WSUS seems so easy but there are still some moving part, and if you get one of the wrong maybe the whole House of Cards falls. Recently I have seen that happen at several customers. This blog post is divided into 3 parts: 1. Introduction 2. Problem overview and symptoms 3. Solutions to fix issues and avoid it in the future Let’s start by [...]
3rd party updates & Compliance using Secunia and System Center 2012 ConfigMgr
This is the 3rd and final post in my series of Secunia CSI and System Center 2012 Configuration Manager integration. Part 1 focused on installing and configuring, Part 2 focused on deploying and installing 3rd party software updates. This blog post will introduce you to the monitoring options in the product. You can monitor compliance in either ConfigMgr or in Secunia CSI. The difference between the two is ConfigMgr will only show you compliance about the updates you have published to WSUS where CSI will list compliance for all applications found on the systems. Tracking compliance in CSI In CSI [...]