Windows 10

Working with the restart behavior of Win32 apps

by

A long time ago, I did a post about Working with the restart behavior of Applications in ConfigMgr 2012. That post is still being read pretty well. Based on the interest of that post, and the introduction of nice new features to the Win32 apps, I thought it would be a good idea to redo that post for Microsoft Intune. Before an IT administrator had to be creative to work with, or work around, the restart behavior of Win32 apps. Either by wrapping installations and capturing the exit code, or by tuning the translation of an return code. With the latest adjustments to the Win32 apps, within Microsoft Intune, the IT administrator has more options to actually work with the return code of an Win32 …

Read more

Applicability rules for device configuration profiles

by

This week a new blog post about a little nice, but quite unknown, feature. Applicability rules for device configuration profiles. The nice thing about applicability rules is that those rules can be used to target devices in a group that meet specific criteria. That enables an administrator to assign a device configuration profile to all users, or all Windows 10 devices, but only actually apply to Windows 10 devices of a specific version or edition. In this post I’ll go through the configuration of applicability rules (including a few important details) and the administrator experience. Configure applicability rule Let’s start by looking at applicability rules. Applicability rules can be configured for every device configuration profile type with Windows 10 and later as Platform, with the …

Read more

Windows 10 MDM (PowerShell) scripting

by

A long, long time ago, I wrote about the MDM WMI Bridge provider. Nowadays I notice that the MDM WMI Bridge provider is still an unknown configuration layer for many IT admins. That’s why I’ve decided to do another post about the MDM WMI Bridge provider. A quick reminder: the MDM WMI Bridge provider is used to map the CSPs to WMI. This time my post is more focused on providing some examples and guidance. Besides that it’s also a nice addition on my latest posts about Windows 10 MDM configurations, policy refresh and troubleshooting. I’ll start this post by showing how to configure device settings and I’ll end this post by showing how to trigger device actions. Keep in mind that this post is …

Read more

Scheduling a reboot via Windows 10 MDM

by

This week is also about configuring Windows 10 devices. This week is all about scheduling a reboot on a Windows 10 device by using Microsoft Intune and Windows 10 MDM. That can be useful for scheduling reboots on for example shared devices. Simply making sure that even those type of devices get a reboot every now and then, or making sure that specific configurations or installations are getting fully applied. This can be achieved by using the Reboot CSP. In this post I’ll have a look at the available policy settings and the configuration of those policy settings. I’ll end this post by having a look at the results of the configuration. Available policy settings The Reboot CSP can be used to configure reboot settings. …

Read more

Windows 10 MDM troubleshooting

by

This week another new blog post related to Windows 10 MDM. In the recent weeks I’ve discussed policy refresh, some configurations and now some troubleshooting. This post is also triggered by my previous as I used the MDM Diagnostics Tool (MdmDiagnosticsTool.exe) as an example. Based on that example I’ve received some requests for more information. There are more useful tools like dsregcmd, but this post will focus on the MDM Diagnostics Tool, as there’s not that much information available. In this post I’ll provide information about the usage and results of the MDM Diagnostics Tool as having the right information is really useful for troubleshooting Windows 10 MDM managed devices. Introduction of the MDM Diagnostics Tool The MDM Diagnostics Tool is a command line tool …

Read more

Triggering devices to upload (diagnostic) files to cloud storage

by

This week is all about triggering Windows 10 devices to upload (diagnostic) files to cloud storage. That can be very useful for gathering information and diagnosing potential issues. Starting with Windows 10, version 1903, Microsoft added additional functionality to the DiagnosticLog CSP. The DiagnosticLog CSP is used for generating and collecting diagnostic information from the device and the additional functionality enables triggering devices to upload existing event logs, log files, and registry values to cloud storage. That actually opens the route to some really nice scenarios regarding the collection of information on MDM managed Windows 10 devices. I’ll start this post by providing some information about the required setting, followed by going through the steps of configuring that setting. I’ll end this post by showing …

Read more

Enable password-less sign-in with security keys

by

This week is all about enabling password-less sign-in with security keys on Windows 10. I know that a lot has been written about that subject already, but it’s that big that it still deserves a spot on my blog. Especially the Microsoft Intune configuration belongs on my blog. In this post I’ll show the required configurations that should be performed, by an administrator and the the user, to enable the user to use a security key as a sign-in method. My user will use a Yubikey 5 NFC security key. I’ll start this post with the authentication method policy that should be configured in Azure AD, followed by the steps for a user to register a security key. I’ll end this post by showing the …

Read more

Windows 10 MDM policy refresh

by

This week is all about the Windows 10 MDM policy refresh. More specifically, the policy refresh behavior starting with Windows 10, version 1903. Starting with Windows 10, version 1903, the policy refresh got a lot more interesting. Before Windows 10, version 1903, the policy refresh would simply tattoo the settings once during the device checking. Starting with Windows 10, version 1903, the settings that are implemented by the Policy CSP are actually refreshed during the device check-in. Not just tattooed once, but actually re-applied when for example adjusted by the user. Also, similar to that, those settings are also removed when no longer assigned. In this post I’ll have a look at the triggers for a device check-in, the different device check-in actions and the …

Read more

Configure time zones via Windows 10 MDM

by

This week a blog post about a nice newly introduced policy setting in Windows 10, version 1903. That setting is available in the TimeLanguageSettings area, and can be used to set the time zone of the device. The TimeLanguageSettings area already existed before Windows 10, version 1903, but previously only contained a single setting for Windows 10 Mobile. Now it also contains a very useful setting related to non-Mobile versions of Windows 10. That setting will give some more control on the default time zone configuration of a device. In this post I’ll briefly go through the setting, followed by the configuration and the end-user experience. Settings Let’s start by having a look at the setting. The TimeLanguageSettings area is not a new node within …

Read more

Quick tip: Configure primary device via Software Center

by

This week a relatively short blog post about a recently introduced feature in Configuration Manager, version 1902. That feature is the option for the user to select a device as a primary device, by using Software Center. Previously the Application Catalog was still required to provide users with that specific option. That was also practically the only reason to still use the Application Catalog. From that perspective, this also provides a clear path for further simplifying the Configuration Manager hierarchy. In this post I’ll show how to enable the option for the user to configure a primary device via Software Center, followed by the end-user experience. Configuration Now let’s have a look at the configuration that enables the option for the user to configure a …

Read more