The awesome world of child task sequences

Like last week I’m staying in the world of new features of Configuration Manager, version 1710. This time it’s all about the awesome world of child task sequences. Awesome. To be a bit more specific, the awesome world of child task sequences, which refers to the newly introduced task sequence step Run Task Sequence. This opens up a whole lot of options, from using specific standards throughout all deployments until enabling different administrators from maintaining their own child task sequence. In this post I’ll go through a short introduction about the Run Task Sequence step, followed by the configuration options for the Run Task Sequence step. I’ll end this post with the end result of running a child task sequence, by showing how it’s logged. …

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Download package content during a task sequence

This week a blog post about one of the smaller new features of ConfigMgr 1511 and later. I want to devote this post to the new ability to easily download the content of a package during a task sequence. This ability is mainly introduced to work with the Windows 10 upgrade scenarios and the WinPE peer cache functionality. However, it can also be used to replace all the Run Command Line task sequence steps that were used to copy the content of normal Packages during a task sequence. In this post I’ll go through the different configuration options of that new ability, the Download Package Content task sequence step. I will also show an example in a task sequence and I will end with a …

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Installing the Microsoft Intune client directly after a task sequence

This blog post will be about a bit strange scenario, it will be about deploying a device via a task sequence of ConfigMgr and ending up with the Microsoft Intune client. There are some cases in which the customer elects to manage some devices through Microsoft Intune, instead of ConfigMgr, but still wants to deploy the operating system via ConfigMgr. In those cases creativity is required to get the Microsoft Intune client installed. The ConfigMgr client and the Microsoft Intune client can’t coexist on one device and it’s not possible to remove the ConfigMgr client during the task sequence (without breaking the task sequence).  That’s were the SMSTSPostAction task sequence variable comes in place. This variable can be used to trigger an (unmonitored) action after …

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How the settings in ConfigMgr translate to the command line in USMT

The last couple of days I’ve seen and read a few situations in which it was clear that it’s not always that obvious what the USMT command line will be based on the settings in ConfigMgr. This blog post will be about the different settings in a task sequence for capturing and restoring the user state and how they translate to the command line for USMT. Capture User State Let’s start with two basic capture settings and continue from there. These basic settings are Capture all user profiles by using standard options and Copy by using file system access. These settings combine to a command line like this C:\_SMSTaskSequence\Packages\PCP00001\amd64\scanstate.exe C:\_SMSTaskSequence\UserState /o /localonly /efs:copyraw /l:C:\WINDOWS\CCM\Logs\SMSTSLog\scanstate.log /progress:C:\WINDOWS\CCM\Logs\SMSTSLog\scanstateprogress.log /i:C:\_SMSTaskSequence\Packages\PCP00001\amd64\migdocs.xml /i:C:\_SMSTaskSequence\Packages\PCP00001\amd64\migapp.xml. Based on that command line we can see …

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Install computer-targeted application during OS deployment via PowerShell and ConfigMgr 2012

A few months ago I did a blog post about installing user-targeted applications during operating system deployments via PowerShell and ConfigMgr. This time I will do a similar post, on request, about installing computer-targeted applications during operating system deployments. Yes, I know it might be worth a discussing about why someone is still using computer-targeted deployments, but that will not be a part of this blog post. Script A big part of this script, and by that also this post, might look familiar, as it’s based on the previous script for user-targeted applications. Just like with that previous script I will go through all the key steps of the script. The following five steps make sure that I only get the applications that are required …

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Running a Service Management Automation (SMA) Runbook during a task sequence in ConfigMgr 2012

It’s been a few weeks since my last blog post, but here is a new one again. This time my blog post will be about running a Service Management Automation (SMA) Runbook during a task sequence. I will show this functionality by using an example scenario of moving a computer to a different OU.  A bit more than a year ago I did something similar but then via a Orchestrator Runbook, so this time I will take it a level further. For some, maybe even most, people and companies it might be a level to far, for now, but I would like to share it anyway. As I like ConfigMgr, PowerShell and automation, I like to prefer SMA above Orchestrator. Also, SMA will become more …

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Install User-targeted Applications during OS Deployment via PowerShell and ConfigMgr 2012

Let’s start my first post of this great new year with another nice PowerShell script. This post will be about deploying required user targeted applications, to the device of the primary user, during OS deployment. Yes, I know the setting of Pre-deploy software to the user’s primary device, but that doesn’t give enough control. After deployment, the device has to be completely ready for use. A bit more than a year ago I already did a post about pre-provisioning user applications during OS deployment via Orchestrator and ConfigMgr 2012. This time I wanted to make less assumptions. I also wanted to be sure that a user is a member of a collection and what the application is that is deployed to the collection. I first …

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Setting a Static IP Address during a Deployment via PowerShell and ConfigMgr 2012

This week my blog post will be about setting a static IP address during a deployment. I’m going to do this via a combination of a PowerShell script, a computer variable and a task sequence. I know it is possible in the Task Sequence Wizard to supply static IP information, but there are two reason why I did not use that solution: I’ve seen a lot of situations where the IP configuration got applied after the policy requests were done to the Management Point. This would cause the task sequence to fail. I wanted a zero touch experience for the persons performing the deployment. PowerShell Script Let’s start with the most important part of my solution, a PowerShell script. This script sets a static IP …

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Deploying Windows Embedded 8 Standard with Write Filter Enabled via ConfigMgr 2012

Its been a while since my previous blog post, so I had some time to collect information for a couple of blog posts and this is the first one! I like it when this are being done automatically. So this week I’m not going to write a PowerShell script myself, but I use a tool to generate it for me. In this blog post I will show the global steps that can be used to create a complete deployment of Windows Embedded 8 Standard with the Write Filter enabled and configured. Create Windows Embedded 8 Standard Image The first thing that we have to do is to create a Windows Embedded 8 Standard Image. This can be done by following the next three steps: Create …

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Preventing initiation of available deployments on specific systems with ConfigMgr 2012

This week I want to devote a small post to a question that I read on windows-noob.com. The question came to the point whether, or not, it is possible to deploy applications via a task sequence, but only allow administrators to actually run it. This question triggered me to look a bit better into the different Client Settings and then specifically the setting of Install permissions. This setting gives us the possibility to prevent the initiation of available deployments via the Software Center and the Application Catalog on specific systems. So in this post I will show that setting by only allowing administrators to initiate available deployments. Configuration Now lets start with the configuration, which is actually very easy, but like always it’s all about …

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