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Using Maintenance Windows While Patching

I got a really good question today on maintenance windows and patching and how they can or cannot work together. Specifically if you had a maintenance window defined, but told the patches to install ignoring the maintenance window but suppress the reboots until the maintenance window will it install the updates and hold off on rebooting the clients until the maintenance window? First let's go over defining maintenance windows. Assuming you already have a collection of computers built that you...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: Patching, SUP, ConfigMgr, Configuration Manager, SCCM, Maintenance Windows, WSUS

ConfigMgr SP1 Goes RTM

Update : Download link More Details . Overview Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 now offers full support for management with Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008, integrates customer feedback, feature Integration with Intel vPro Technology and enhances Asset Intelligent features. Full Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 Support: Deploy and manage Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008—with full support for the latest Windows platforms, from planning through inventory, to deployment, and...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Vista, News, ConfigMgr, Server 2008, Configuration Manager, SCCM, Downloads

ConfigMgr SP1 Goes RTM

Just made public today, it will take a day or so to get the bits available for download. Regards, Anthony Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E Microsoft MVP System Center Configuration Manager http://configmgr.com © Anthony Clendenen Technorati Tags: ConfigMgr , service pack , SCCM  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: News, ConfigMgr, Configuration Manager, SCCM

MMS 2008 - Sunday - Registration Swag

Finally got here after quite a long drive. We are staying at the Venetian and it is quite nice. There are quite a few people here already. When you register you get a backpack this year. It is blue, dark blue, but it is an OGIO backpack and it has a side zipper for your laptop as well as small side pockets, a large front pocket and a small front pocket. It actually looks like it will hold up quite well, I have heard this brand of backpack is a quality backpack but can't attest to it myself. I...  ... Read the full post or  the 2 comments. Filed under: Microsoft, myITforum, MMS 2008, ConfigMgr, 1E

How Update Enforcement Works in NAP

There is a great article on the NAP team's blog on just how update enforcement works in NAP. "The easiest way to discuss update enforcement is to step through each part of the “Security Update Protection” section of the WSHV user interface. This is the dialog that appears within the Network Policy Server (NPS) console on Windows Server 2008" Regards, Anthony Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E http://configmgr.com © Anthony Clendenen Technorati Tags: NAP , Server 2008 , XP SP3...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Blog, NAP, ConfigMgr, Server 2008, SCCM

XP SP3 Goes RTM

Windows XP SP3 went RTM today. It will be available to the public on April 29th. For ConfigMgr the biggest piece of this is that now you can use NAP on your XP clients as well. There is also a rumored 10% increase in performance - YMMV. Find out exactly what will be included when this link goes active in the next 24 hours or so. Regards, Anthony Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E http://configmgr.com © Anthony Clendenen Technorati Tags: SP3 , Windows XP , NAP , ConfigMgr , XP SP3  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: News, NAP, ConfigMgr, SCCM, Windows XP

More MMS Goodness

This is from the 1E site, but down towards the bottom you can see the schedule for demos at the 1E stand. I will be presenting at least a couple times. Brian Tucker and Neil Kimberly will also be presenting at the stand on other topics. If you think I know SMS/ConfigMgr then you haven't spent much time talking to Brian and Neil these guys are AMZAZING! 1E MMS Focus 1E will be exhibiting as a Gold Sponsor at the Microsoft Management Summit at the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas from April 28 to May...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: SMS 2003, OSD, MMS 2008, BDD, NightWatchman, OSD Plus Pack, ConfigMgr, SCCM, 1E, Power Management

Hibernation Hotfix for Windows XP and Vista and Insomnia Madness

I have read of reports where systems will not resume from hibernation but have not seen it replicated myself. Well if you have seen this problem in your environment this patch , released on April 7th by Microsoft (KB 951126), may be just what the doctor ordered. Insomnia? Ambien... I have also heard reports of a software vendor that claims to have a patch for a situation they refer to as insomnia. They claim that a bug in the Windows operating system will actually prevent the system from going into...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: KB Articles, NightWatchman, ConfigMgr, Power Management, Green

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

I have an advantage, my son is in seventh grade and my daughter is finishing second, so all those geography questions, and factoring, I have done them recently. But the real question is are you smarter than a seasoned ConfigMgr admin? Find out by taking some the ConfigMgr quizzes, recently updated and located here . If you take them post your scores in the comments section and I will buy the winner lunch at MMS. Configuration Manager 2007 Client Installation Quiz Configuration Manager 2007 Client...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: et. all, MMS 2008, ConfigMgr

New Tool for DCM

This tool coverts Security Content Automation Protocol files into DCM packs. It is in public beta and you can get it here . Overview The SCAP Conversion Tool for DCM can convert any SCAP stream files into DCM Configuration Packs for use with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007. This Beta release includes a user guide that provides detailed instructions for using this command-line tool, as well as detailed information about the mapping between the SCAP protocol and DCM. Please note...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Tools, ConfigMgr, Configuration Manager, SCCM, Desired Configuration Management, Downloads

OneNote PowerToys

If you don't know I am a HUGE OneNote fan and have converted countless people from using Notepad, Notepad2, Word, paper, you name it to using OneNote since it first came out in Office 2003. (If you are only interested in the the list of OneNote PowerToys, skip this section and scroll down). Some of my favorite things are the ability to write anywhere, assign "tags" to notes, copy and drag from anywhere, any application, webpage, pdf - anywhere into a OneNote page, and have it enter...  ... Read the full post or  the 2 comments. Filed under: Tools, et. all, Office, Office 2007, Blog, ConfigMgr, Cool Tools

Auto Site Assignment and Multiple IP's

Carol posted this over the the TechNet blogs site a couple of hours ago. I commented that I didn't think it was a huge change because the odds are pretty low that this would really happen in today. Essentially the rule that an SMS or ConfigMgr client will use first bound NIC for auto assignment is no longer true. If you think this is a significant technical change leave a comment and let her know. Auto-site assignment and multiple IP addresses It happens to all of us. Just when you think you...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: SMS 2003, News, ConfigMgr, SCCM

Attending MMS 2008? Yes I Am - We Are

I have gotten a ton of emails asking me if I am going to be at MMS this year and when and up until now I have held off because I was waiting for some things to finalize. But today 1E sent out an email to customer letting them know the booth number, and when Sumir, one of the founders of 1E, was going to speak. Which is right after the State of the Union, and also at the same time as Paul Thomsen is presenting his session on ConfigMgr Client Health. So yes , I will be there from Sunday to Friday afternoon...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: SMS 2003, et. all, myITforum, Blog, OSD, MMS 2008, NightWatchman, OSD Plus Pack, ConfigMgr, SCCM, 1E

The Deployment Guys : ConfigMgr 2007 and Microsoft Deployment Toolkit - Video Walkthrough

ConfigMgr 2007 and Microsoft Deployment Toolkit - Video Walkthrough Are you struggling with setting up ConfigMgr 2007 Operating System Deployment and integrating MDT? - download and view the video walkthrough that shows you how to: Setup the server environment for ConfigMgr 2007 OS deployment Configure the ConfigMgr 2007 Site Settings Configure the ConfigMgr 2007 Computer Management Settings Configure the ConfigMgr 2007 Operating System Deployment Settings Setup and use MDT integration with ConfigMgr...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: SCCM 2007, OSD, WAIK, Windows PE, BDD, OSD Plus Pack, ConfigMgr, SCCM, Podcast, Microsoft Deployment, 1E, PXELite

ConfigMgr SDK (final) Released

Microsoft released the ConfigMgr SDK yesterday. You can get the download here . It includes DCM Digest Authoring guide, DCM digest schema, a SUM gadget that gives you current status messages on patches you have deployed, samples on creating admin console extensions, OSD custom task sequences and more. Regards, Anthony Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E http://configmgr.com © Anthony Clendenen Technorati Tags: ConfigMgr , SCCM , SDK , Gadget  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Scripting, Tools, Microsoft, Gadgets, VB Script, Documentation, ConfigMgr, SCCM, Desired Configuration Management, Microsoft Deployment, Downloads

New FolderShare

FolderShare has gotten a face lift, new client, and has moved to the Windows Live platform. If you are not familiar with FolderShare Microsoft bought them a couple years ago and the concept is that you can setup shares among computers that sync with each other. I have been using it for years to sync computers and make sure that I have the same documents on each computer. You can set the sync to be automatic or on demand, you can also share your FolderShare libraries with your friends. It is similar...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Beta, Microsoft, Office 2007, Blog, ConfigMgr, Cool Tools, Downloads

How-To: Sequencing Office 2007 with SoftGrid

I wish Microsoft would standardize on either SoftGrid or Microsoft Application Virtualization. Here is a KB on sequencing Office 2007. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;939796 INTRODUCTION This article describes one method that you can use to successfully sequence a 2007 Microsoft Office program for use with Microsoft SoftGrid. The method that is described in this article is not the only method that is available. Additionally, you may have to modify the information in this article...  ... Read the full post or  the 4 comments. Filed under: KB Articles, Microsoft, Office 2007, Documentation, SoftGrid, ConfigMgr, SCCM

Nomad Enterprise Webcast - March 5

It is not often I blog about 1E, I think it has only happened once before actually. Even before I got an offer from them they told me they didn't want me to blog about them or their products because they didn't want my blog to turn into PR for 1E. And over the last year I have not talked about the products at all. But as you may have noticed the number of posts I put up have also dropped dramatically. Well I spend most of my time working with the 1E products, back when I was at ESRI I spent...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: SMS 2003, SMS Tools, Packaging, OSD, Webcast, SMSNomad Branch, ConfigMgr, SCCM, 1E

Repurpose That Old Laptop

Most IT related folks have an old laptop laying around that is too slow for what they need to do or they get a brand new one every six months. I know I have one that the hard drive has bad sectors on and don't want to spend the $40-60 to get a replacement drive since I have over half a dozen computers in my house and only four people. I have used it for testing in the past, setting up Server 2003 with SMS 2003 on it for upgrade testing to CM, testing the 1E products in different configurations...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: et. all, Blog, Documentation, ConfigMgr, Cool Tools, 1E, Downloads

New ConfigMgr DCM Packs

For SQL 2000, OpsMgr, and SharePoint. http://blogs.technet.com/smsandmom/archive/2008/02/21/configmgr-2007-new-configuration-packs-available.aspx Microsoft SQL Server 2000 MSIT Intermediate Configuration Pack for Configuration Manager 2007 : Direct download The Microsoft SQL Server 2000 MSIT Intermediate Configuration Pack is designed to be used for managing the configuration of SQL 2000 servers. This configuration pack defines recommended configurations based on a substantial number of settings...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: SQL , SCOM, ConfigMgr, SCCM, Desired Configuration Management, Downloads

SkyDrive Now Has 5 GB of Storage

SkyDrive is part of Live and is a free service that allows you to put files online and share them with others or keep them private but have access to them from anywhere you have a Internet connection. Regards, Anthony Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E http://configmgr.com © Anthony Clendenen  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Microsoft, ConfigMgr, Cool Tools

Visio 2007 ConfigMgr Connector Released

Download details here, direct download here , prereq download here . SCOM & SCCM Connector In Microsoft Visio 2007® diagrams, appropriate data can be attached to the shapes depending on the nature and domain for which the diagram is created for. The VisAd framework helps to retrieve data from multiple data sources to diagrammatically represent in Visio diagrams. The framework implements a ‘Provider’ model, in which multiple heterogenous providers can be configured, while the Visio diagram uses...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: SCOM, Office 2007, Documentation, ConfigMgr, SCCM, Downloads

ConfigMgr SP1 and R2 Webcast

What's coming SP1 and R2...find out Wednesday Feb. 27th by attending Jeff's webcast. Register here . TechNet Webcast: Configuration Manager SP1 and R2 Overview (Level 300) Event ID: 1032369053 Register Online Language(s): English. Product(s): System Center. Audience(s): IT Professionals. Duration: 90 Minutes Start Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 1:00 PM Pacific Time (US & Canada) Event Overview Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 shipped recently, but we are not done...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Webcast, ConfigMgr, SCCM

SoftGrid 4.1 and 4.2 Updates Available for Download Now

Posted today over the SoftGrid Team Blog, you can now get the latest updates for SoftGrid 4.1 SP1 and 4.2 HFRU2 on TechNet. There are some pretty significant additions and changes in these updates. I am pleased to announce public availability of SoftGrid 4.1 SP1 and 4.2 HFRU2. This cumulative update for SoftGrid v4.1 SP1 and v4.2 provides the latest updates to SoftGrid. In addition to stability improvements, this update contains the following changes: The log level of the "Error reading from...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: OSD, SoftGrid, Application Virtualization, ConfigMgr, SCCM, Downloads

Bits to Install ConfigMgr Client on XP Embedded

Overview With the ConfigMgr 2007 Advanced Client pre-requisites macro component for Windows XP Embedded, you can use ConfigMgr 2007 to manage hardware devices that are running the Windows XP Embedded operating system. These devices include, but are not restricted to, point of sale (POS) terminals, automated teller machines (ATMs) and Windows-based thin clients. Purpose Windows XP Embedded is the operating system and development platform that delivers the power of Windows in a componentized form for...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: ConfigMgr, SCCM, Downloads, Windows XP

WAIK for Vista SP1 and Server 2008 and XP SP3 Dates

Hopefully you have heard by now that Vista SP1 and Server 2008 went RTM on Monday . But can you use these with OSD or MD? Well of course you can with the new version of WAIK. Also it is being reported that Vista SP1 goes live on Feb 18th or 19th and Windows XP SP3 goes live on March 23rd or 24th. Download details here direct download here (1.1 GB). Overview The Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) is designed to help corporate IT professionals customize and deploy the Windows Vista and...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: SMS 2003, Vista, News, OSD, WAIK, Windows PE, BDD, OSD Plus Pack, ConfigMgr, Server 2008, Microsoft Deployment, Downloads, PXELite

Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization Labs

J.C. over on the SoftGrid Team blog posed a list of SoftGrid virtual labs. If you are new to the technology, need a refresher or just want to pick up on some stuff you might not already know this list covers quite a few different areas of the entire SoftGrid process from sequencing to troubleshooting. I would also recommend subscribing to their RSS feed if you don't currently. Are you new to Microsoft Application Virtualization (aka SoftGrid) and looking for a quick and easy way to ramp up your...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: Virtual Labs, SoftGrid, Application Virtualization, ConfigMgr

SoftGrid Sequencing Guidelines

Microsoft has released a Best Practices guide for Application Virtualization or SoftGrid v.4.2 app sequencing that was compiled from the MCS group. Here are some of the highlights in the first two sections followed be the TOC's. There is far too much information to be effectively summarized here. Great work! Get your pdf copy here and your xps copy here . Highlights of the Sequencer setup recommendations Sequence on a machine that is the oldest OS that the sequenced app will run on. If Office...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Documentation, SoftGrid, Application Virtualization, ConfigMgr

Microsoft Deployment FAQ Online

Grab this link and bookmark it as the MD team will be updating the post as the FAQ grows. Lite Touch Installation Q: Is it possible to change the text IT Organization in the task sequence dialog box? A: Yes! You can set the variable _SMSTSORGNAME in the custom settings.ini to match the text you want to use. For example to set the text to Microsoft Corporation, add the following line to your customsettings.ini: _SMSTSORGNAME = Microsoft Corporation Q: What is the purpose of each of the task sequence...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Blog, OSD, Webcast, OSD Plus Pack, ConfigMgr, Microsoft Deployment

Windows Automated Installation Kit - Removing Packages

I got a question today regarding the ability of pkgmgr to uninstall a package. I think everyone knows that you can add packages with WAIK in the latest version but you can also remove or update packages as well as the built in Windows features. If you want to remove a package from a Vista image (WIM) you can use pkgmgr.exe to accomplish this in a couple ways. start /w pkgmgr.exe /up /m:c:\packages where /m: is used to specify the folder and path to your packages. start /w pkgmgr.exe /up /p:"package...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: Vista, WAIK, BDD, ConfigMgr

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