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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

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

Download Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RC Refresh

You can install this release candidate through Windows Update but you first have to remove any other SP1 installs and download a cmd file to kick off the download from Windows Update. Directions on how to accomplish all of this are detailed below. Before You Install You must uninstall any previous versions of Windows Vista SP1 before installing Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh To uninstall previous version of Windows Vista SP1 Open the Programs and Features control panel and select View installed updates...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: Vista

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

Buy One Get One Free Vista

If you helped to test Vista, by being a MSDN or TechNet subscriber, you should have gotten an email telling you about this promotion (see below). I can't believe that people still go for these buy one, get one free or buy one get the next pair half off. At the very best you will get 50% off, but do you really need two? I can understand if you were going to buy two copies, then it is a great deal, but if you only need one or are only going to use one then you really didn't save yourself any...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Vista, ConfigMgr

Top Ten Events in Systems Management During 2007

First of all, Happy New Year, and may everyone find that in 2008 that your glass is more than half full, you and your loved ones are all very healthy and overly happy, that your careers are very prosperous, and that you gain all that you desire and more. As we welcome another year and reflect on the year ending it is always nice to note what was the highlights of the year. So below is my personal top ten of 2007 when it comes to Systems Management. 10. Thursday, October 23rd, System Center Partner...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: SMS 2003, et. all, System Center, Vista, News, TechNet, Microsoft, myITforum, SCOM, MMS 2007, Blog, OSD, SoftGrid, ConfigMgr

Cool Tools for a Sunday

These are Vista sidebar gadgets that display NFL stats and headlines, hence Cool Tools for a Sunday... The top one displays headlines for different sports type like football, baseball, soccer, so on. The middle one is specific to football, and you select your favorite team and it will display the latest headlines for that team, and then the bottom one is a gadget that displays the current or final score for your selected team. Regards, Anthony Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E http://configmgr...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: Vista, Gadgets, Cool Tools

Vista's Partition Magic

Did you know that Vista natively supports partition resizing in Windows Vista? If you go into Computer Management and navigate down to Storage, and then Disk Management in the right window pane you can select a volume, shrink that volume by right clicking on the volume and selecting Shrink Volume. This will open a dialog box to shrink the volume where you can configure how small you would like to make it, of course it cannot shrink it past the size of the data on the drive, if you want to completely...  ... Read the full post or  the 2 comments. Filed under: Tools, et. all, Vista, Hack

Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 Delayed

What is the status? Windows Server 2008, formerly Longhorn, will be delayed until Q1 of 2008 but will be available to SA and MSDN subscribers prior to RTM. SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 are scheduled to be released with Server 2008 so I can only assume they will be delayed as well. Vista SP1 also suffers from the same fate, delayed until Q1 of 08. The BETA of Vista SP1 will be available to participants in about two weeks however. And SP3 for XP is moving along with its BETA also being out...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: Active Directory, System Center, Beta, Vista, Longhorn, News, Microsoft, SCCM 2007, NAP, ConfigMgr, Server 2008

Windows Vista Wireless Hotfix (Non-Public)

The rumors of my death are all untrue, I have merely been out of the country and working very hard. In the next couple of days I will release an extensive new article on fixing WMI so stay tuned. In the mean time there is a hotfix for wireless issues in Windows Vista, you will have to contact Microsoft Support or your TAM to get this hotfix but I have experienced one of these symptoms on my own laptop so I am sure others will find this useful. Several problems occur on a Windows Vista-based computer...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: KB Articles, Vista, TechNet

Vista Service Pack 1 Beta - Not For Public Consumption

From Bink.nu...and I quote... Microsoft asked us to inform you on the current state of Windows Vista SP1 beta: "There will be a Windows Vista service pack and our current expectation is that a beta will be made available sometime this year. Service packs are part of the traditional software lifecycle — they’re something we do for all Microsoft products as part of our commitment to continuous improvement, and providing early test builds is a standard practice that helps us incorporate customer...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Beta, Vista

Windows Server 2008 Launch Feb 27

Announced at the World Wide Partner Conference yesterday was the release date for Server 2008, which also coincides with the release of Vista SP1, Visual Studio 2008, and SQL Server 2008. This is the missing piece for NAP with Config Manager, as it will not work without it . The NAP client will also only be supported on XP SP3, Vista, and Server 2008. Regards, Anthony Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E Inc. We are considered a premier SMS Solution Provider by Microsoft. See us at http:/...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: Vista, Longhorn, News, NAP

Vista SP1 Beta In Mid-July

According to Mary-Jo we should see the release of Beta 1 the week of July 16th, with the final release in November of this year, right around the launch of Windows Server 2008. Based on this release schedule this would give Microsoft a Beta window of only 4-5 months! Some of the expectations for SP1? Zippier copy of files! Desktop search modification to please Google EFI boot capability for 64bit Shutdown speed BitLocker to allow a single volume to be encrypted Regards, Anthony Anthony Clendenen...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Beta, Vista, Microsoft

SoftGrid for Vista Available July 1st

SoftGrid for Windows Vista Submitted by John.Obeto on Wed, 06/13/2007 - 3:02am. Microsoft will release a Windows Vista™ version of SoftGrid on July 1, 2007. SoftGrid is Microsoft’s application virtualization software solution that allows IT managers to deliver secure, never-installed applications that also have the capability for remote delivery. Important to managers is SoftGrid’s ability to let them test mission-critical desktop apps for compatibility in this nascent Windows Vista™ era. Bringing...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: Vista, SoftGrid

Booting Your Vista Box From A WIM File Stored Locally

Let me first say Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful Mothers out there hopefully you are having/had a superb Mothers Day!!! Today is Mothers Day in the US if you hadn't guessed. This is just amazing, this is the third time today that I have found someone already had a solution to a question I was asked just this last week. This is one, managing SMS clients in both workgroup and a domain, and problems with WinPE and RealTek drivers. This is a very cool solution to someone asking me something...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Tools, Vista, Hack, OSD, WAIK, Windows PE, BDD

No Vista Service Pack Coming - Yeah Right

The head of Intel speculated on a call a few weeks ago that SP1 for Vista would be out in October or November, but Michael Sievert a Marketing VP at Microsoft said there are currently no plans for a service pack for Vista. Obviously both parties have their own agenda and will tell the press whatever fits their agenda best. Working at a software development company for almost nine years and going through several different major releases during that time I can say that based on the problems seen with...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Vista, Microsoft

Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) User's Guide for Windows Vista Updated

Direct download . From the readme... Contents Introduction to the Windows AIK Documentation Update 1................... 2 Critical Updates........................................................................... 2 Windows AIK Setup and Installation Known Issues.............................. 3 Windows Setup Known Issues........................................................ 3 General Windows Deployment Known Issues..................................... 5 Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Vista, News, OSD, Documentation, WAIK

FIX - You cannot install Windows XP successfully after you use Windows Vista or Windows PE 2.0 to create partitions on a hard disk

SYMPTOMS You use Windows Vista or Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) 2.0 to create partitions on a hard disk. After you do this, you try to install Microsoft Windows XP on the hard disk without using Windows XP to repartition the disk. In this case, you cannot install Windows XP successfully. Windows XP Setup will successfully complete the text-mode part of Setup. However, after the text-mode part of Setup is complete, the computer cannot be restarted successfully to enter the graphical...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: KB Articles, Vista, MMS 2007

Johan's Vista Install Notes From The Field

Friday session. Deploying Vista 64 bit you must use 64 bit Windows PE, in Vista SP1 you can deploy 32 and 64 bit from the same version of PE. Vista image on the DVD is already Sysprep'd Bootmgr or bootmgr.exe reads BCD store first. Source folder - boot.wim is Windows PE 2.0, this includes the Windows recovery environment, which is not included in the WAIK version of PE. If you change boot index to 1, you will boot the recovery console or command prompt instead of PE GUI. Shift - F10 opens command...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Vista, MMS 2007, OSD

MMS 2007 - Day 2 - Keynote Speech

Rodney Sherwood starts off the keynote again this year with this comedy and a video of interviewing the stars at MMS. Senior VP Server and Tools, Bob Muglia was the keynote speaker. He started out with the Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI). One part of the DSI is Virtualized infrastructure which consists of Virtual Server 2005 R2 and SoftGrid. Virtualization, OS virtualization "Viridian" Longhorn or Windows Server 2007, VPC, VS 2005 RS. Application virtualization is SoftGrid, focus now is on the client...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: SMS 2003, System Center, Vista, News, SCCM 2007, SCOM, MMS 2007, Virtual Server, SoftGrid, SUP

TechNet Radio - Group Policy: Windows Vista, Longhorn Server, ADMX and the Central Store

Channel Nine "In this episode, Blain Barton sits down with Kevin Sullivan, a Lead Program Manager, and Jason Leznek, Senior Product Manager for Windows Vista to discuss the Group Policy evolution in Windows Vista. Kevin and Jason will cover the details on Windows Vista and Longhorn Server Group Policy Basics, ADM vs. ADMX, ADML and discussing the central store. Plus Michael Murphy brings you another customer interview from Launch Tour 2007." Regards, Anthony Anthony Clendenen | Technical Consultant...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Group Policy, Vista, Longhorn, TechNet

Windows Vista Hardware Assessment Beta Program Now Available for Download

If you are planning on deploying Vista this is a tool for you. If you are doing it in house or for a customer this tool will tell you if your hardware is Vista ready or not. It works without installing an agent and runs from a single, centralized server. It scans your network and evaluates the hardware for Vista readiness. For those computers that are on the network but are not Vista ready it recommends specific hardware upgrades that need to get them Vista ready. This is a beta, but it is a public...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Tools, Beta, Vista, News

Get Free Internet Access at T-Mobile Hotspots With Vista

This has been posted in several places over the last week and I kept ignoring, because I don't have T-Mobile, but then I finally read it. It doesn't matter if you are a T-Mobile customer or not. Anyone running Vista with IE7 can get it for free, they don't even require a credit card for the account. I fly through DFW and my layovers can be hours and there is a T-Mobile hotspot in C terminal, leather seats even, so if I had Vista on my laptop, I could go in there and get free wireless until the end...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: et. all, Vista

ACT 5.0 Released

If you haven't used ACT (Application Compatibility Toolkit) what it allows you to do is first get a database of applications you have installed, be it on all computers or just a select few, but any that install the monitoring tool. Then compare that list (automatically if you like) to the Microsoft database of applications they and vendors have certified as well as feedback from those who use the tools, monitor applications for problems on the clients running the ACT tool and then you can mitigate...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: Tools, Vista, News

Windows PowerShell 1.0 Available for Vista

As posted on the myITforum SMS mailing list ...Thanks to Greg and Rod for the heads up! Download Overview Windows PowerShell includes: One hundred and twenty-nine command-line tools (called "cmdlets") for performing common system administration tasks, such as managing services, processes, event logs, certificates, the registry, and using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). Command-line tools are easy to learn and easy to use with standard naming conventions and common parameters, and simple...  ... Read the full post or  the first comment. Filed under: Vista, myITforum, PowerShell

New SMS and Vista Virtual Labs

Deploying Windows Vista with SMS 2003 After completing this lab, you will be better able to: Install the SMS 2003 OS Deployment Feature Pack Update. Install USMT 3.0 to capture and restore user state information. Create an Image Capture Wizard CD. Image a Windows Vista client computer. Import the Windows Vista image into an SMS 2003 image package. Deploy the Windows Vista image to upgrade a Windows 2000 client computer. Windows Vista Image Engineering This lab is intended for IT professionals responsible...  ... Read the full post or  the 3 comments. Filed under: SMS 2003, Vista, OSD, Virtual Labs, WAIK

First Vista Ultimate Extras Announced

At CES 2007 during the keynote Bill Gates announced two of the first Vista Extra's for Vista Ultimate. The first is Full Motion Desktop , similar to setting your screen saver as your desktop background that I discussed here . The other was GroupShot , also previously discussed this in June of last year on my blog here . The GroupShot was not something you could get before it was only being developed by the Microsoft Research group at the time. The other announcement that I find interesting is the...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Vista, CES 2007

Hack Vista's ReadyBoost

Hope everyone had a great holiday. Mine was outstanding! I always love giving more than getting but my wife always amazes me because I am so hard to shop for and yet she always gets me something great, usually more than one thing. Below is a hack on how to enable ReadyBoost in Vista on devices that may not be quite fast enough to be supported. Source . Windows ReadyBoost is a great technology, caching things on USB drives to improve system performance, but Windows Vista insists on checking the drives...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: Vista, Hack

Run Your Screensaver As Your Deksktop Backgound

I have tired this out on my HP tablet and it works great! Nice work Jason! Make any Screensaver as your desktop Wallpaper You can run a screensaver, ANY screensaver as your Vista Desktop. System impact? Zero. Vista performance impact? Zero. So, are you ready to give it a try? It involves a bit of a hack. But if you are the farthest thing from a Windows power user, you can do the same thing via an application that automates the process. This tool will enable you to select the screen saver and schedule...  ... Read the full post or  the 2 comments. Filed under: Vista, Hack

WAIK User Guides Released

This download contains four files, the getting_started_itpro.rtf, readme_WAIK.rtf, unattend.chm, and waik.chm. In the Getting Started guide, they cover the “end-to-end deployment scenario”, which includes building a lab, building an answer file (unattend.xml), building a master installation (reference computer), creating and deploying an image. The readme has more updates to the getting started guide, and covers known issues. The readme will be updated with newly discovered issues and published here...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: SMS 2003, Vista, Documentation, WAIK

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