Deployment on Anything About IT

Deploying Windows 11 in minutes with AutomatedLab

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 19:01:10 +0000

In this blog post I am going to show you how you can quickly (in 5 minutes) deploy Windows 11 in Hyper-V using the AutomatedLab PowerShell module. In fact the process is no different than when deploying other Windows operating systems, but just in case you haven’t heard of AutomatedLab yet and plan to install Windows 11 in a VM, this might be a good opportunity to get familiar with it.

Office 365 Centralized Deployment service

Sat, 10 Jun 2017 14:25:04 +0000

Just recently Microsoft announced the general availability of the Office 365 centralized deployment service. I have tested it and it really makes deploying Office Add-ins super easy. The add-in configuration and deployment can be managed through the Office 365 portal or using PowerShell.

For a quick overview watch the video “How to Deploy Office Add-ins within Your Organization”.

Now since I like using PowerShell, here’s a quick example how to enable and deploy an Office Add-in.

Installing Software using Collection Commander

Wed, 31 Dec 2014 12:25:00 +0000

In the past days I had to provision a number of clients for testing purposes. A specific set of software also needed to be installed on these clients. At our company when deploying software to computers, the deployment for none mandatory software is always set to “Available” so that users can choose themselves when to install the software via the Software Center.

I did not want to logon to each machine and initiate the installation manually nor did i want to create a separate “required” deployment to install the software on these systems. Instead I wrote a few lines of PowerShell code and triggered them using collection commander. I must admit its a bit of a quick and dirty approach but it did the job in just a few minutes.

How to generate random computer names for lab deployments using SCCM OSD

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:22:32 +0000

For my lab environment I use the below described approach to generate random computernames for my clients. The script does the following:

Read the Task Sequence Package Name
Based on the name set the appropriate prefix
Generate a random number between 100 and 1000
Generate the new computer name based on Prefix + random number

To implement this do the following:

Put the script listed below into a package
Add the script to the TS by adding a Run Command Line task after Partition Disk and before Apply Operating System

How to prepare an Office 2013 Click-to-Run deployment

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 22:22:38 +0000

With the release of the Office 2013 preview Microsoft also made available the Office Deployment Tool for Click-to-Run deployments. Although we here a lot about Click-to-Run these days, it’s not something totally new. Microsoft first introduced this with Office 2010 but it didn’t get that much attention within enterprise environment. For Office 2013 I can imagine that this will change.

Microsoft describes Click-to-Run as following:

Office 2013 Preview Click-to-Run is a technology that reduces the time that is required to download and use Office 2013 Preview client products. Click-to-Run is based on core virtualization and streaming Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) technologies. The streaming technology lets you use a Click-to-Run program before the complete program is downloaded and installed on your computer.

Keep track of Global and Regional Windows 7 deployment status

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:54:18 +0000

During this week there have been various reports about Windows 7 passing Windows XP in the U.S. The numbers used come from StatCounter a web analytics service. While Windows 7 has passed Windows XP in the U.S, we’re not yet there globally.

Worldwide Windows 7 Deployment Status

Source: Global Stats

If you’re interested finding out how Windows 7 does in your region, simply go to StatCounter and select your region. Beside the operating system, you can also get statistics about Browser, Screen Resolution, Mobile Browser, Browser Version usage and a few more.

There’s no reason to wait for Windows 7 Service Pack 1

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 14:24:37 +0000

This week Microsoft released the Release Candidate (RC) of Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1. Some companies follow the rule of not deploying a new Windows operating system before the release of the first Service Pack, however for Windows 7 there is simply no need for postponing deployments because SP1 doesn’t add any new features but only addresses some minor usability issues. On the Windows client operating system side SP1 is basically a rollup of hotfixes and security updates released since Windows 7 RTM.

ToolTip: SMB BranchCache deployment Diagnosis script

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:59:16 +0000

Just found this SMB BranchCache deployment diagnosis script on MSDN Code Gallery.

The Test-SMBBranchCache script is used to find common SMB BranchCache misconfiguration issues. It allows a user to verify the SMB BranchCache server or client configuration. When run on a server, it can test the state of a BranchCache-enabled network share. When run on a client, it can do an end-to-end validation of the SMB BranchCache functionality.

Download documentation and diagnosis script from [here](Diagnosing a BranchCache deployment for the SMB protocol)

ReadTip: For IT professionals: Deployment guide for Microsoft Office 2010

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:33:09 +0000

Microsoft recently published a deployment guide for Microsoft Office 2010. The content in this book is a copy of selected content from the Office 2010 Resource Kit Technical library. Download the guide from here

ReadTip: Is BranchCache right for remote, serverless software distribution?

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 08:46:58 +0000

BranchCache is a new feature available in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 that reduces WAN bandwidth usage and improves application responsiveness when workstations in a remote location access content from the head office or data center by downloading and caching content on the local network as it is requested, making it immediately available to other clients that subsequently request the same content.

This paper examines the BrachCache functionality specifically in the context of software distribution using System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to determine if it is an optimal solution for the deployment of software, patches and operating systems to remote, serverless branches.

ReadTip: Deployment guide for Microsoft Office 2010

Tue, 04 May 2010 19:43:34 +0000

This book covers information about the fundamentals of Deploying Microsoft Office 2010. Get it here

Windows 7 Enterprise Training

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:46:15 +0000

One of the objectives of deploying a new operating system within an Enterprise is to provide end users with a state of the art Operating System that builds the foundation for adopting new technologies and to increase end user productivity.

IT departments usually spend months in preparing an enterprise wide desktop deployment and by doing so they automatically get familiar with all the new functionality and features of the new Operating System. But what about the end users? Most end users are not involved in all the preparation and planning activities, hence they will only see the new Operating System on the day their PC is being migrated.

Windows XP Mode Deployment Sample Scripts

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:56:37 +0000

if you have watched the Windows XP Mode IT Pro Deployment Video, you might be interested in the scripts they’ve used to automatically install XP Mode and create virtual machines. You can download them from here

Windows XP Mode IT Pro Deployment Video

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:33:21 +0000

If you consider using XP Mode, then I recommend watching this video. This video contains a good tutorial on how to install and configure XP mode including a lot of additional hints. Furthermore the video explains how to create a customized XP Mode VHD for deployment on multiple clients.

The video can be downloaded from here

BitLocker Deployment Sample Resources

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:19:52 +0000

During my weekly “let’s see what’s new” search on some of my favorite websites, I found the “Bitlocker Deployment Sample Resources” on the MSDN Code Gallery. The Resource Page contains a lot of documentation and useful script samples for the deployment and management of Microsoft Bitlocker.

MED-V Planning, Deployment and Operations Guide

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:39:38 +0000

Microsoft has released the Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V version 1) Planning, Deployment and Operations Guide. The document can be found here

Another Windows7 article from Gartner

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:59:09 +0000

This article discusses some thoughts around Windows 7 and Service Pack 1.

Windows 7 Won’t Need SP1, but Will Still Need 12 to 18 Months Before Deployment Begins

Windows 7: Application Compatibility

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:29:54 +0000

I’ve just spend an hour in gathering some additional information around Windows 7 Application Compatibility. Till now when we moved to a new operating system version a significant amount of effort was required with regard to application compatibility. So will companies that invested in Windows Vista Application compatibility have to do all that work again for Windows 7 ?

Unfortunately not, on almost any Microsoft source i found around Application Compatibility, the following statements are being made:

Windows 7 Deployment Changes

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:07:13 +0000

Those looking at Windows 7 deployment read the “Windows 7 Deployment Changes” article on the Windows System Deployment Blog.

Windows Multilanguage Packs explained

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:36:43 +0000

Speaking with various people I often notice that some do not understand in detail the concepts and benefits around the Windows Multilanguage Packs. The video below provides an in depth overview around the concepts and use of Windows MUI Packs. Hope it’s usefull.

[videofile]http://wm.microsoft.com/ms/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/enterprise/mui.wmv[/videofile]

Technet Magazine - Automating Virtual Machine Host Deployment

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:23:39 +0000

Great article i just finished reading about automating virtual machine host deployment on Hyper-V.

Download the complete Technet Magazine January 2009 edition here. When having trouble reading the CHM file, read this.

Improve Vista Deployment time

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:17:28 +0000

I just read a blogpost from Michael Niehaus i think those deploying Windows Vista are interested to know about. The article describes how to shorten the OOBE process. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/958011

User Profile Hive Cleanup Service Installation (UPHClean)

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:11:34 +0000

Today’s challenge was to get UPHClean.msi installing correctly. You would think that installing an MSI package is an easy thing to do, so thought I. But unfortunately MSI is not always MSI. Looking at all the posts on the web, it seems I was not the only one who had a bit of a challenge getting this installed in an automated way.

When launching the UPHClean.msi manually all works fine, software installs, service gets registered and the package is being listed in the Add/Remove programs list.

Volume activation documentation

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:31:06 +0000

Microsoft recently updated their volume activation 2.0 technical guidance documents. Everything you need about volume activation when deploying Vista / Win2008 can be found here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9893f83e-c8a5-4475-b025-66c6b38b46e3&DisplayLang=en

Prep-ing WINPE does make a difference

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:35:57 +0000

When creating WinPE 2.0 boot images, make sure you run the PEImg /prep command against your boot.wim as it does make a significant difference in sze as shown in the table below:

Bootable ISO file with WiinPE 2.0 Size in MB

boot.wim prepped 146 mb

boot.wim not prepped 203 MB

Considering this all is loaded into memory, you might want to make sure to reduce the size of the boot.wim to an absolute minimum.

The need for installing the Intel Chipset update

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:56:10 +0000

Within one of the projects I’m working on, there was a debate about installing the Intel Chipset software. It was requested not to install it. I could not agree with that, as it is a common known best practice to install the Intel Chipset update software unless the operating system can configure the Intel chipset natively.

A detailed table about when the Intel chipset software installation is needed can be found here:

Automating Regional settings configuration for Vista

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:24:34 +0000

In my earlier post “Automating Regional Settings configuration” I described how to script the Regional Options settings for Windows XP using a rundll command.

For Windows Vista there is a similar trick using the following command:

 control intl.cpl,, /f:“filename.xml”

Details on how to populate the filename.xml are documented on Microsoft Technet - Guide to Windows Vista Multilingual User Interface.

Automating regional settings configuration

Fri, 30 May 2008 12:43:00 +0000

For Windows XP, regional settings can be applied by using the following method:

Create an answer file that contains the [RegionalSettings] section items you want to modify, and then save it (for example, as c:\regopts.txt).
Create a batch file by using the following command line to apply the answer file settings:rundll32.exe shell32,Control_RunDLL intl.cpl,,/f:“c:\regopts.txt”

The layout of the RegionalSettings file is as following:

[**RegionalSettings**]
Language = locale ID
LanguageGroup = language group ID, language group ID
SystemLocale = locale ID
UserLocale = locale ID
InputLocale = locale ID:keyboard layout ID, locale ID:keyboard layout ID
UserLocale_DefaultUser = locale ID
InputLocale_DefaultUser = locale ID:keyboard layout ID

More usefull information for those dealing with Global deployments can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/default.mspx NLS Information Page for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Server 2003 http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/nlsweb/default.mspx