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 into operational scenarios such as software distribution, software update management, desired configuration management, and more.
• AMT Integration: Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 integration with Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) enables hardware-based power control (on/off/restart) and delivers many new remote diagnostic and troubleshooting capabilities. Configuration Manager can now perform scheduled or on-demand power control operations on Intel vPro enabled systems in the enterprise, enabling higher levels of software update compliance as well as increasing application installation and operating system deployment success rates. The new out of band management console provides direct hardware interaction using Windows Remote Management (the Microsoft implementation of WS-MAN). This enables remote boot control, allows forced PXE boot for operating system deployments, remote network boot for customized remote tasks and diagnostics, and direct inspection of hardware inventory and power state—even if the system is powered off.
• Asset Intelligence: Building on the original release within Configuration Manager, this enhancement to the inventory capabilities of Configuration Manager 2007 provides improvements for stronger inventory of hardware, software, and software licenses in use throughout the enterprise. The enhancements made enable administrators to more easily, and more accurately, inventory and manage hardware and software assets as well as view and manage purchased software license information. By providing this essential information, Asset Intelligence makes it easier for administrators and asset managers to more effectively plan for upgrades, migrations, and software license compliance reporting.
  Asset Intelligence in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 adds the following additional functionality over that provided by the Asset Intelligence feature in Configuration Manager 2007:
  • The Asset Intelligence feature node has been added to the Configuration Manager console to allow easier Asset Intelligence–related administration tasks and rich reporting capabilities.
  • The Asset Intelligence Configuration Manager Console home page has been added to provide at-a-glance feature state status and information.
  • The Asset Intelligence catalog has been expanded to contain categorization and identification information of a large catalog of software titles—both Microsoft and 3rd party—as well as the hardware requirement information for many software titles found in today’s IT environments.
  • The ability to customize the Asset Intelligence catalog with additional software categorization information and hardware requirements information has been added.
  • New reports have been added that enable administrators to generate a total of 70 reports, based on inventoried information, that present data about hardware, software, and license usage.
    • General reports are linked to more specific reports and allow IT administrators to query general information or drill down to more detailed levels if required.
  • Hardware inventory enhancements have been added to gather information such as processor age, speed, and USB devices in use or when hardware has changed since the last inventory or during a specified period of time.
  • Installed software inventory enhancements have been added that gather information about installed software in use in the enterprise.
    • These enhancements allow IT organizations to identify and better categorize their software assets.
    • Robust reports provide information about types of software in use to help identify redundant software and optimize software support and purchasing.
  • Software license management capabilities have been added that allow purchased software license data (both Microsoft and non-Microsoft) to be imported into the Asset Intelligence catalog to enable better license management and reporting.
  • Improvements have been made to provide data about utilized Client Access Licenses (Windows Server, and Exchange Server) and computers acting as Key Management Servers for Windows Vista activation.
    • The report output format is congruent with Microsoft License Statements facilitating system-wide license tracking and compliance.

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

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ConfigMgr SDK (final) Released

Microsoft released the ConfigMgr SDK yesterday.  You can get the download here.

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Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© Anthony Clendenen

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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 Windows Server 2008 family of operation systems. By using Windows AIK, you can perform unattended Windows installations, capture Windows images with ImageX, and create Windows PE images.

This update is provided to you and licensed under the Windows Vista License Terms.

Related links:

Windows Server 2008 Group Policy Settings Reference spreadsheet.

Windows Vista Group Policy Settings Reference spreadsheet.

Group policy administrative templates for Vista.

ADMX migrator for old group policies.

Notable Changes in Vista SP1.

Release Notes for Vista SP1.

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© Anthony Clendenen

I Recommend These Books!
SMS 2003 Administrator’s Reference: Systems Management Server 2003 -  SMS 2003 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach  -  Microsoft SMS Installer (Book/CD-ROM package)  -  Pro SMS 2003  -  Professional MOM 2005, SMS 2003, and WSUS  -  Start to Finish Guide to Distributing Software With Systems Management Server 2003  -  Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 - Administrator’s Companion

And you can check out more books and gadgets at my Amazon store here.

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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 is part of your base image, install it on your Sequencer.
• Create an ODBC DSN setting as part of your Sequencer’s base images.  This will keep you from virtualizing all the ODBC DSN registry keys in the event the app you are sequencing creates any ODBC settings.
• Create a fake printer as part of your Sequencer’s base image.
• Everyone knows to create the Q drive on a separate partition right???  Everyone nod Yes..
• Put your %TEMP% directories and scratch directories on different physical drives for better performance while sequencing an app.
• Make sure you turn off all those auto start programs on your sequencer box.  Like your AV client, Adobe speed launcher, and search programs, Explorer, anti-spyware programs.

Highlights of recommendations for sequencing

• Know the app you are going to sequence.  Know if there are dependencies on other apps, know the install process, know if there are post install processes you have to complete. 
• Document all the above (commonly called a recipe) so someone else can do this or so you remember what to do when you finally get back to sequencing the app.
• Put relevant comments about the sequencer into the comments filed, your name, date, OS, SP, apps as part of the base sequencer image.
• Yes, you still need to use the 8.3 directory names.
• Configure and test the sequenced app during the Install phase.  If you make changes to the preferences as part of your normal install of the app, do it when you sequence the app as well.  And make sure the app runs as normal before you seal it, get rid of any registration dialogs or other annoying things the app does the first couple of times it runs.
• Don’t stop the monitor until all apps have been installed. 

Here is the rest of the TOC so you can see what else this guide includes.

Gauging Applications for Sequencing…………………………………………………………………………………. 20
Sequencing Limitations …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 21
Sample Sequencing ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
Package Configuration……………………………………………………………………………………………. 22
Application Wizard …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 23
Saving the Package …………………………………………………………………………………………. 25
Application Package Upgrade………………………………………………………………………………….. 25
Compression of the SFT …………………………………………………………………………………………. 27
Advanced OSD Scripting ………………………………………………………………………………………… 27
Advanced Sequencing Techniques …………………………………………………………………………………….. 34
Sequencing Applications That Cannot Install to Q:\ …………………………………………………….. 34
Sequencing Web Based Applications ……………………………………………………………………….. 35
Sequencing for an OS other than the one required by the application. ………………………….. 35
Sequencing applications that require access to local devices and or resources ……………… 36
Sequencer Log Files ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 36
Finding Additional Information …………………………………………………………………………………………… 36
Error Codes and the Microsoft Knowledge Base ………………………………………………………… 36
SoftGrid Team Blog ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 37
SoftGrid Product Documentation ……………………………………………………………………………… 37
SoftGrid Related Technical Discussion Forums and Web Sites ……………………………………. 37

Related links:

App-V version 4.5 from the Connect site.

What’s New in 4.5

SMS and SoftGrid together

Webcasts

App-V on TechNet

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© Anthony Clendenen

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Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator

Use this new version of the WVHA to determine if your hardware is ready to migrate to Vista and determine if you can migrate to Server 2008.  It can also help you assess if you can virtualize servers by migrating them to Virtual Server or Server 2008’s Hyper-V and if you can safely migrate your applications into the virtualization world as well using Microsoft Application Virtualization.

You can download Server 2008 RC1 with Hyper-V here.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Overview

Introduction

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator (MAP) is the expanded version of the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment solution accelerator (WVHA). This new version of the network-wide assessment tool gives you not only the original capability of hardware inventory and assessment for desktops, but also expanded features including server migration recommendation with Windows Server 2008, virtualization workload placements for server consolidation with Hyper-V or Virtual Server 2005 R2, and application virtualization recommendations with Microsoft Application Virtualization.

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning tool is based on agent-less infrastructure scanning technology that makes it easier to set up the inventory without the requirement of installing any software agents on each machine being inventoried. In addition, this tool can generate localized desktop readiness reports in North American English, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Download Microsoft Assessment and Planning Beta Now!

Features Overview

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator performs three key functions, including hardware and device inventory, compatibility analysis, and readiness reporting.

Figure 1. Three Main Functions of Microsoft Assessment and Planning

Secure and Agentless Inventory

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning tool provides secure, agent-less and network-wide inventory for up to 100,000 computers. It collects and organizes system resource and device information from a single networked computer. Assessment tools often require users to first deploy software agents on all computers to be inventoried but this tool does not.

It is capable of discovering and assessing computers and devices on a network that supports Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and those that run on the following operating systems:

• Windows Vista
• Windows XP® Professional
• Windows Server 2003™ or Windows Server 2003 R2
• Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 Server
• Non-Windows (SNMP-enabled)

Comprehensive Hardware and Device Compatibility Analysis

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning provides detailed analysis on hardware and device compatibility for migration to Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office.  Specifically, this tool analyzes each machine’s readiness for the migration by looking at the specific hardware and device compatibility requirements that Microsoft published.

For customers interested in server consolidation and virtualization technologies such as Hyper-V or Virtual Server 2005 R2, this tool helps gather performance metrics and generate server consolidation recommendation reports that identify the best candidates for server virtualization. It also provides assessment reports for SoftGrid.

In-Depth Readiness Reporting

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning tool generates custom reports containing both high-level and detailed assessment results for migration to many products. The results are provided in both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word formats:

• Hardware assessment and upgrade recommendations for migration to Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office
• Server consolidation and workload placement recommendations using Hyper-V or Virtual Server 2005 R2
• Application virtualization candidate recommendation report for Microsoft Application Virtualization
• Inventory of Non-Windows or heterogeneous environment

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning tool can generate desktop readiness reports in seven languages including North American English, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Source.

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© Anthony Clendenen

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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
  1. Open the Programs and Features control panel and select View installed updates. In the Microsoft Windows section, right-click Service Pack for Windows (936330) and select Uninstall.
  2. Your system will now uninstall the previous version of Windows Vista SP1 Beta and may reboot multiple times.
  3. Please wait one hour after uninstalling a previous version of Windows Vista SP1 before installing Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh. The installer service needs to clean up and complete the uninstall prior to installing the RC. Failing to do this can result in installation errors when installing the RC version.
• Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh is pre-release software and will change before the final release. Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh is for individuals, organizations, and technical enthusiasts who are comfortable evaluating pre-release software and is provided for testing purposes only. Microsoft does not recommend installing this software on primary or mission critical systems. Microsoft recommends that you have a backup of your data prior to installing any pre-release software.
• Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh is time-limited software.
  Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh will no longer operate after June 30, 2008 and should be uninstalled prior to that date. After installation your desktop will show the text “Evaluation Copy”. This does not mean that your system is no longer genuine but that you have installed a test version of software which is time-limited. The “Evaluation Copy” text will appear on your desktop after the second reboot after installing the service pack. Likewise, the “Evaluation Copy” text will remain on your desktop during the first reboot after uninstall the service pack, but will disappear after the next reboot.
• If you install Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh it is strongly recommended that you install the final version of Windows Vista SP1 when it is released. To do this, you will be required to uninstall this RC version of Windows Vista SP1.
• Assisted support (phone, email and online chat) is not available from Microsoft Help and Support for this RC release of Windows Vista SP1. Self-help and peer support is available through the Windows Vista SP1 forum.
• You must have a genuine copy of Windows Vista installed prior to installing Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh.

The Windows Update Experience
Systems running on Windows Vista RTM typically require two or three updates before SP1 can be installed. These updates are permanent on your Windows Vista systems. Windows Update will detect your system configuration and offer the prerequisite packages that are applicable to your system. Based on the state of your system, Windows Update will offer you all the applicable prerequisite packages and SP1 in a sequential order. For details, please see the instructions below.
The prerequisite updates consist of two updates which service specific Windows components prior to the installation of the service pack and a third update which services the installation software built into Windows Vista. The following are the prerequisite updates.

• KB935509 This updates is only required on Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate editions (which have Bitlocker capabilities). This update is required prior to installing KB938371, the second prerequisite update and is required to prevent potential loss of data on Bitlocker encrypted systems during updating.
• KB938371 This update consists of fixes for several components (including the TrustedInstaller), increases the success rate for installing the service pack and enables the service pack to be uninstalled successfully.
• KB937287 This is an update to the “Servicing Stack” or the Windows Vista component installer technologies built into Windows Vista. This update enables the built-in installer to properly and successfully install the service pack.

Installing the Service Pack
There are two ways to install the service pack, first, as a pop-up notification that the service pack is ready to be installed (this is the method in which most users will install the service pack) and using multiple manual installations from Windows Update. The first method is the simplest, but may take up to four days for the Windows Update Automatic Update feature to deliver each of the 3 prerequisites and the service pack. Windows Vista SP1 distributed through Windows Update will be applicable to Windows Vista machines that are running on any of the 36 languages supported by Windows Vista RTM.
Method 1: Automatic Update
You can install Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh using the Automatic Update process by following these steps.

1. Save the included RCRefreshSP1betaprogramsRK.cmd script to your machine.
2. Right-click on the script and select Run as administrator. The script will set a registry key on your machine that allows Windows Update to offer Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh to your machine.
3. From the Windows Update control panel, select Change settings.
4. Verify that Install updates automatically (recommended) is selected. This enables the Automatic Update feature to download and install the prerequisite updates and service pack automatically.
5. Windows Update Automatic Update will automatically update your machine over the next several days with the prerequisites updates. When the service pack has downloaded a pop-up notification will inform you that updates are ready to be installed. You must click on this notification and choose to install the service pack at this point. The service pack will not silently or automatically install itself.

Method 2: Manual Installation using Windows Update
To intall Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh as quickly as possible, follow the steps below.

1. Save the included RCRefreshSP1betaprogramsRK.cmd script to your machine.
2. Right-click on the script and select Run as administrator. The script will set a registry key on your machine that allows Windows Update to offer Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh to your machine.
3. Windows Update Automatic Update will automatically update your machine over the next several days with the prerequisites updates provided you have the Windows Update Automatic Update feature enabled. When the service pack has downloaded a pop-up notification will inform you that updates are ready to be installed. You must click on this notification and choose to install the service pack at this point. The service pack will not silently or automatically install itself.
4. To manually install the service pack, start by installing all Important updates applicable to your system and the prerequisite updates. You may have to repeat this several times to fully update your system by opening the Windows Update control panel and selecting Check for updates. Note: If your system is managed by a administrator and has a Windows Server Updates Services (WSUS) server for updates, you need to use the Check online for updates option of the Windows Update control panel. If this option is not available, your administrator may have disabled this functionality.
5. If you have Windows Vista Ultimate or Windows Vista Enterprise, Update for Windows Vista (KB935509) should be in this list. If you have any other version, Update for Windows Vista (KB938371) should be in this list. Install these updates and reboot your machine when prompted.
6. If you do not have Windows Vista Ultimate or Windows Vista Enterprise Update for Windows Vista (KB938371) should be in the list first and Update for Windows Vista (KB935509) is not required. Note: If you reboot and immediately check for updates you may not see all updates. This may be caused by the installer service completing the installation of the prior update. Please wait 5-10 minutes and check for updates again.
7. Install Update for Windows Vista (KB937287). Update for Windows Vista (KB937287) does not require a reboot.
8. Wait for 10-15 minutes before checking for updates again to enable the installer to complete its installation.
9. Check for updates again and install Service Pack for Windows (KB936330).

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2008 Anthony Clendenen

I Recommend These Books!
SMS 2003 Administrator’s Reference: Systems Management Server 2003 -  SMS 2003 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach  -  Microsoft SMS Installer (Book/CD-ROM package)  -  Pro SMS 2003  -  Professional MOM 2005, SMS 2003, and WSUS  -  Start to Finish Guide to Distributing Software With Systems Management Server 2003  -  Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 - Administrator’s Companion

And you can check out more books and gadgets at my Amazon store here.

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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 money as you pay full price for one and never use the other so it has no value.  Now if you get the gift certificate or the free laptop, then it is most likely worth it!

Microsoft offers a Vista two-for deal by ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley — As part of Microsoft’s latest Windows Vista promotion, Microsoft is offering a variety of prizes to its MSDN and TechNet Vista testers, including a two-for deal on Vista Ultimate; $250 Amazon.com gift certificates (in exchange for completing an online Vista deployment-plan survey; and a chance to win one of ten ASUS W5fe PCs that have been signed by Chairman Bill Gates.

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 - 2008 Anthony Clendenen

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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.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

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Vista Updates Leaves Users With Non-Working Computers

For some this update installs without a problem for others it leaves them searching for their Vista media to reload.  Some people (2 that I know of) have found that this rather lavish and attractive update with promises of better stability, reliability, and Energizer Bunny like laptop battery life actually leaves them with a unbootable Vista instead. 

In the article it states that you should only install this if you are experiencing one of the problems listed below, who isn’t?

INTRODUCTION

This update improves the compatibility, reliability, and stability of Windows Vista. This update includes the following improvements:

•It extends the battery life for mobile devices.

•It improves the stability of portable computers and of desktop computers that use an uninterruptable power supply (UPS).

•It improves the reliability of Windows Vista when you open the menu of a startup application.

•It improves the stability of Internet Explorer when you open a Web page.

•It improves the stability of wireless network services.

•It shortens the startup time of Windows Vista by using a better timing structure.

•It shortens the recovery time after Windows Vista experiences a period of inactivity.

•It shortens the recovery time when you try to exit the Photos screen saver.

•It improves the stability of Windows PowerShell.

This update also resolves the following issues in Windows Vista:

•A compatibility issue that affects some third-party antivirus software applications.

•A reliability issue that occurs when a Windows Vista-based computer uses certain network driver configurations.

An update is available that improves the compatibility, reliability, and stability of Windows Vista

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, it is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

An update is available that improves the compatibility, reliability, and stability of Windows Vista

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E Inc.

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

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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 remove the partition you can simply remove it and use its available space to increase the size of another partition.  In this case I only shrunk mine by 1 GB and it took just a few seconds.

After you are done shrinking the partition you can then select the other volume and right click it and select Extend volume which launches the Extend Volume wizard. 

Some things to note:  For a boot partition to be expanded the new space must be adjacent to it, so if I shrunk the utility partition to the left of the Recovery partition, I would not be able to use it with my boot drive, also you can only expand on a disk that is a dynamic disk.

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E Inc.

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

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