Upgrade Windows 10 over the Internet with In-Place Upgrade Task Sequences and ConfigMgr

May 24, 2019May 23, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

This is not exactly an A-Z guide on the topic, but rather a story of my experiences with upgrading Windows 10 over the Internet with In-Place Upgrade (IPU) Task Sequence using ConfigMgr and how it works in my environment.

I’m using a Cloud Management Gateway (CMG) with enhanced HTTP as well as initially being connected to the on-premises infrastructure with Always On VPN. The VPN in this scenario is a user-initiated tunnel and thus obviously disconnects once the upgrade restarts the computer. It’s not completely without challenges and I will try to cover those during this post.

Curious? Read on 🙂

Oh yeah, seeing I now allow IPU to happen over the Internet, I also created something in Powershell App Deployment Toolkit which extraordinarily warns the user if the upgrade is being initiated from outside the office network. A preview of that in the end of the post 🙂

Migrate Office 365 ProPlus from 32-bit to 64-bit using Microsoft Intune or SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager)

April 23, 2019April 22, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

When installing Office 365 ProPlus today, the recommended and default architecture is 64-bit. It has been so for some time, but it’s not until lately (at time of writing) that the Office Deployment Tool (in short ODT), is able to migrate from 32-bit to 64-bit in a single operation.

I have tested the migration, both using Microsoft Intune and System Center Configuration Manager and the outcome is what made this blog post.

Note: Migrating Office 365 ProPlus like this, from 32-bit to 64-bit in production, probably has more to it in terms of considering third party add-ins. You will have to test and make sure those add-ins are compatible with the relevant 64-bit Office application. I expect there will be some migration paths for those as well, where you will need to remove the 32-bit add-in prior to migrating Office 365 ProPlus to 64-bit.

Deploy RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools) for Windows 10 v1903 using SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager) and Powershell

April 26, 2019April 20, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

Similar to when Windows 10 v1809 was released back in October 2018 and RSAT debuted as “Features on Demand”, the way of installing RSAT continues with the v1903 release.

Back then I did a Powershell script which is able to install and uninstall the RSAT features. I have now rewritten the script to also include Windows 10 v1903.

Find my 1809 post here: https://www.imab.dk/deploy-rsat-remote-server-administration-tools-for-windows-10-v1809-using-sccm-system-center-configuration-manager/

Almost Modern Driver Management with ConfigMgr and Powershell

April 19, 2019April 18, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

First off, bear with me here during the intro. I know introductions usually are boring, but I do have a few words to share with you first.

The following is by no means any substitution for any other Modern Driver Management solution out there. This is purely me exploring, learning and sharing that experience with anyone who’s interested. When I find something useful, I usually try to do my own thing for various reasons, but mainly to learn and also for being less dependent on others work and future maintenance plans.

Now, this post is primarily about a Powershell script and how that Powershell script is designed to run on a given device and export the device drivers into your ConfigMgr source file library or locally. In the process, the script is able to create a regular package in ConfigMgr containing those drivers. The post is also about how to use the regular packages for applying drivers, but the script is what took the most of my time 🙂

The idea here is, that you fire up a given device with a given version of Windows (preferably Windows 10) and install ALL the drivers (preferably the latest drivers) and verify that everything works in that combination of Windows, drivers and hardware model.

Note: Most vendors provide a tool which checks online for latest drivers and gives you option to install those. This is pretty handy when building new drivers for a given computer model.

Now knowing that everything works, this is the drivers you want to apply to future deployments of this computer model, so you run the script and everything is automatically exported and a package in ConfigMgr is created.

In lack of a better name, this is what I call ‘Almost Modern Driver Management‘. 😀

PS. If you’re looking for a truly nifty and ‘modern’ approach, I suggest you head over to SCConfigMgr.com and take a peek at their solutions for both BIOS and drivers.

Migrate your OneDrive for Business to Per Machine installation (With or without source files using SCCM and Powershell)

April 9, 2019April 8, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

Installing the OneDrive for Business client on a per machine basis is an often requested feature and for good reasons. OneDrive in it’s current state in the production ring, is installing into the users profile in %localappdata%, and for equally good reasons that is often not desired by enterprises.

Now, Microsoft has finally given us an option, allowing us to install OneDrive for the device into %programfiles(x86)%. The option is currently in preview and all the juicy details are found here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/per-machine-installation

PS. Credit where due: I was inspired by Per Larsen’s post on doing the same with Microsoft Intune and like many times before, this brought me to doing something on my own for the sharing and learning experience. Enjoy. 🙂

Connect to Exchange Online with Powershell, Modern Authentication and Conditional Access

April 2, 2019March 31, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

This is not one of the usual topics I blog about, but nonetheless it’s quite relevant. If you leverage Conditional Access to protect your corporate resources, good chances are that you are blocking legacy authentication (or at least that is something you should consider doing).

If you also fancy connecting to Exchange Online using Powershell for automation reasons, another good chance is that this is done with basic/legacy authentication. This is obviously a conflict with my first statement, so I figured it would make a good blog post to describe how to connect to Exchange Online automated with Modern Authentication while being protected by Conditional Access.

Windows as a Service: PreCaching drivers before In-Place Upgrades with ConfigMgr Task Sequences

March 28, 2019March 28, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

Since my previous WaaS posts, I have received a few inquiries about how to do drivers when precaching the content prior to running the actual In-Place upgrade. As of such, I figured it would make a great blog post covering the approach I’m currently using.

So this is me doing just that, as a small addition to what I have previously covered with my PreCache and In-Place Upgrade Task Sequences.

Note: I’m brewing on a complete WaaS section on here, sharing all and everything I do in details in regards to Windows Servicing. This will be available from this link once I get there: https://www.imab.dk/windows-as-a-service/

Connect to Microsoft Graph for Intune with Powershell ISE Add-ons

April 18, 2019March 4, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

If you are working with Microsoft Intune on a daily basis, chances are that you are familiar with the awesome Powershell Intune Graph script samples over at GitHub: https://github.com/microsoftgraph/powershell-intune-samples.

I have previously blogged specifically about putting 2 of the scripts to use here:

If you are less familiar with Powershell, the script samples might seem a bit intimidating and difficult for some to put to use. The new Microsoft.Graph.Intune PowerShell Module to the rescue!

Now, this post is not about using the actual module, but how you with a single click can connect to the Graph API and gain access to all the available cmdlets in a very easy and sufficient way.

Install Google Chrome Extensions using Microsoft Intune in 3 different ways (Powershell, ADMX ingestion and MSI)

March 3, 2019February 27, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

I have previously covered the approach on how to install Google Chrome extensions using System Center Configuration Manager. Find my post here: https://www.imab.dk/forcefully-deploy-the-windows-defender-google-chrome-extension-using-configuration-manager/

Then it came to my attention that Microsoft released another and new extension for Chrome last week. It’s called Microsoft Web Activities. This made me go through the approach again, and figured I wanted to cover the methods on how to install Google Chrome Extensions using Microsoft Intune.

PXE boot your way into Windows AutoPilot and Windows 10 Shared PC

March 1, 2019February 18, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

This is a continuation of my previous post on Windows AutoPilot for existing devices. This time covering a similar scenario, where I’m PXE booting an existing device (known or unknown to ConfigMgr) into a Windows 10 Shared PC with Windows AutoPilot and Microsoft Intune

Now, the scenario might have many similarities compared to last week, but nevertheless there’s a real purpose with the crazyness. This is about getting started with Windows AutoPilot and giving you inspiration on how to do that. In my environment, it’s a whole lot easier to make the switch into AutoPilot for non-user devices (I bet I’m not alone on this one). That be devices which are shared between users in public spaces and kiosk devices in particular.

Also, devices in this category are quite often not brand new and might even be old repurposed user-devices (hence we cannot ask our reseller to add them into AutoPilot prior to delivery and thus we have to do it ourselves) 🙂

A peek into the **AutoPilot Deployment Profiles** in my environment