Almost Modern Driver Management with ConfigMgr and Powershell

September 21, 2020April 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.

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/

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

AutoPilot for existing devices: Move from Windows 7 to modern Co-managed Windows 10 in a jiffy using ConfigMgr

February 7, 2019February 7, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

Lately I have been preparing our own shift from old school device provisioning with PXE and ConfigMgr, to the modern alternative with Windows AutoPilot. The preparation is two folded, where the mindset of the IT pros working with the technologies needs a shift, but obviously also the technologies and features involved.

We’ve been hitting F12 and preparing devices within IT for many years and while it’s easy to persuade IT pros into using new and exciting technologies, the businesses we serve also needs maturing. We are not quite there yet, but we are getting closer, and the first step is obviously to embrace the technology and start using it.

We don’t have any devices running Windows 7 in our environment (phew), but this is an approach that can be used with previous versions of Windows 10 as well. For example when moving from 1803 to 1809.

Windows as a Service: Remind users of pending Windows upgrades using Windows toast notifications, part 3

May 29, 2019January 16, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

UPDATE: The script used here has been severely updated: https://www.imab.dk/windows-10-toast-notification-script/. The scenario described here is still relevant though, so I recommend that you still read through this 🙂

This will be a small but exciting contribution to my ‘Windows as a Service’ series!

The usual story here is, that everyone wants to add more user-friendliness to the whole experience around Windows Servicing.

End-users generally doesn’t care about new versions of Windows and they also, generally speaking, find interruptions in their work annoying, especially if those interruptions come unexpected.

So we come up with clever solutions to solve those problems and this will be an addition to that; remind the user with a big nice Windows toast notification when a Windows upgrade is pending. This is for the obvious reminder, but also to lure the end-user into a voluntary participation.

Find some of my previous WaaS posts here:

Part 1: https://www.imab.dk/windows-as-a-service-sharing-my-precache-and-in-place-upgrade-task-sequences-part-1/
Part 2: https://www.imab.dk/windows-as-a-service-sharing-my-precache-and-in-place-upgrade-task-sequences-part-2/

Windows as a Service: Sharing my PreCache and In-Place Upgrade Task Sequences, part 2

August 20, 2019January 14, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

This is an extremely hot topic and I do know that we have some awesome OSD experts out there sharing their content already (Gary Blok, Mike Terrill etc.). Now, their content is way superior to mine and probably suit a lot of needs already, but I think that content around WaaS in particular is interesting and especially when sharing how one does Windows Servicing in details.

So, this is me doing just that – sharing my precaching and in-place upgrade task sequences – in details. This will be a lengthy post, so grab a good cup of coffee ?

Also, this is based on a mid-size company in Denmark and we don’t manage thousands and thousands of devices. WaaS is a small part of my daily job and I’m the only one doing it, so the time and effort put into this is reflecting the size of the company and the resources available, but is still done with an eye on the detail. With that being said, some of the stuff I do here is done with inspiration from how some of the mentioned people does it (credit where due during the posts). If you find yourself in similar position or just need some more inspiration – then this will be for you 🙂

Part 1: https://www.imab.dk/windows-as-a-service-sharing-my-precache-and-in-place-upgrade-task-sequences-part-1/

Windows as a Service: Sharing my PreCache and In-Place Upgrade Task Sequences, part 1

December 16, 2020January 9, 2019 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

Update! The content in this post, has been updated: Windows as a Service: Sharing my PreCache and In-Place Upgrade Task Sequences – 20H2 edition, part 1

This is an extremely hot topic and I do know that we have some awesome OSD experts out there sharing their content already (Gary Blok, Mike Terrill etc.). Now, their content is way superior to mine and probably satisfy a lot of needs already, but I think that content around WaaS in particular is interesting and especially when sharing how one does Windows Servicing in details.

So, this is me doing just that – sharing my precaching and in-place upgrade task sequences – in details. This will be a lengthy post, so grab a good cup of coffee 🙂

Part 2: https://www.imab.dk/windows-as-a-service-sharing-my-precache-and-in-place-upgrade-task-sequences-part-2/

Install RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools) for Windows 10 v1809 using Microsoft Intune

December 30, 2018December 29, 2018 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

I don’t know if this will have many uses, but I did a similar post on how to deploy RSAT for Windows 10 v1809 using SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager) back in October when 1809 was initially released. As most people know by now, RSAT is no longer a separate downloadable add on to Windows, but something which is included as “Features on Demand” in the OS itself.

For your convenience, find my previous post here: https://www.imab.dk/deploy-rsat-remote-server-administration-tools-for-windows-10-v1809-using-sccm-system-center-configuration-manager/)

What if you don’t have SCCM and instead are fancying Microsoft Intune for software deployments? You might even run SCCM and Microsoft Intune Co-Management and like to do stuff differently and experimenting like I do? Then this post will be for you 🙂

Company Portal displaying my RSAT 1809 Win32 app (Sorry for the obscure language (Danish). Company portal insists on being in Danish on my computer)

Flipping the switch, part 5: A closer look on the client apps workload (Co-management with ConfigMgr and Intune)

November 12, 2019December 21, 2018 by Martin Bengtsson

Introduction

The client apps workload (also known as mobile apps for co-managed devices) was introduced in System Center Configuration Manager 1806 and was done so as a pre-release feature. The documentation on the workload is today still somewhat lacking, so I figured I’d give you some more insights based on my own findings.

The main idea here is, that apps deployed from Microsoft Intune are available through the Company Portal, and apps deployed from SCCM are available through the Software Center. This is quoted directly from the documentation, but what does this really mean? What types of apps are we able to deploy from Microsoft Intune and what’s the expected behavior? This is something I will try to address in this post. Curious? Read on 🙂

Apps installed from Microsoft Intune to a Co-managed device. Sorry about the obscure language. The company portal on my computer insists on being in Danish 🙁