ConfigMgr 2007, Client Push Installation and (a) Firewall(s)

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One of the most common problems with Client Push Installation is (are) the (Windows) Firewall(s). As I had some questions about this (again) lately, I will post here all the open ports/ firewall exceptions needed for a Client Push Installation. Exceptions for the Windows Firewall To be able to do a Client Push Installation you need the following exceptions in the Windows Firewall: File and Printer Sharing Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) TCP Port 80 (for HTTP from the client computer to a MP (Mixed Mode)) TCP Port 443 (for HTTPS from the client computer to a MP (Native Mode)) Specific ports for other Firewalls To be able to do a Client Push Installation you need to open the following ports in the Firewall: Description UDP …

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Capture User Files and Settings Offline (WinPE) or Online (FullOS) with ConfigMgr 2007

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They always say never change a winning team, but sometimes its just cowl to see if its possible to be even better. I had the same with a previous post in which I already showed how to do a Hard-Link migration, when started from WinPE (and FullOS). The biggest part of that example is still the same, but some pieces changed to get a better result. In this post I will go step-by-step (again) to mention the changes that I made to make it even better. At the end of both parts of this post I will shine a light on the changes that I made. Part 1: Capture User Files and Settings For creating a Task Sequence, that does an Online or Offline Capture, …

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How to install a ConfigMgr Client on a WORKGROUP computer, when the ConfigMgr Site is in Native Mode.

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To install a ConfigMgr Client on a WORKGROUP computer is always a nice battle, when the ConfigMgr Site is in Native Mode. I think I am not the only one who didn’t work that much with certificates before ConfigMgr. So to make the basics of this process for everyone a bit easier I wrote down these seven steps for implementing the correct certificates and installing the ConfigMgr Client on a WORKGROUP client. These same steps can also be used for separate forests. Step 1. Export the Root Certificate for use on the WORKGROUP computer Logon to the Certification Authority server and create a folder to contain your certificate files (eg C:\Certificates). Open a command prompt and go to the just created folder. Use the following …

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User Driven Installation with ConfigMgr 2007 and MDT 2010 Update 1

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A few months ago I wrote a post about User Driven OS Deployment "Modena". By then it wasn’t sure if it was going to be released to the big public. Well I can tell now (after finally looking around in the the MDT 2010 Update 1 Beta) that it is going to be released, as it is a part of the MDT 2010 Update 1 (Beta). Of course the scripts are now made to fit with the other MDT scripts, but the look-and-feel is the same (see picture). This means that there is now an easy way coming for everyone to get their users “involved” in an OS Deployment. The only requirements are to have ConfigMgr 2007 and MDT 2010 Update 1 (Beta) installed and …

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The first Beta of ConfigMgr vNext has been released!

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Although there is still a ConfigMgr 2007 R3 in the making, the first beta of ConfigMgr vNext has already been released. Take a look at the System Center Team Blog for more inside information: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/archive/2010/05/24/the-next-generation-of-client-management.aspx Take a look at Microsoft Connect for the download: https://connect.microsoft.com/ConfigurationManagervnext/Downloads

ConfigMgr 2007 R3 is making a step in Green IT with Power Management

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This post is not meant as a guide for installing or configuring the R3 feature pack and/ or Power Management. I will just show, in a few screenshots and a bit explanation, what the possibilities are regarding the Power Management feature in ConfigMgr 2007 R3. As we all already knew, one of the coolest new features of ConfigMgr 2007 R3 would be Power Management. Another step in the direction of Green IT.  The Power Management feature provides a new Client Agent which enables you to apply power settings to client computers in the organization and monitor the power usage of these computers. How to Enable the Power Management Client Agent Open the Configuration Manager console and browse to System Center Configuration Manager > Site Database …

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ConfigMgr 2007 and editing the registry during a Task Sequence on a 64-bit OS

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Of course you know, deep down, that the ConfigMgr 2007 Client is 32-bit and that it will react a bit different on a 64-bit OS. The reason for this is of course the emulation layer, also know as Windows 32-bit On Windows 64-bit (WOW64), that enables a 32-bit application to run seamlessly on a 64-bit OS.  As the ConfigMgr 2007 (RTM, SP1, SP2) Client is only available in a 32-bit version, you may run into some bumps on a 64-bit Operation System. One of these bumps is editing a registry key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software, because, for the ConfigMgr 2007 Client, this will get redirected to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WOW6432Node. Luckily there is an easy solution for this in a Task Sequence of ConfigMgr 2007. Just create a Task Sequence, …

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Configuration Manager 2007 R3 Beta has been released!

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I would like to make a short note of the following announcement on the ConfigMgr Connect Site (https://connect.microsoft.com/site16) System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3 Beta has been released! As a member of the Configuration Manager 2007 R3 Open Beta program you can download at this Connection via the downloads tab. Feedback can be provided using the Feedback tool and also available is discussions via the Newsgroups where you can post comments and ask questions. Thank you. ConfigMgr Customer team

How to back up your ConfigMgr 2007 Site

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This post is just meant to freshen up everyone’s memory, because I still see (and get) stories (and questions)about backing up a ConfigMgr 2007 Site (and then especially about Secondary Sites). Let’s start with the most important part, the only supported way to restore your site is to use the Site Repair Wizard. This wizard needs a backup that is created with the standard Backup ConfigMgr Site Server maintenance task. How to back up a Primary Site Open the Configuration Manager console and browse to System Center Configuration Manager > Site Database > Site Management > <YourSiteName> > Site Settings > Site Maintenance > Tasks. Select the Backup ConfigMgr Site Server task and click in the Actions pane Properties (or right-click the Backup ConfigMgr Site …

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Using USMTUtils.exe during a Task Sequence with ConfigMgr 2007

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As I had a lot of questions about the use of USMTUtils, I decided to devote a new post to this. In my previous post I used USMTUtils to clean up the hard-link statestore location. USMTUtils is needed to clean up a hard-link statestore, because otherwise the hard-link store cannot be deleted due to a sharing lock. The command-line provided by Technet to do this is usmtutils.exe /rd <storedirectory>. Only this is exactly where the problem starts when running a command like this during a Task Sequence, because this will make the Task Sequence “hang” on the point where it has to delete the hard-link statestore. Taking a look at the SMSTS.log, at this point, will show something similar to this: <![LOG[Executing command line: Run …

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