The Windows 8.1 ISOs are not what they used to be, for example depending on when you download the Windows 8.1 Enterprise with Update from MSDN you get different content. When downloading it today (Dec 21, 2014) the file included the November 2014 updates. Here is a plain deployment, with no extra updates installed. Note: […]

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This is the third Microsoft MVP category shift in my career, first I was a Setup & Deployment MVP, then a Enterprise Client Management MVP, and now I'm a System Center Cloud & Datacenter Management (SCCDM) MVP. If I get re-awarded next year it will mark my 11th year as a Microsoft MVP which is […]

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Earlier this morning I was troubleshooting a failing build and capture of a Windows 10 build 9879 image using MDT 2013. What happened was that when the sysprep action run, the task sequence immediately rebooted, causing the following crash on reboot (Error code: 0xc0000428 ): Sysprep rebooting on it's own, even when told not to, […]

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Two of the Windows 10 sessions from TechEd Europe 2014 with Michael Niehaus are finally posted. Windows 10: Deployment http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/Europe/2014/WIN-B338 Windows 10: Management http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/Europe/2014/WIN-B334 / Johan

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When trying to mount the Windows 10 Enterprise x64 build 9879 ISO in File Explorer, you may get the following error: Couldn't Mount File, Sorry, there was a problem mounting the file. Workaround This is a known issue when the sparse file attribute (P) is set on the file (9879.0.141103-1722.FBL_RELEASE_CLIENTENTERPRISE_VOL_X64FRE_en-us.ISO). To make it work, simply […]

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I'm very proud to announce the most advanced OSD book yet, available on November 20, 2014. This is Stealing with Pride – Volume 1! Written by me and Maik Koster, this is the ultimate source for the working IT Pro who wants to customize and develop deployment solutions based on MDT 2013 and/or ConfigMgr 2012 […]

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On Monday November 10, MMS 2014 starts in Minneapolis. In this post you find all my sessions as well as sample files from those sessions (updated as the event goes along).   Lots of my sessions will be about rules 🙂  Sessions list for MMS 2014 Here is the my list of sessions at MMS […]

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This morning I was viewing the recorded "Design Scale-Out File Server Clusters in the Next Release of Windows Server" session from TechEd Europe 2014 presented by Claus Joergensen, and there were indeed some really interesting topics discussed. Especially the new "Storage Spaces Shared Nothing" feature coming in Windows Server v.Next. The recorded session is available […]

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This post is a summary of the “What’s New and Upcoming with OS Deployment in System Center Configuration Manager and the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit” session presented by Jason Githens and Katarina Hotz at TechEd Europe 2014 on October 28, 2014. The full recording (53 minutes) is available here: http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/Europe/2014/EM-B326 Disclaimer: This is pre-release information, and […]

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Tomorrow (Monday October 27), TechEd Europe 2014 starts in Barcelona. In this post you find all my sessions as well as sample files from those sessions (updated as the event goes along). From TechEd 2013 in Madrid, handing out a book in reward for a good question.   Sessions list for TechEd Europe 2014 Here […]

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Since there is no ISO download of Windows 10 Enterprise Technical Preview build 9860 (at least not yet), I thought a little PowerShell that created one from the downloaded preview update could be handy. Update 2015-01-24: Luckily for the Windows 10 9926 build, as well as for the Windows 10 9879 build, Microsoft have released […]

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First, check out my earlier post on how to deploy Windows 10 build 9841 for some background info. Note: If you are looking for how to do this with MDT 2013 Lite Touch instead, check this post: https://deploymentresearch.com/Research/tabid/62/EntryId/195/Deploying-Windows-10-build-9860-using-MDT-2013-Lite-Touch.aspx Then, since there is no ISO download of Windows 10 Enterprise Technical Preview build 9860 (at least […]

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First, check out my earlier post on how to deploy Windows 10 build 9841 for some background info. Then, since there is no ISO download of Windows 10 Enterprise Technical Preview build 9860 (at least not yet), you have to get the install.wim another way. You basically have one option: Upgrade a Windows 10 build […]

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Ever wanted to have ConfigMgr 2012 R2 (SCCM) scan for virus in a machine that is offline? Look no further, Windows Defender Offline will help you. Step-by-step guide To add Windows Defender Offline you do the following: Download Windows Defender Offline Download the latest definition updates Create a ConfigMgr package that contains Defender Offline Create […]

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Like the MDT 2013 Lite Touch post from yesterday, here is the same info but for ConfigMgr 2012 R2. In this post you find step-by-step guidance on how to deploy the Windows 10 preview, including driver injection support, with ConfigMgr 2012 R2 (integrated with MDT 2013 of course). I also encourage you to read Niall […]

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Why Microsoft decided not to ship any deployment tools when Enterprise companies are supposed to evaluate Windows Technical Preview I have no idea. But I don't work for Microsoft so I guess I'm not supposed to understand those things. Anyway, if you try to deploy Windows Technical Preview using MDT 2013 and Windows ADK 8.1 […]

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If you try to PXE boot a Windows Technical Preview VM running on Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 R2, you are greeted by a nice error message: Boot Failed. EFI Network. Failed Secure Boot Verification. The simple fix Until there is an update available turn off secure boot for the Gen 2 VM. Disabling Secure […]

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Here are samples files and links I demonstrated during The Ultimate Event II roadshow that took place during September 22 – 26, 2014.

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Earlier today the CU3 update for ConfigMgr 2012 R2 was released, containing a few nice to have fixes for ConfigMgr. The full list of fixes, and link to request the hotfix is available here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2994331 Backup your Site Server Before continuing, make sure you have a SQL Backup of the Site Server. The update will […]

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Earlier today I got an email from a fellow deployment geek having issues with Windows 8.1 deployments. He had an unattend file that worked perfect for Windows 7 deployments, but failed when deploying Windows 8.1. Now, it's simply comes down to that Windows 8.1 does not support all unattend.xml settings that Windows 7 does. So […]

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