SCCM by Davis: “Chante Wolford became a registered member” plus 15 more |  |
- Chante Wolford became a registered member
- Bad Software Installers
- SCCM 2012 Updates - Shortcut
- System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Hardware used for site roles in Microsoft IT
- SCCM 2012: SMS Provider Reported an error
- VMware Horizon Mirage - SCCM Killer?
- Learn more about ConfigMgr 2012 with this free Microsoft Virtual Academy course
- Create a Tree View of Applications and Dependencies
- SCCM 2012 Pre-check error: Configuration Manager requires a dedicated SQL Server instance to host its site database.
- Fix SCCM DCOM error 10016 on NAP Agent Service
- SCCM 2012 Right Click Tools 1.4 install issue
- Keep taking the tablets Dell
- Garth Jones wrote a new post, Find PC by Last logon user – prompted
- Find PC by Last logon user – prompted
- Alan became a registered member
- Peter Daalmans wrote a new post, New features in ConfigMgr 2012 R2 tested and pointed out - part 1
| Chante Wolford became a registered member Posted: 29 Jun 2013 07:18 PM PDT Comments: 0  |
| Posted: 11 May 2013 04:28 PM PDT We needed to roll out drivers to a range of machines. The drivers are installed via an installer which popups two dialog boxes, one at the start of the installation and one at the end of the installation. These dialog boxes maybe useful if you are a single user so you know you have actually run setup.exe, but when it comes to a corporate zero-touch environment these two dialog boxes prevent the automated installation of this driver by a deployment system such as SCCM. Solution: Reverse engineer the setup.exe and remove the calls to display the dialog box. This technique is very similar to methods used by software crackers to remove nag boxes from shareware software and crack the license key registration in software, except this example is much much simpler. In fact I was pleasantly surprised quite how simple this particular setup.exe was to manipulate into working silently. Dialog Box 1 – Start of Setup This dialog box is displayed when you first run the setup.exe and it prevents further execution of the program until the user has clicked ok. Loading setup.exe into IDA Pro we can see that the WinMain procedure is very simple. The first thing it does is push 4 parameters onto the stack and then call a function sub_401000, IDA Pro even shows us that one of the parameters is a pointer to the very string displayed in the dialog box we wish to remove. Once the function has returned the the calling function (i.e. the one we are examining) cleans up the stack (because the function being called is _cdecl) and performs a comparison on the result of the eax register. The result of the comparison determines the execution flow of the program, effectively if the user clicked okay then continue down the execution path shown on the right, if the user clicked cancel then continue down the execution path shown on the left boxed in red. To remove this particular dialog box we need need to remove all the code highlighted in red. Click on the first instruction you need to remove and observe the status bar, it shows the address of the instruction you have highlighted. Ensure you are looking at the literal address in the file not the relocated address. Start Address : 0x10d6 To work out the end address find the first instruction of the section you wish to keep and susbtract 1 byte.. In this case it is quite easy as the address is in the label End Address : 0x10fb Patch the setup.exe Now we load the setup.exe into winhex and highlight the address range we determined in the previous section. Next we change all of those bytes so that they are 90 (hex), which is the single op-code nop instruction.
If we save the setup.exe we can reload it into IDA Pro and see the nop instructions have replaced the original instructions.
Running this setup.exe now the first confirmation dialog no longer displays  |
| Posted: 09 May 2013 01:35 PM PDT Recently, I received the following from a reader: "Dear Jesse- I want to create a software update structure in SCCM 2012 that follows best practices and gives me the most efficient process possible. However, I just feel lazy today and just can't seem to muster up the strength to right-click and create folders or collections. Do you have any way that I can cheat the system while still looking like a hero? Yours truly, Flabby Flabberson" Well, Mr. Flabberson…I appreciate your lack of enthusiasm and general disdain for anything requiring effort. With that said, I have a perfect solution. Fittingly enough, I am too lazy to type that solution, so I will send you to Windows-Noob where they have a pre-created script that generates a nice little folder structure complete with all the collections you need. What nice guys! Cordially, Jesse-C-M (see what I did there?)  |
| System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Hardware used for site roles in Microsoft IT Posted: 09 May 2013 06:15 AM PDT Great blog about Site server Role Hardware Specs used in Microsoft IT  |
| SCCM 2012: SMS Provider Reported an error Posted: 03 May 2013 04:08 PM PDT SMS Provider Reported an errorSalutare, azi va delectez cu o problema de SCCM 2012 SP1. Problema a fost simpla asa ca nu va retin prea mult atentia. Ce este SMS Provider? Pe scurt este intermediarul ce face posibila comunicarea intre SCCM si baza de SQL. Cand apare problema? Am zis sa incerc si eu ca tot omul chestiile astea noi in SCCM cum ar fi Application Distribution vs Package Distribution dar cand incerc sa fac deploy la o applicatie fie in Native Mode fie Virtual App (App-V) imi arata urmatoarea erroare: Verificand SmsProv.log gasesc ceva ce nu ofera prea multe informarii, cel putin pentru mine: Updating SDM content definition. $$<SMS Provider><05-04-2013 01:13:28.148-180><thread=3472 (0xD90)> *** declare @rc int, @errxml xml; EXEC @rc=sp_SetupCI 16780320, 0, @errxml out; select @rc, @errxml $$<SMS Provider><05-04-2013 01:13:29.233-180><thread=3472 (0xD90)> *** *** Unknown SQL Error! $$<SMS Provider><05-04-2013 01:13:29.234-180><thread=3472 (0xD90)> ~*~*~*** Unknown SQL Error! ThreadID : 3472 , DbError: 50000 , Sev: 16~*~*~ $$<SMS Provider><05-04-2013 01:13:29.234-180><thread=3472 (0xD90)> *** if (object_id('tempdb..#sp_setupci_resultstr') IS NOT NULL) select * from #sp_setupci_resultstr; else select N"; $$<SMS Provider><05-04-2013 01:13:29.234-180><thread=3472 (0xD90)> *** [24000][0][Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 10.0]Invalid cursor state $$<SMS Provider><05-04-2013 01:13:29.234-180><thread=3472 (0xD90)> ~*~*~[24000][0][Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 10.0]Invalid cursor state *** Unknown SQL Error! ThreadID : 3472 , DbError: 0 , Sev: 0~*~*~ $$<SMS Provider><05-04-2013 01:13:29.234-180><thread=3472 …..and so on. Cauza? Am mutat bazele de date pentru SCCM pe un alt drive. Cum le-am mutat? Ca pe orice baza de date SQL , detach, move, attach, DBCC CHECKDB. Procedura perfect valabila la SQL. Din pacate pentru bazele de SCCM se modifica cateva proprietati atunci cand se face detach si trebuiesc puse la loc. Rezolvarea Rulati urmatoarele query-uri: ALTER DATABASE <ConfigMgr DB> SET TRUSTWORTHY ON ALTER DATABASE <ConfigMgr DB> SET ALLOW_SNAPSHOT_ISOLATION ON ALTER DATABASE <ConfigMgr DB> SET READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT ON sp_changedbowner 'sa' Acum totul functioneaza cum trebuie. Problema este documentata aici http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2709082 . Paste Fericit, Romane!  |
| VMware Horizon Mirage - SCCM Killer? Posted: 03 May 2013 05:00 AM PDT VMware has released an operating system and application management solution. Mirage, part of the VMw  |
| Learn more about ConfigMgr 2012 with this free Microsoft Virtual Academy course Posted: 03 May 2013 02:47 AM PDT This course provides an overview of the new System Center 2012 Configuration Manager product I have not checked this out yet so let me know how it is!  |
| Create a Tree View of Applications and Dependencies Posted: 03 May 2013 12:02 AM PDT Here's a quick code to get a tree view (sort of) of applications in your ConfigMgr 2012 environment that shows dependencies, including dependencies of dependencies. Works as is, for me at least. If you spot any bugs or improvements feel free to let me know. As usual watch out for word-wrapping and typos. Function Get-Dependency($appCIID,$appNameFunc){ gwmi -ComputerName $server -Namespace "root\sms\site_$code" -Class SMS_AppDependenceRelation -Filter "FromApplicationCIID='$appCIID'" | %{ if($_.ToApplicationCIID -ne $null){ $ToApplicationCIID = $_.ToApplicationCIID $dependencyName = Resolve-ApplicationName $ToApplicationCIID $dependencyNameSub = " –>$dependencyName" Write-Host $dependencyNameSub Get-SubDependency $ToApplicationCIID $dependencyNameSub } } return } Function Get-SubDependency($appCIID, $appNameFunc){ $appNamePrefix = " " + ($appNameFunc -split ">")[0] + ">" gwmi -ComputerName $server -Namespace "root\sms\site_$code" -Class SMS_AppDependenceRelation -Filter "FromApplicationCIID='$appCIID'" | %{ if($_.ToApplicationCIID -ne $null){ $ToApplicationCIID = $_.ToApplicationCIID $dependencyName = Resolve-ApplicationName $ToApplicationCIID $dependencyName = "$appNamePrefix$dependencyName" Write-Host "$dependencyName" Get-SubDependency $ToApplicationCIID $dependencyName } } return } Function Resolve-ApplicationName($appCIID){ gwmi -ComputerName $server -Namespace "root\sms\site_$code" -Class SMS_ApplicationLatest -Filter "CI_ID = '$appCIID'" | select LocalizedDisplayName | %{ return $_.LocalizedDisplayName } } cls $server = "serverName" $code = "001″ gwmi -ComputerName $server -Namespace "root\sms\site_$code" -Class SMS_ApplicationLatest | %{ $appName = $_.LocalizedDisplayName $CIID = $_.CI_ID Write-Host "$appName" Get-Dependency $CIID $appName }  |
| Posted: 01 May 2013 11:28 PM PDT While installing SCCM 2012, with the database configured on SQL Server 2008 R2 CU6, I came across this error "Configuration Manager requires a dedicated SQL Server instance to host its site database". The previous SCCM database had already been deleted. With due credit to http://tameyourcloud.com/?p=33, I deleted these registry keys on the nodes: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\Components\SMS_SITE_SQL_BACKUP_< SITESERVERNAME > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\Operations Management\Components\SMS_SITE_SQL_BACKUP_< SITESERVERNAME > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\Tracing\SMS_SITE_SQL_BACKUP_< SITESERVERNAME >.  |
| Fix SCCM DCOM error 10016 on NAP Agent Service Posted: 01 May 2013 03:30 PM PDT I have been fighting this error for a while, but I found my solution here : http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/configmgrgeneral/thread/95cf98dd-d7c0-47d6-9ac9-605484f80503/
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| SCCM 2012 Right Click Tools 1.4 install issue Posted: 30 Apr 2013 06:50 PM PDT I assume that everyone that uses SCCM has used different right click tools. After upgrading to 2012 I was lacking a good set of right click tools. I searched the web and found these: http://myitforum.com/myitforumwp/2012/05/07/config-manager-2012-right-click-tools/ These have all the same tools as the 2007 version. I installed these but ran into an issue that was not documented. If you are having the same issue I hope this resolves it for you. Once resolved these tools are the must have addition have any SCCM Admin. Symptom: Right Click tools 1.4 installed, show up in configuration manager console but when any tool is executed nothing happens. Fix:
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| Posted: 30 Apr 2013 02:29 PM PDT Let me just start this post by saying that professionally at least, I'm a happy Dell customer. I've built up a good relationship with them over the years, met senior Dell staff and we almost exclusively use their server & storage infrastructure where I work, we've used them for consultancy in the past, and I've been delighted with the results. This is not me hating on Dell. But I am going to have to take them to the woodshed over a recent post by Andre Meier on their corporate blog, "Tablet matters – taking the right decision". Now let me be clear about something – I don't mind that Dell comissioned the whitepaper they're basing their post on. I don't mind that the whitepaper favours them somewhat (every IT vendor in the world does this so…) but I do mind it when the blog post and the whitepaper its based on descends into a farce. If Dell think this is supposed to convince me then either they're acting stupid or they're acting like they think I'm stupid, and I'm not sure I want to do business with people who fall into either of those categories. And I'm sure I'm not alone. Clearly they're going after the iPad in this whitepaper rather than Android, and that's fair enough – frankly from what I've seen of Android tablets during a trial at work, they appear to be about as useful as a roof-rack on a helicopter and about as reliable as my blog posting schedule. Say what you like about Apple's iOS and Microsoft's Windows 8 but I've never had to take a brand new one of them, fresh out of the box, home to connect to my home wireless network in order to install a patch that's required in order to connect them to the "business-class" wireless network at work. Principled Technologies / Dell's faulty assumptions (some taken from the blog entry and some from the whitepaper itself):
This is actually a fair point if we're talking about one or two people using iPads as BYOD devices rather than as part of a centrally managed deployment, but the whitepaper is specifically talking about deploying 1000 devices. This is not a trivial deployment, and IT departments are unlikely to undertake it without considering MDM as part of the roll-out. We're just trialing a mix of about 30 Android and Apple tablets where I work and we've already researched the alternatives and opted for Meraki's MDM tools, as they were "cross platform" between iOS, Android and Windows. We could have chosen to use Windows inTune, which plugs into the SCCM 2012 infrastructure we're already using to manage Windows (and Mac OSX clients with some help from Parallels). At the time we chose SCCM 2007 as our Windows 7 management platform, we also evaluated a product called KACE tools and I just checked their website and yes, they have MDM services available too. Now remind me who the vendor behind KACE is again. Anyone? Anyone? So if you're running Dell's preferred Windows management tool, their own KACE tool, you already have MDM. If you're running SCCM from Microsoft, Dell's partner on the Dell Latitude 10 tablets they're pushing via this whitepaper then you already have access to MDM tools via Windows inTune, and if that's not good enough for you then you can access free, cloud based management tools like the Meraki one we're using. Ok but that's just one place where Dell pretty much contradict themselves, I'm sure it won't happen again. So moving on…
Oh wow. That sounds serious. I guess things like this "mobile print" stuff doesn't work then. You know the company who sell that stuff must be ripping us all off. I'm just glad that this Dell whitepaper was here to save us from… hmmm wait a moment… what was that URL again? Wow. That's twice now. Still, no one's likely to notice, eh Dell? I could go on and pick at some of the more obscure holes in the paper, and I should in all fairness point out that they make a reasonable point about iPad battery replacement:
This is a clear point in favour of the Dell device, though I'm not sure I agree with their "50% of batteries" claim, a lot of Apple enthusiasts are sneering at this point with a "worrying about battery replacements are so yesterday dude" kind of attitude, which to me just goes to show that they don't appreciate the differences between them looking after their personal devices and the the sheer scale that comes from looking after several thousand devices that we face in enterprise scale networking. There are points to be made in favour of the Dell device here – it's a full copy of Windows 8 and therefore can integrate into a domain properly, can run the full version of MS Office, etc. It's only running an Atom processor so I wouldn't fancy dropping Adobe Creative Suite onto it but you could if you really wanted to. There are enough reasons to favour Dell's approach and they could talk about these instead of trying to make flawed claims about Apple's approach. Don't tell me how bad your rival's product is because I'd like to decide that for myself (and don't worry Dell, as much as I love Apple as a choice for personal devices there's plenty of flaws in their approach to business that I'm very well aware of as they burn me every day). Instead tell me more about how good your own product is.  |
| Garth Jones wrote a new post, Find PC by Last logon user – prompted Posted: 29 Jun 2013 11:03 AM PDT
Comments: 0  |
| Find PC by Last logon user – prompted Posted: 29 Jun 2013 11:03 AM PDT Use this query if you want to locate PCs by that last logon user but prompt for the user name each time. select SMS_R_System.Name from SMS_R_System where SMS_R_System.LastLogonUserName = ##PRM:SMS_R_System.LastLogonUserName## order by SMS_R_System.Name    |
| Alan became a registered member Posted: 29 Jun 2013 07:44 AM PDT Comments: 0  |
| Peter Daalmans wrote a new post, New features in ConfigMgr 2012 R2 tested and pointed out - part 1 Posted: 29 Jun 2013 04:40 AM PDT Since the preview release of Configuration Manager 2012 R2 earlier this week I found finally some time to look around and see what is changed and added in this release. The next couple of blogs I want to point out […] Comments: 0  |
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