Using MDT for Bulk Distribution of Office 2024 with Administrator Privileges

Question

We need to distribute Office 2024 to company users, and I hope MDT can help me with bulk distribution.

I have created a custom task sequence to install Office using MDT, and it installs the way I want it to, but it requires me to be logged in as an administrator.

Is it possible to set the task sequence to run with administrator privileges so that a regular user can run it and install it themselves?

Answer 1

Hi,

Yes, you can configure your MDT task sequence to run with administrator privileges, allowing regular users to execute it.

Here are the steps to achieve this:

Modify the Task Sequence:

• Add a "Run Command Line" action in your task sequence.
• Use the runas command to specify the administrator account. For example:

runas /user:Administrator "cmd /c your_command_here"

Use CustomSettings.ini:

• Update your CustomSettings.ini file to include the necessary settings for running the task sequence with elevated privileges. You can add the following lines:

[Settings]
 Priority=Default

 [Default]
 AdminPassword=YourAdminPassword

Disable UAC Temporarily:

• Since User Account Control (UAC) can interfere with the task sequence, you may need to disable it temporarily. Add a registry modification step in your task sequence to disable UAC:

reg add HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

• Remember to re-enable UAC after the installation is complete:

reg add HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Reboot After Installation:

• Ensure the system reboots after the installation to apply all changes. You can add a FinishAction=REBOOT line in your CustomSettings.ini file.

By following these steps, you should be able to run the MDT task sequence with administrator privileges, allowing regular users to install Office 2024 without needing admin credentials.

If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to ask!

Running .cmd or .bat via MDT with admin rights