SCCM 2016: upgrade Windows
Automatic transition between versions of Windows10, as well as from Windows7 or Windows8 to Windows10 occurs using Task Sequence. Let’s consider how to do this.
Customize SUP role
In order to upgrade Windows 10, you must have the appropriate updates that we can get from the Internet. To do this, the roles of WSUS and SUP must already be configured.
First you need to notify the Configuration Manager of downloading upgrades. To do this, go to Administration->Overview->Sites->Configure Site Components->Software Update Point, in the window go to the Classification tab and activate the last tick of Upgrades, as well as in the Sync Schedule tab set the time and date of synchronization to start downloading metadata.
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Creating collections
Computers running Windows10 should be included in the collection (group); to automate this process, the selection rules apply. For example, the rule will have 1 criterion that will determine computers running Windows 10 (although you can create several).
Go to the section Assets and Compliance->Overview->Device Collection, right-click and select the item in the menu Create Device Collection - the wizard opens. In the first step, we give the name of the collection and select a group with the entire list of computers All Systems. In the second step Membership Rules in the drop-down list, select the second item Query Rule,
which means creating a rule based on a WQL query. In the new window that opens, give the name of the rule, press the button Edit Query Statement, go to the tab Criteria and press the first button with the sun icon (means create). In the first drop-down list, select the value of Simple Value, press the Select button and in the window that appears in the first drop-down list, select the item System Resource and in the bottom - Operating System Name and Version. In the last field specify the value Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 10.0.
Alternatively, for the rule, you can explicitly specify the selection criteria using a SQL query by clicking the Show Query Language button:
SELECT SMS_R_System.NetbiosName, SMS_R_System.OperatingSystemNameandVersion
FROM SMS_R_System
WHERE SMS_R_System.OperatingSystemNameandVersion like "%Workstation 10.0%"
This completes the creation of the selection rule for devices running Windows10. We check and make sure that the collection already has a list of computers. New computers will automatically be added to this group.
Customize Serviсing Plan
Maintenance plans for system upgrades are rules for automatically deploying updates. Create and configure it. To test the efficiency, go to Software Library->Overview->Windows 10 Servicing.
Pie charts or deployment circles look very impressive here, which immediately display the number of OS Windows10 and their versions. Hovering over the chart, the selected part becomes brighter for clarity, and the rest of the parts become dimmer.
To create a maintenance plan, go to Software Library->Overview->Windows 10 Servicing->Servicing Plans, right-click and choose Create Servicing Plan menu item. Then the setting wizard opens, consisting of many steps. Let’s describe them.
First, enter the name of the service plan, then select the collection, then - the deployment ring. At step number 4 (Updates) enter values on the requested parameters: Language = English, Requared>=1, Title = 1803. In the next step, we set the deployment schedule. For example, in both places (Software available time and Installation deadline) the value is selected as soon as possible.
In the User Experience step, we leave everything by default and in Deployment Package enter the name of the update package and specify the path to the folder to place it on the disk.
Work Verification
After a short period of time, we check our work for errors. First we look at the state of the created maintenance plan. Last Error Code must be 0x00000000, and Last Error Description - Success.
Then go to Software Updates->Packages to see that the package was created, distributed, the status circle is green, and in Software Updates Group a group with the same name as the service plan was to be created.
After that go to the Monitoring section. Deployments should have a maintenance plan and in Distribution Status->Content Status service packs.
Then go to System Status to check the status of the site and its components for errors.
We will also take a look at the wsyncmgr.log log file and make sure that the synchronization and downloading of metadata is successful.
If there are no errors anywhere, then it remains only to wait until the corresponding updates are downloaded for the upgrade and begin to “arrive” on users' computers.
The addition of updated machines can be observed through the maintenance rings, as well as using the report Windows 10 Servicing details for a specific collection.
Upgrade via Task Sequence
The second upgrade option - using Task Sequence - is suitable for Windows 7\8\8.1
First you need to create a service pack for the operating system. We will create the package from the source files of the Windows10 1803 installation by unpacking the .iso image. Next, go to the section Software Library->Overview->Operating Systems->Operating System Upgrade Packages, right-click and select Add Operating System Upgrade Package; a setup wizard will appear, consisting of 2 steps.
In the first step of the wizard, we specify the path to the folder with the system sources, select the capacity and language, and in the second step, enter the package name. After that, the created package must be added to the Distribution Point by clicking on the package with the right mouse button and selecting Distribute Content from the menu.
Now create a Task Sequence. In the same section of the Software Library-> Overview-> Operating Systems, on the Task Sequences item we right-click, select the Create Task Sequence item in the menu, the settings wizard will appear.
In the setup wizard, you must first select the type of task sequence – Upgrade an operating system from an upgrade package. In the second step - enter the name. In the Upgrade the Windows Operating System step, you must select the previously created package and the type of operating system, for example, Pro.
The fourth step of the wizard is responsible for the updates. Here we select first item – Required for Installation – Mandatory software updates only. Then Next->Next->Close.
Then go to the Task Sequence editor right-clicking on it and selecting the Edit item in the menu.
A number of steps will be already automatically created, but we don’t need everything, therefore we remove the extra. As a result, there are only a few steps left.
After that, this Task Sequence should be distributed to a collection of computers (for example, a collection with Windows7) and open the Software Center on the employee’s machine, go to the Operating System section, click the Install button.
If the upgrade has not yet appeared in the Software Center, then it can be “pushed”. To do this, go to the Control Panel->Configuration Manager->Actions tab, highlight Machine Policy Retrieval & Evaluation Cycle and press Run Now button. The transition process from Windows7 to Windows10 takes about 1 hour.
You must take into account that this upgrade will erase all user data on the C drive: therefore, you should not forget to warn the employee about their transfer/backup.
In order not to add to the collection devices based on Windows7 manually, you can create a selection rule, as for windows10. In this case, you will need to specify the value Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 6.1. All versions of releases can be viewed on Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Microsoft_Windows_versions].
It is worth mentioning one inconvenience. You can not upgrade the lower version of the system 32 bits to the highest 64 bits. In this case, Task Sequence will generate error 0x800702C2.