AlexSemi's Blog
Alexey Semibratov's Blog on OSD/SCCM/MDT
New version of drivers harvester copies all OEM drivers to separate folder
Download: Drivers Harvester I've updated Drivers Harvester Tool with a new version. Now it takes a...
Date: 12/19/2016
Drivers harvester now ignores PNF files!
I updated Drivers Harvester tool addressing the issue with PNF files I described here Enjoy!
Date: 09/01/2015
Harvesting drivers from C:WindowsSystem32DriverStoreFileRepository and PNF files
In my blog article with harvesting drivers tool here I described how to harvest drivers from the...
Date: 08/11/2015
Compare two ZTIWindowsUpdate logs with this script to see which patches added and removed
The standard MDT step called "Install Windows Updates" calls ZTIWindowsUpdate.wsf script that...
Date: 08/10/2015
Back to blogging!
I have not written any new blogs due to some technical difficulties and being extremely busy in last...
Date: 08/07/2015
Bullet-proof version of ZTIWindowsUpdate.wsf
I'm removing this page soon, since the new ZTIWindowsUpdate.wsf from MDT 2013 U1 works just fine....
Date: 08/07/2015
Mask all important passwords in all MDT logs
By default, MDT logging routine masks the entire line if it sees the word "password". I came across...
Date: 11/13/2014
StartMBAMEncryption script updated!
In my previous blog post here:...
Date: 07/23/2014
Dart Remote recovery starts too late in your OSD MDT Deployment? Here is the fix.
I hope everybody leverages DART Remote Recovery remote agent in their OSD task sequences with MDT...
Date: 07/07/2014
Prevent "half-baked" computers in your environment with special handling of failing steps in State Restore phase
I bet you've seen technicians, imaging computers, ignore failed task sequences when in Live OS...
Date: 06/17/2014
Meaningful error messages in SCCM OSD Task Sequence
How many times a technician came back to you reading some "4005" generic error back to you expecting...
Date: 05/19/2014
Harvesting drivers from running computer - cleaner, better, works on Windows 7.
Download: Drivers Harvester Update from 12/19/15 - now the program copies all OEM drivers to a...
Date: 11/05/2013
Start MBAM encryption on Bitlocker pre-provisioned and Windows To Go drives.
Dave Hornbaker from Deployment Guys wrote a script some time ago, that kicks off MBAM encryption of...
Date: 08/12/2013
New view - Real IP address based on v_GS_NETWORK_ADAPTER_CONFIGURATION and calculated Subnet field (not a subnet Mask!!!)
Another custom query and a function for me. Basically, IP address is a mutivalue property, and...
Date: 01/30/2013
Modified Administrative Security > "Administrative users security assignments" report with effective rights
One of most useful reports is Administrative Security > Administrative users security...
Date: 01/29/2013
Computer Make / Model with Lenovo real models
After looking at a couple of reports / SQL queries for Lenovo models, I realized that they have some...
Date: 01/23/2013
Script, that populates base variable with packages and programs based on Computer's AD group membership.
Here is the script, that will find all groups computer belongs to and if they start with some...
Date: 10/09/2012
LoadState captures the same profile twice for users that were migrated with ADMT/Quest tools.
You may run in a situation, when LoadState captures the same profile two or more times. This happens...
Date: 09/25/2012
Updated reports - now for CM 2012
I converted reports I created for CM 2007 to 2012 format:...
Date: 04/11/2012
One old and 2 new compliance reports
Remember "Compliance Report, break down by months"? I created two child reports - one shows break...
Date: 03/19/2012
x-mass present! AUTOMATICALLY open all important logs - smsts.log, bdd.log - anything!
Hi! How many times you have been looking for SMSTS.LOG checking all possible locations, finally...
Date: 12/21/2011
Increase CM cache and clean it - 2
Next version to...
Date: 12/20/2011
Increase CM cache and clean it
Sometimes it's hard to accommodate all needed packages in SCCM cache, so admins usually increase the...
Date: 12/15/2011
Remote Connection to WinPE during SCCM deployments - creating shortcuts with Ticket numbers and IP on a file share
Update - I've found a bug and fixed it. Now you can call this script from PE in OS Refresh scenario...
Date: 11/29/2011
Sending SCCM Status Messages from MDT Scripts.
Recently, I asked Michael Niehaus would it be a good idea to send Events, that normally go to...
Date: 11/04/2011
Compliance report, break down by months
Instead of maintaining endless Update Lists with patches from each month, I created this custom...
Date: 05/03/2011
Creating faster OEM Images with OSD and MDT.
Creating faster OEM Images with OSD and MDT. Introduction OEM scenario is where you prepare the...
Date: 01/18/2011
Collecting SCCM computer object last logon time.
Sometimes it may be usefull to see when the last time computer account contacted domain, so you...
Date: 10/12/2010
Associate log files with Trace32.exe
It's always a good idea to have Trace32.exe copied to every computer to be able to take a look on...
Date: 06/07/2010
ZTIWindowsUpdate.WSF does not install all patches
This article is obsolete. The algorithm how was changed in recent versions of MDT, and now this...
Date: 03/17/2010
Script to add specific packages to all distribution points
Script to add some packages to all distribution points As your SCCM hierarchy grows, you might found...
Date: 02/11/2010
Patch management notifications dilemma
It's always been challenging to choose either to check "Hide all deployments from end users" in...
Date: 02/05/2010
Report, showing all collections computer belongs to
Here is an SCCM report, that takes computer name and shows all collections that computer belongs to...
Date: 01/13/2010
Adding config.xml, generated by scanstate.exe /getconfig, to your migration.
After you have fixed the problem with scanstate.exe can't access down level manifests,...
Date: 01/12/2010
When upgrading or reinstalling Windows XP to Windows 7 using USMT 4.0 to migrate system and user state, settings like Wallpaper and Network Printer mappings are not migrated.
Update: MDT 2010 Update 1 addresses this issue. Frank Rojas came up with much simpler idea of just...
Date: 12/10/2009
Applications picker for SCCM/MDT
BUG: when after implementing this solution the customsettings.ini is not getting processed. Download...
Date: 12/04/2009
Hide cscript.exe window for MDT general purpose wizard hook
As you could notice at this post by Michael Niehaus, on a back there is a big "dos" window with a...
Date: 11/30/2009
Count anything with unique Serial Number
Here is how I do it for OS and Service Packs select Caption0, CSDVersion0, COUNT(1) from ( select...
Date: 11/05/2009
USB Media for User Data in Computer Replacement Scenario
My customer asked me for a solution, and he described the process like this:1. Technician walks to...
Date: 10/09/2009
Avoiding Legal Notice that breaks MDT autologon.
There is a known issue when you're setting Legal Notice text and caption in GPO and when deploying...
Date: 08/28/2009
Direct OU in SCCM
SCCM stores AD organizational unit in the DB exposing it to v_RA_System_SystemOUName view. The...
Date: 07/29/2009
Installing Hyper-V integration components in Windows XP when building reference image
I started using Hyper-V to build my reference XP images, and the reason for that - Hyper-V is the...
Date: 07/21/2009
Images Builder
UPDATE 01/29/2013: I'm no longer using Windows service and srvany, I recommend to use standard...
Date: 07/16/2009
Patch Management in isolated environment SMS 2003
When you don't have Internet Connection, going through all patches may be a real pain, so, to make...
Date: 04/05/2006
Reporting client to distribution point network bandwidth to SMS Hardware Inventory
Network infrastructure is very important for successful SMS deployment. The most network consuming...
Date: 04/03/2006
Using scripting host to develop and test MOM Scripts.
Developing and testing MOM scripts sometimes can be tricky, because you can’t simply cut and paste...
Date: 02/20/2006