Michael Niehaus' Windows and Office deployment ramblings
ConfigMgr 2007 R2's Unknown Computer Support
Several people have asked me how the unknown computer support in ConfigMgr R2 works. I can honestly...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 09/21/2008
I'm a PC
Today was the annual Microsoft Company Meeting, where all the Seattle-area employees get together in...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 09/19/2008
Using the Hyper-V integration components with MDT 2008 Update 1 Lite Touch
There have been some blog postings talking about how to add the Hyper-V integration components into...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 09/12/2008
ConfigMgr 2007 SP1 slowing down your task sequence executions?
If you've noticed a 90-second delay added between each package installed by a task sequence (whether...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 09/11/2008
Another conference complete (well, two of them actually)
I gave two presentations at TechEd New Zealand in Auckland and five sessions at TechEd Australia in...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 09/05/2008
Back from a long vacation, leaving again soon
I'm back from a three-week vacation (longest I've ever taken, unless you go back to the summer after...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 08/26/2008
Losing the (e-mail) battle
I get a lot of e-mail (and send a lot too). Overall, for those e-mails that need a reply my system...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 07/25/2008
Even more certified
I took another certification exam today: 70-622 PRO: Supporting and Troubleshooting Applications on...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 07/12/2008
Installing IE 8 Beta 1 as part of an MDT 2008 Lite Touch deployment
The Internet Explorer team described how to slipstream IE 8 Beta 1 into a Windows Vista or Windows...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 07/03/2008
Wizard Editor now available on CodePlex for download
At previous conferences, I showed a utility that could be used to edit the Microsoft Deployment...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 07/03/2008
Automatically installing Hyper-V RTM with MDT 2008
Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you probably noticed that the final RTM release of Hyper-V...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 06/26/2008
It's official: Microsoft certifies that I can indeed configure Windows Vista
I recently participated in some discussions around Microsoft certifications, which reminded me of...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 06/23/2008
Sorting MDT's lists of applications, task sequences, patches, etc.
It seems to be a common request: You want the MDT Deployment Wizard to show items sorted...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 06/20/2008
New chipsets due soon from Intel
It's a Windows XP or Server 2003 image builder's nightmare: a new chipset that needs to be supported...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 06/02/2008
Windows Vista driver management
In the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (Lite Touch and Zero Touch for SMS 2003), as well as in...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 06/01/2008
New command option available in Windows AIK 1.1's BOOTSECT.EXE to update MBR
Windows AIK 1.0 included a BOOTSECT.EXE tool that could update the boot sector to either a Windows...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 05/29/2008
Want to move from two partitions to one as part of your OS deployment?
In the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit refresh scenario (back up user state from current OS, boot to...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 05/29/2008
Sysinternals tools directly from a file share
Wow, no more separate downloads and archive files - just grab them from...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 05/28/2008
TechEd 2008 is rapidly approaching
In the US this year, they are trying something different: a two-week TechEd conference with the...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 05/20/2008
ConfigMgr 2007 hotfix for adding new supported platforms
See https://support.microsoft.com/kb/950527 for the ConfigMgr 2007 hotfix that adds new supported...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 05/20/2008
Different types of mass storage drivers?
Yes, in fact there are two different types: Class=SCSIAdapter. Until recently, most mass storage...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 05/19/2008
Need new SYSPREP for Windows XP SP3? (Updated)
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit includes a check in the Lite Touch script LTISysprep.wsf to ensure that...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 05/14/2008
Using the ConfigMgr 2007 "Install Software" step to install a dynamic list of packages
For those of you familiar with how BDD 2007 and MDT used the SMS 2003 OSDSWDEXEC.EXE program to...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 05/08/2008
Getting Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008 to install updates from WSUS
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit contains a script named ZTIWindowsUpdate.wsf that can be enabled to run...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 05/02/2008
So why doesn't Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008 use PowerShell scripts during an OS deployment?
It seems to be a common question: Why does MDT 2008 still use VBScript during OS deployments, rather...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 04/29/2008
MMS 2008 Keynote: The Dynamic Datacenter
Bob Muglia presented today's keynote session, talking about the problems of the Dynamic Datacenter...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 04/29/2008
Purchasing Microsoft conference DVDs
If you are looking for DVDs from past Microsoft conferences (MMS 2007, TechEd 2007, etc.), they are...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 04/28/2008
Make me regret asking
As we make plans for the next version of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, it would be great if you...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 04/28/2008
Forgot one: Birds of a Feather
I forgot that we are also hosting a Birds of a Feather session, as quite a few of you requested one:...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 04/28/2008
The start of another Microsoft Management Summit
I'm settled in now for what I hope will be another great Microsoft Management Summit conference,...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 04/28/2008
Would you like fries with that?
No, I'm not quitting to go work for McDonald's. (The thought has crossed my mind a few times - what...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 04/04/2008
Security Baseline Compliance using DCM
I mentioned the SCAP to DCM conversion tool in my previous post, but there's another ConfigMgr 2007...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 04/04/2008
Ever heard of FDCC or SCAP?
If you work for or with the US federal government, you may have heard of the Federal Desktop Core...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 04/04/2008
Upgrading to Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2008 - Zero Touch with ConfigMgr 2007
If you are running the original version of Microsoft Deployment with System Center Configuration...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 03/21/2008
Upgrading to Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2008 - Zero Touch with SMS 2003
If you are upgrading from BDD 2007 (any version) to MDT 2008, the instructions are covered in the...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 03/21/2008
Upgrading to Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2008 - Lite Touch
If you are upgrading from BDD 2007 (any version) to MDT 2008, the instructions are covered in the...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 03/21/2008
Whew...
Finally, we managed to get the updates for Microsoft Deployment and BDD 2007 out the door. I now...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 03/20/2008
Translating to English
I get lots of e-mail, and try my best to reply (although we've been really busy recently, so I've...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 03/20/2008
Springboard Webcast
Mark Russinovich and a panel of experts talk about deploying Windows Vista in this hour-long...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 03/11/2008
Coming to MMS 2008?
Registration for this year's Microsoft Management Summit is open, with early-bird pricing in effect...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 03/05/2008
It's all about the music...
I'm sure you've all seen the Apple ads with their catchy tunes. Here's one you probably...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 03/04/2008
Am I well traveled?
Here's a completely off-topic (on vacation) post, feel free to stop reading now :-) Over the years,...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 02/21/2008
Deploying Windows Server 2008 with Microsoft Deployment
We'll be coming out with an update for Microsoft Deployment sometime later this month (February) to...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 02/05/2008
Windows Server 2008 available for download for TechNet Plus subscribers
See...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 02/04/2008
Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 RTM -- Are you ready for them?
It seems like it's been a long time coming, but it's finally happened: Windows Vista SP1 and Windows...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 02/04/2008
New computers: what should your company be buying?
Processors keep getting faster, hard drives keep getting bigger, memory keeps getting cheaper. ...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 01/23/2008
A concise history of BDD
I've seen quite a few "concise history" books recently -- apparently people like history,...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 01/22/2008
Fully customizing Internet Explorer 7.0
For several years, Microsoft has provided the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) to create...
Author: Michael Niehaus Date: 01/20/2008