IT Operations

Removing Windows 10 Universal Apps

Today’s Windows 10 Deployment Tip will include one of the most demanded help for Windows 10. We will go over how to remove Windows 10 Universal Apps for your production Windows 10 build.

The biggest misconception is that you remove Windows 10 Universal Apps during your build and capture.  These Apps will need to be removed during your Production OSD Build.  This can be easily done by incorporating a Run Command Line / Run PowerShell Script task sequence step that runs the below code / script.

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Windows 10 Deployment Tip – 2016-08-08

With the first Windows 10 Deployment Tip of this series, we will cover the most basic situation.  Building your reference image.  Yes, you have made the investment in Configuration Manager, but the best way to build your Gold image is still with the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT).

Even if you use MDT in your environment today.  It is recommended to setup a dedicated Deployment Share just for your build and capture.

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Ascent Solutions – A New Chapter

I am on my seventh day at Ascent Solutions.  I have accepted a position as a Cloud Architect, with the mind on helping customers bridge the gap on managing devices through the Cloud.  I am please to be part of this elite staff, and look forward to challenges of growing our business in the endpoint management field.

I will have always have a place in my heart for Pomeroy.  It was great learning experience working for a IT Outsourcer, and see what it goes into transitioning a customer.   I will rely on those learning experiences, and without Pomeroy I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

Thanks again Pomeroy.

And rebirthing the way customers think of their IT Operations is still my goal.  Thanks for reading.

 

PowerShell Uninstall Automation

I have authored the PowerShell Uninstall script.  It gives the ability for IT Operations / ConfigMgr Admins to uninstall multiple versions of a particular software with one process.

Does your organization struggle when trying to cleanup software when standardizing on a application version? I.E. Oracle Java, Adobe Flash, RightFax, IBM products, etc…  Not all the versions you have are in ConfigMgr / SCCM or not in the application model?  If the answer is yes, the PowerShell Uninstall script is for you.

The PowerShell Uninstall script takes inputs from a CSV file.  Using the delimiter of “^”, don’t worry I have included a Excel file to build your CSV.

Since by nature when uninstalling legacy software there maybe pre-or post- process you must run. The PowerShell Uninstall script has functions to call a PowerShell script before or after the uninstall logic.

The PowerShell Uninstall script also includes a Boolean to  create the script as an ConfigMgr / SCCM Application.  In which you can attach to other programs for requirements.

To detect the PowerShell Uninstall script, have ConfigMgr / SCCM check existence of “%SystemDrive%\Program Files\Pomeroy\AppName”.  It will be an empty directory.  For the uninstall just use the command “rmdir /Q /S %SystemDrive%\Program Files\Pomeroy\AppName”

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Randomize Local Administrator Password

I created this tool to randomize local administrator passwords.

This application takes two strings and creates a calculated and complex password based on the input.   Now the local administrator’s password will be unique to each computer.

Here it is at screen launch:


A. The organization’s asset identification string.
B. The organization’s custom identification number.  Up to 10 digits long.
C. The selected password length for added complexity.
D. After all input is entered the user generates the complex password.
E. The result of the calculation.

Result:

The best part of this application is also supports it being used in the console.  This gives the application the ability to be scripted during an OSD build, deployed enterprise wide, or required update. Below is the console help menu and a PowerShell script I wrote to automate the process.  This is included in the *.zip file.

Enterprise Help Desk Dynamic Admin – Version 1.0.0.1

 

Adobe Reader 11 Package Accelerator Available

Over on the TechNet blog they announced the Adobe Reader 11 Package Accelerator

As you may have seen, we announced that App-V 5.0 SP1 is now available as part of MDOP 2013.  In our many conversations at MMS a few weeks ago, we heard a lot of excitement around 5.0 SP1 as many of you are evaluating 5.0 alongside………

Read the whole post over on the “The Microsoft Application Virtualization Blog”………

http://blogs.technet.com/b/appv/archive/2013/04/30/adobe-reader-11-package-accelerator-available.aspx

What’s New in App-V 5.0 SP1 and User Experience Virtualization 1.0 SP1

Over at the Windows blog they talk about what is new App-V 5.0 SP1

As you may have seen, on Wednesday, we announced that MDOP 2013 is now available and detailed the new updates and features made to Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM). But some of you might be saying, “What about Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V), and Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) 5.0? What is updated in these products?”

As you have heard us say over and over, your feedback is very important and helps drive what we build. Both UE-V and App-V 5.0 were released five months ago and we have seen these technologies adopted by companies like Eastman, NTTX,Etisalat Lanka. As more organizations continued to test and deploy these solutions, the more feedback we received. This feedback drove us to release service packs for UE-V and App-V 5.0 in MDOP 2013……

Read more on the “Spring Board Series Blog”………

http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/springboard/archive/2013/04/11/what-s-new-in-application-virtualization-5-0-sp1-and-user-experience-virtualization-1-0-sp1.aspx

Making Windows 8 More Manageable w/ MDOP 2013

Over on the Windows blog they talk about managing Windows 8 with MDOP 2013.

The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2013 for Software Assurance is now available for download! When people think about MDOP, they often think about its virtualization tools that help personalize user experience, simplify app deployment, and improve app compatibility for Windows. MDOP is much more than that though, it also helps manage and deploy important Windows features like BitLocker and Group Policy, as well as saves time by helping to make desktop repair planning proactive instead of reactive.

We’ve been working for some time to optimize our MDOP products for Windows 8 with the goal of making them easier to adopt and take advantage of all the new Windows 8 platform capabilities. Last November, we took our first step by releasing MDOP 2012, in which Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V), Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) 5.0, and the Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) 8.0 supported Windows 8.

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Read the whole article on the “Windows For Your Business” blog.

http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/business/archive/2013/04/10/making-windows-8-even-more-manageable-with-mdop-2013.aspx

Delivering Unified Device Management with Windows Intune and System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1

Back in September, we announced our strategy around unified device management, and how the next releases of Windows Intune and System Center 2012 Configuration Manager will deliver on that vision.  As part of today’s update to our Cloud OS vision, we’re pleased to announce that System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and Endpoint Protection Service Pack 1 ……

View more on the Intune Technet Blog….

http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsintune/archive/2013/01/15/delivering-unified-device-management-with-windows-intune-and-system-center-2012-configuration-manager-sp1.aspx