Query make or model

To create a collection based on model or make type we need to first check what the model number is on the machines in question. Two simple command below will give you the answer, WMIC COMPUTERSYSTEM GET MODEL, WMIC COMPUTERSYSTEM GET MANUFACTURER. I use this to double check, you can of course skip this step.

Next we need to open up the SCCM console and create new device collection and give it and name and limited the collection accordingly.

We now need to add a rule so select Query rule.

We need to select Attribute class: Computer System then Attribute Model.

Next select value.

You should now have a nice list of Models that have the CCM client installed, you can then refer back to the WMIC results from earlier to select the right one or select one of your choosing. Then its just a case of just selecting next twice and then finish.

Devcon.exe during OSD

So for an unknown reason the latest Wifi driver supplied by Microsoft for the surface 3 has caused issues when the device is attached to our domain. After many hours / days of trouble shooting I found out it was the Wifi and the actual driver causing the issue. The old driver from 03/15 worked fine so it was just a case of installing this and making sure the OS uses it. The problem being that when you install Windows 10 it uses the more recent driver and being a MS product they of course supply this as default.

To make sure the OS uses the selected driver you can use the Devcon.exe tool, so the first step is to install the windows WDK which you will find in the link below.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/dn913721.aspx

Once installed you will need to copy out the devcon.exe from this location

C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Tools\x64

Then copy to a location of your choosing, create a package without a program in SCCM.

In my case the INF file I need to install is contained in the driver package that I’ve created and added in my task sequence, you can of course point this to a different location. You will find installed drivers in C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\mrvlpcie8897.inf_amd64_f9e04b0abc4d6ef9\mrvlpcie8897.inf

If you want to find the Hardware ID you will find this in device manager under details-property- hardware Ids

I would advise to test this on a computer before adding it to your task sequence and if it changes the driver ID then you know your information is correct.

In my case I am doing this on my OSD task sequence. Once your driver packaged is complete you need to add a Run Command Line which you will find below, The INF information will depend on the device and or driver you are using, the key part is cmd.exe /c devcon.exe -r install

cmd.exe /c devcon.exe -r install C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\ FileRepository\mrvlpcie8897.inf_amd64_f9e04b0abc4d6ef9\mrvlpcie8897.inf PCI\VEN_11AB&DEV_2B38&SUBSYS_045E0002&REV_00

Surface 3 Wifi troubleshooting

After many hours of troubleshooting trying to figure out why the surface 3 running windows 10 would only update group policy successfully 50 percent of the time I finally found the answer, the WIFI DRIVER.

The fix is to not install the latest drivers from Microsoft but to actually install an old one which are from msi Surface3_150504, This has solved my intermittent logins and group policy issues. You only need the old WIFI and Bluetooth drivers ,I had no issues using the latest drivers for other hardware.

Something to take note of when it comes to doing windows updates make sure you don’t just update your surface automatically as it will include the latest firmware and drives for the device, use WSUS/SCCM to manage what you deploy and wait for Microsoft / Marvell to come up with a fix. 

Error code 0x80091007 (-2146889721)

I recently had a few problems with an office deployment and noticed in the CAS.log there were a few hash errors, the common consensus was these were caused by an anti-virus, I doubled checked scanning files on the DP, client and server and couldn’t see what the problem could be. Turns out it was in fact a VMware issue which can easily be fixed my changing the adaptor type from the Intel based E1000 to the VM network adapter. If you get this error is may be worth a try
Error code 0x80091007 (-2146889721)

Take note of the IP configuration for your SCCM sever as even if you have reservations setup they won’t come into play as the new adapter will have a different Mac address.  Shutdown the VM and then remove the Adapter in VMware Vshpere Client console.

Once removed you can then add the new the adapter.

If your running server 2012 check computer management and you can should see old hardware and remove the old intel E1000 and update the VMXNET 3 if needed, if your using 2008 for example open CMD and use the set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 command.

Once DNS is resolved and your happy , update the distribution points and all being well your hash errors will go away.

 

 

CONTENT LIBRARY TRANSFER TOOL

When the SCCM server was first created I hadn’t created a NO_SMS_ON_DRIVE.SMS file  on the root of C:\ so the server automatically created a SCCMContentLib (content library) on the C:\ and once this started to get full then used the next available drive , in this case E:\

What I wanted to do is move anything from C:\ over to the E:\ , to do this I needed to use a tool called ContentLibraryTransfer.exe which is part of the ConfigMgr 2012 R2 Toolkit.

To start open up command promt as Admin.

Then type in the following (Remember C and E are the drives where my contentlib exists) ContentLibraryTransfer.exe -SourceDrive C -TargetDrive E

You should see a progress while the data moves and once complete you should not longer see the old ContentLib and you have successfully moved and or combined your content library. 

SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER ERROR

Under Monitoring – System Status – Component Status i noticed an error with the SMS_INVENTORY_DATA_LOADER with message ID of 2719. This is caused by the MIF file size limit being set to 5mb, the solution is a fairly simple one that involves increasing the size via a registry edit on the site server.

Open up Registry Editor and navigate to COMPUTER\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\Components\SMS_INVENTORYDATALOADER and look for a file named MAX MIF Size.

Open up the file and select Decimal if you wish to change it to a particular size or change the Hexedecimal to 3200000, which will be 50mb which in my case is more than enough.

Remove “Windows.old” After server upgrade

So after upgrading from server 2008,2012 to 2012R2 i noticed that the windows.old folder was taking up a considerable amount of space and as i was happy with the way the server was performing i decided to remove it. I first tried to delete it like you would any other folder however i was getting the annoying access denied message.

One of the solutions is to add the Desktop Experience to the sever and then remove the folder like you would any windows OS via disk cleanup.

To do this open up Server Manager and select Manage in the top right hand corner and then Add roles and features.

Once opened select Features – User Interfaces and infrastructure and tick Desktop experience.  Select next and continue the setup until its complete.

Once complete hold down Windows and R keys and type in Cleanmgr and select your c:\ in most cases.

You can then select the files and or folders you want to delete , in this case it will be titled windows.old.