Microsoft has just released Cumulative Update 2 (CU2) for System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager! I discovered this via a tweet from Robert Marshall, a Microsoft MVP in Enterprise Client Management (ECM). There are two Microsoft Support documents that detail the changes in CU2: General fixes in the Configuration Manager …
In the context of the Operating System Deployment (OSD) feature in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr), it is common that customers will perform a “build & capture” of their target operating system, and then deploy new computers using that reference (aka. “gold” or “base”) WIM image. This process is …
Disable WINS Lookup via PowerShell & WMI If you’re running Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, you probably don’t need to be using the WINS lookup for Server Locator Points. Normally, you’d have to de-install the ConfigMgr client, and then re-install it with the SMSDIRECTORYLOOKUP=NOWINS MSI property. If you don’t want …
Introduction System Center 2012 SP1 Orchestrator is a tool to help automate enterprise processes. It stresses the reduction of code writing, which has its benefits, but also has its drawbacks. In my personal opinion, everyone should learn how to write code. These days, if you’re focused on the Microsoft platform, …
I recently got some weird SQL Server error messages in the Application event log after rebooting my SQL 2012 SP1 server, running on Windows Server 2012: Event ID 26014: Unable to load user-specified certificate [Cert Hash(sha1) “D3D88810B87C9533AA30CE9B2C3BDCEE3C674B97”]. The server will not accept a connection. You should verify that the certificate …
I’ve discovered, on more than one occasion, that the ConfigMgr 2012 client’s ccmeval.exe, which is intended to resolve client health related issues, actually breaks the ConfigMgr client. This has happened on a Windows 8 RTM client, and I’m fairly certain that it affects Windows Server 2012 as well. You might …
Let’s say you’ve got Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM / ConfigMgr) in your IT environment (and if you don’t, why on earth not!). If you’re on the desktop management team, you might occasionally get requests from someone on a network or security team, inquiring as to the installed software …
I just got done setting up a ConfigMgr 2012 Release Candidate primary site beneath a Central Administration Site (CAS), and when firing up the console on the primary site, I’m getting the following message: “Your Configuration Manager console is in read-only mode while this site completes tasks related to maintenance …
I recently put together some documentation for the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2 WMI provider. This is a searchable, formatted Excel document that displays all the classes, properties, and methods for the SCCM 2012 provider. Hopefully this will help you to find the proper information for writing …
Where’d my Advertisements Go? Advertisements aren’t quite what you think they are. At least, that’s probably the case if you’re talking in context of Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM / ConfigMgr). At first glance you might see “deleting advertisements” and exclaim: “YES! Please do!” The difference here is that …
