ConfigMgr Frontline

Delivery Optimization can be a powerful tool to help manage your content. However, getting things configured can be confusing and daunting. Here I've broken out the steps to get you going. Client Settings 1.     BranchCache and PeerCache. a.    First, create a new Custom Device Settings and check the box for “Client Cache Settings” and “Delivery Optimization”. b.       BranchCache . To enable BranchCache on clients, set “Configure BranchCache” and “Enable BranchCache” to Yes and set the “Maximum BranchCache cache size (percentage of disk)”. (Default is 10). c.        PeerCache . To make the client a SuperPeer (PeerCache Source), set “Enable as peer cache source” to “Yes”. Note: SuperPeers should be clients that are newer (faster), always on devices, that are hard wired, and have plenty of hard drive space. Note: Build a WQL query to create and maintain a collection of SuperPeers. I.E., CPU, memory, free space, etc....

If you are trying to decide what Products to include in your WSUS settings, this is the article for you.  ConfigMgr and WSUS currently have a dozen Windows 10 “products” listed but the descriptions are lacking. Windows 10 and Later Drivers:  These are drivers that will be offered to all builds of Windows 10 all the time, excluding upgrade scenarios (i.e., via Orchestrator, DSM, or Device Manager). They will not download during a Dynamic Update (i.e., Windows 10 upgrading itself from build 1511 to 1607).    They should only include KBs for the current Win10 version. . Windows 10 and Later Upgrade & Servicing Drivers:  These are drivers that are offered in all Win10 scenarios (i.e., via Orchestrator, DSM, Device Manager, or during DU). They may include some KBs later win10 version and enable current win10 version to upgrade. . Windows 10 Anniversary Update and Later Servicing Drivers:   These drivers apply only to Window...

Be sure to re-install the inbox apps if you want them to be translated on the first launch. See: https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/Windows365LanguagesInstaller/1.0.0.2/Content/Windows365LanguagesInstaller.ps1 If using a Task Sequence, the following results in a machine that is fully translated on the first use (you don’t need to use both LP and LXP). Install LP: dism.exe /Image:%OSDTargetSystemDrive%\ /ScratchDir:%OSDTargetSystemDrive%\Windows\Temp /Add-Package /PackagePath:".\Microsoft-Windows-Client-Language-Pack_x64_%Language%.cab"  Install LXP: powershell.exe -executionpolicy bypass -command "Add-AppxProvisionedPackage -Path %OSDTargetSystemDrive%\ -PackagePath .\LanguageExperiencePack.%Language%.Neutral.appx" -LicensePath ".\License.xml" Install FoD: powershell.exe -executionpolicy bypass -command $cabs = Get-ChildItem -Filter "*.cab"; foreach ($cab in $cabs) { Add-WindowsPackage -PackagePath "$($cab.FullName)" -NoRestar...

Have you ever had problems with a "bad" driver? You get occassional BSODs and maybe even lost some work? The reason could be that you have unsigned/unverified drivers. Luckily, there is a built-in tool for verifying drivers! And, unlike many things Microsoft, it is actually named intuitively! VERIFIER! So, how do we use it? Well, that is the easy part. You launch it, click "yes" to elevate it, click Next - Next and it will tell you if you have any unsigned drivers. It is that easy! Once you indentify the unsigned driver(s), you only need to go visit the device manufacturer website and download the latest, signed drivers. Another reason a driver may crash (or cause a BSOD) is because it was not made for the version of Windows you are on. Luckily, verifier can also help with that! Launch verifier, click Next, Next and hopefully you'll get a message that no unsigned drivers were found. If so, then the next thing you'll want to do is scan for ...

I have my HD partitioned into a C: and D:. C: is about 100gb and the plan was to use it for the OS and Office. D: is about 900gb and I use it for everything else – downloads, OneDrive, etc. I noticed my C: drive was running out of space and the culprit was my Outlook OST!! My OST was about 48gb!! (I like to download the maximum amount so searches go faster.) I tried to move the OST to D: using the “Account Settings...” and even editing the registry, ut Outlook was not having it. It kept recreating the OST on C: and ignoring the OST file I had moved. So, I decided to play a trick on Outlook. First, I created a folder on D: called Outlook. Next, I closed Outlook and *MOVED* my OST from C:\Users\ \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\ to D:\Outlook\ Now for the magic. I created a symbolic link to the OST file!! (You can also use the junction tool from Sysinternals.) From a CMD prompt: mklink C:\Users\ \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\emailid@contoso.com.ost D:\Outlook\emailid@contoso...

Imagine my surprise when my Dell Latitude 5501 was able to be upgraded to 64GB of RAM when the specifications state it has a maximum of 32GB. My guess is marketing. They want to sell you a more expensive model that officially supports more RAM. Here is a link to the RAM that worked for me. Anyway, if you are looking to upgrade your 5501, go ahead and move to 64GB.

When configuring an Windows Client and Server CI, be careful when choosing the OS that will assess the CI for compliance! Note that for Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019 the phrasing says “and higher” after them. What this means is if you choose Windows Server 2016, the CI will apply to *both* Server 2016 *and* Server 2019 (even if you don’t choose “Windows Server 2019”)! As you can imagine, this can cause problems if you are wanting the CI to only apply to Server 2016! You can get around this by using the option “ Specify the version of Windows manually ”. However, that option does not appear if you choose “ This configuration item contains application settings ” under “ Windows Desktops and Servers (custom) ”. The only thing you can choose is “ This application runs only on computers that have 64-bit hardware ”. If you do not choose the "This configuration item contains application settings" you could then utilize a script to make sure it only appli...