Build and Capture + Software Updates in Native mode

The goal of  this article is to describe how to insert Software Updates into the Base Image, the Windows-image you want to base your Operating System deployment on, in SCCM Native Mode.

In order to shorten the installation time of the operating system for your end-users you want to include as many patches and updates as possible in the image you’re deploying. But you want to include as few programs as possible so that you don’t end up updating your Golden base image every two weeks…

Obviously you will want to update your image with new Software Updates every once in a while – but that will not be manual labour but automated in the task-sequence that builds the Base Image.

I could have written a book about all the things I tried to get this to work… Let’s just establish the fact that Software Updates and in particular WSUS must have been written the morning after some very big Microsoft launch party…  ;-)

That said. I finally managed to get this to work. It took a a week of Googling, trial and error, troubleshooting, late nights and lots of coffee. And the silly thing is that’s it pretty easy to get it to work – if you know exactly what to do. As always.

I’ll summarize what this article does:

  1. Use only one Hotfix (KB2509007).
  2. Use SLP as a parameter for your CM-client.
  3. Check “Allow HTTP for roaming…” and rebuild the boot-image.
  4. Run a script to trigger software updates scan and run it a couple of times!

Read More…Read More…

Remove computer from collection after installation

I just have to mention this great link. When you’re done with an OS-Deployment and eventually want to remove the computer from the install collection, a common way to do this is with a script in the end of the Task Sequence. But this is a much sexier way to do it, by removing the computer from the CM-server when the status message from the Task Sequence is marked as finished.

Danovich is the author.
http://blog.danovich.com.au/2010/03/12/remove-computer-association-from-collection-after-sccm-task-sequence/