Not so long ago HP published a customer advisory listing a number of their models that need to be on the latest BIOS release to be upgraded to Windows 10 2004. Since we were getting ready to rollout 20H2 we encountered some affected models in piloting, which prompted me to find that advisory and then … Continue reading Deploying HP BIOS Updates – a real world example
Category: Applications
Get Program Execution History from a ConfigMgr Client with PowerShell
Have you ever been in the situation where something unexpected happens on a users computer and people start pointing their fingers at the ConfigMgr admin and asking "has anyone deployed something with SCCM?" Well, I decided to write a PowerShell script to retrieve the execution history for ConfigMgr programs on a local or remote client. … Continue reading Get Program Execution History from a ConfigMgr Client with PowerShell
Using Windows 10 Toast Notifications with ConfigMgr Application Deployments
When deploying software with ConfigMgr, the ConfigMgr client can create a simple "New software is available" notification to inform the user that something new is available to install from the Software Center. But this notification is not overly descriptive. You might wish to provide a more detailed notification with a description of the software, why … Continue reading Using Windows 10 Toast Notifications with ConfigMgr Application Deployments
PowerShell DeepDive: WPF, Data Binding and INotifyPropertyChanged
PowerShell can be used to create some nice UI front-ends using the Windows Presentation Framework (WPF). You can create anything from a simple popup window to a full-blown, self-contained application. A major concept in WPF is that of data binding. Data binding allows you to create some separation between the design of the UI and … Continue reading PowerShell DeepDive: WPF, Data Binding and INotifyPropertyChanged
Explore WPF Controls with PowerShell
If you've ever tried creating a tool or an application with WPF, you know that the built-in controls contain many properties, methods and events, and finding the right one to use can be, well, fun! As an aid to creating WPF applications, I created this simple tool which explores the various controls and exposes their … Continue reading Explore WPF Controls with PowerShell
New Free App – ConfigMgr Deployment Reporter
Just released a new free application for ConfigMgr admins - ConfigMgr Deployment Reporter. I developed this app for use in the organisation I currently work for, and it turned out quite well, so I decided to release a public version to the community! I developed this app as an alternative (and IMO easier) way to … Continue reading New Free App – ConfigMgr Deployment Reporter
Detect an Active VPN Adapter During ConfigMgr Deployments
A common requirement with ConfigMgr deployments is to exclude clients that are connected to the corporate network via a VPN, when the total size of the content files for the deployment are too much to be throwing down a slow network link. There is more than one way to do this, but I have seen that … Continue reading Detect an Active VPN Adapter During ConfigMgr Deployments
New Tool: System Explorer for Windows
Today I am pleased to release a new tool for enterprises and home users alike: System Explorer for Windows. This application can be used to view detailed system and hardware data for a local or remote computer by exposing WMI Win32 classes in an easy-to-use Graphical User Interface. For enterprises that use System Center Configuration … Continue reading New Tool: System Explorer for Windows
Creating WPF GUI Applications with Pure PowerShell
When creating a GUI application in PowerShell, I usually use Visual Studio, or Blend for Visual Studio, to design a WPF application, then copy and run the XAML code in PowerShell. Designing in VS is generally easier and quicker and creates less code, but it is also perfectly possible to create a WPF GUI using … Continue reading Creating WPF GUI Applications with Pure PowerShell
Temporarily Increasing the ConfigMgr Client Cache Size for a Large Application
Recently I had to deploy an application whose content files were larger than the default SCCM client cache size (5120 MB). This will return an error in the Software Center, such as: 0x87D01201 (The content download cannot be performed because there is not enough available space in cache or the disk is full.) I didn't … Continue reading Temporarily Increasing the ConfigMgr Client Cache Size for a Large Application