Windows Software Licensing Management Tools slmgr

Use the command

slmgr

to display the help screens for managing the activation of product keys

e.g. /upk     uninstalls\deactivates a product key.

Operating System version numbers

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms724832(v=vs.85).aspx

Broadly - rough interface relations

desktop  version   server
2000      5.0          2000
XP         5.1 5.2    2003
Vista      6.0 6.1    2008
7            6.1          2008 R2
8            6.2          2012
8.1         6.3          2012 R2
10         10.0         2016

SCCM 2012 Detection Methods

Be careful with the SCCM 2012 Detection Method.  It uses a similar WMI query to below to determine whether the specified ProductCode GUID is present on a machine.  If something somewhere does not match up it will play havoc with your deployments especially if this is incorrectly specified for prerequisite packages.

powershell command

Get-WmiObject -Namespace root\ccm\CIModels -Class CCM_MSIProduct | Sort-Object ProductName |Format-Table ProductName,ProductCode,ProductVersion


Spoofing Detection

It is possible to fool SCCM into thinking that an MSI in installed when it is not.  Effectively, this spoofs the SCCM MSI detection.

To do this you need to identify the remixed product code GUID that is used in the registry.  e.g.
This product code guid
{BD2F44B4-985B-4CCA-A4E7-A2B0AE45442B}
is remixed (rehashed?) to
4B44F2DBB589ACC44A7E2A0BEA5444B2
The coloring shows the related sections of the GUID and how they are remixed.


Install the MSI that SCCM is trying to detect on to a test machine.
Export the following registry keys to separate reg files.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products\<remixed GUID>

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\<remixed GUID>

Importing the above keys to a target machine will fool SCCM into thinking the MSI is installed.

These keys (x64) control the display in Programs and Features but they are not needed for detection spoofing.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{BD2F44B4-985B-4CCA-A4E7-A2B0AE45442B}


Slightly odd:  If the spoofing keys are in place and you run a manual install from the same source specified in the spoof keys, then Windows Installer performs an UNINSTALL

The same install  command run again then runs an INSTALL.

Microchip MPLAB X IDE v2.20 launch failure

Microchip MPLAB X IDE v2.20 would fail to launch on some machines/users.  No dialogs or errors appear, just nothing happens.  javaw.exe would start and then stop in the processes list.   This issue was difficult to troubleshoot initially because some unknown aspect of the environment could prevent launch.  There was no detectable consistancy between users and machines.  Some users would work on some machines not others.  Some machine installations would work for any logged on users, some would not.

Attempting a launch in a command window produced a message:

Your user directory (C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPLABX\mplab_ide) cannot reside
inside your NetBeans installation directory (C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPLABX\m
plab_ide).

http://www.microchip.com/forums/m574126.aspx

The page above mentions using a --userdir launch parameter.  This was found to resolve the issue.

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microchip\MPLABX\mplab_ide\bin\mplab_ide.exe" --userdir %USERPROFILE%\.mplab-ide

Note the preceeding period (.) at the beginning of the folder name!

App-V 5 Connection Groups COM Mode

DeploymentConfigs for App-V 5 packages arranged in a connection group should have the COM Mode section edited

Default

      <COM Mode="Isolated">
        <IntegratedCOMAttributes OutOfProcessEnabled="true" InProcessEnabled="false" />
      </COM>

Connection Group mods:

      <COM Mode="Integrated">
        <IntegratedCOMAttributes OutOfProcessEnabled="true" InProcessEnabled="true" />
      </COM>

More on COM Mode
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/virtualshell/2016/05/06/app-v-5-com-mode-functionality/

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/gladiatormsft/2013/09/11/app-v-on-com-isolation-and-interaction/

Word / Office NoReReg

In some circumstances office applications may attempt to reregister and do self repairs sometimes or all the time at launch.  To prevent re-registration behaviour set this key

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Word\Options]
"norereg"=dword:00000001

SCCM 2012 Client Tools

System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager Toolkithttp://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=36213

Client Center for ConfigurationManager

https://github.com/rzander/sccmclictr

SCCM 2012 and its client logs.

Abbreviated List of SCCM 2012 Client log files - see technet link below for full list.

Technical Reference for Log Files in Configuration Managerhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh427342.aspx#BKMK_ClientLogs

AppIntentEval.log 
Records details about the current and intended state of applications, their applicability, whether requirements were met, deployment types, and dependencies.

AppDiscovery.log 
Records details about the discovery or detection of applications on client computers.

AppEnforce.log 
Records details about enforcement actions (install and uninstall) taken for applications on the client. 

CAS.log
Content Access service. Maintains the local package cache on the client.

Ccm32BitLauncher.log
Records actions for starting applications on the client marked as "run as 32bit".

CcmEval.log
Records Configuration Manager client status evaluation activities and details for components that are required by the Configuration Manager client.

CcmEvalTask.log
Records the Configuration Manager client status evaluation activities that are initiated by the evaluation scheduled task.

CcmExec.log
Records activities of the client and the SMS Agent Host service. This log file also includes information about enabling and disabling wake-up proxy.

CcmMessaging.log
Records activities related to communications between the client and management points.

Ccmsdkprovider.log
Records the activities of the application management SDK.

CcmRestart.log
Records client service restart activity.

CIDownloader.log
Records details about configuration item definition downloads.

CITaskMgr.log
Records tasks that are initiated for each application and deployment type, such as content download or install or uninstall actions.

ClientAuth.log
Records the signing and authentication activity for the client.

ClientLocation.log
Records tasks that are related to client site assignment and management point assignment.

CMHttpsReadiness.log
Records the results of running the Configuration Manager HTTPS Readiness Assessment Tool. This tool checks whether computers have a PKI client authentication certificate that can be used for Configuration Manager.

ContentTransferManager.log
Schedules the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) or the Server Message Block (SMB) to download or to access packages.

DataTransferService.log
Records all BITS communication for policy or package access.

execmgr.log
Records details about packages and task sequences that run on the client.  This log also shows domain\user which is logged on.

FileSystemFile.log
Records the activity of the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provider for software inventory and file collection.

FSPStateMessage.log
Records the activity for state messages that are sent to the fallback status point by the client.

InventoryAgent.log
Records activities of hardware inventory, software inventory, and heartbeat discovery actions on the client.

LocationCache.log
Records the activity for location cache usage and maintenance for the client.

LocationServices.log
Records the client activity for locating management points, software update points, and distribution points.

MaintenanceCoordinator.log
Records the activity for general maintenance task activity for the client.

PolicyAgent.log
Records requests for policies made by using the Data Transfer service.

PolicyAgentProvider.log
Records policy changes.

PolicyEvaluator.log
Records details about the evaluation of policies on client computers, including policies from software updates.

PolicyPlatformClient.log
Records the process of remediation and compliance for all providers located in %Program Files%\Microsoft Policy Platform, except the file provider.

PolicySdk.log
Records activities for policy system SDK interfaces.

SCClient_<domain>@<username>_1.log
Records the activity in Software Center for the specified user on the client computer.

SCClient_<domain>@<username>_2.log
Records the historical activity in Software Center for the specified user on the client computer.

Scheduler.log
Records activities of scheduled tasks for all client operations.

SCNotify_<domain>@<username>_1.log
Records the activity for notifying users about software for the specified user.

SCNotify_<domain>@<username>_1-<date_time>.log
Records the historical information for notifying users about software for the specified user.

setuppolicyevaluator.log
Records configuration and inventory policy creation in WMI.

smscliui.log
Records usage of the Configuration Manager client in Control Panel.

Smsts.log
Records task sequence activities.

SrcUpdateMgr.log
Records activity for installed Windows Installer applications that are updated with current distribution point source locations.

StatusAgent.log
Records status messages that are created by the client components.

ScanAgent.log
Records details about scan requests for software updates, the WSUS location, and related actions.

SdmAgent.log
Records details about tracking of remediation and compliance. However, the software updates log file, Updateshandler.log, provides more informative details about installing the software updates required for compliance.
This log file is shared with compliance settings.


SoftwareCenterSystemTasks.log
Records the activities for Software Center prerequisite component validation.

UpdatesDeployment.log
Records details about deployments on the client, including software update activation, evaluation, and enforcement. Verbose logging shows additional information about the interaction with the client user interface.

UpdatesHandler.log
Records details about software update compliance scanning and about the download and installation of software updates on the client.

UpdatesStore.log Records details about compliance status for the software updates that were assessed during the compliance scan cycle.

WUAHandler.log

Records details about the Windows Update Agent on the client when it searches for software updates.

Client

Web Links

SCCM
Technical Reference for Log Files in Configuration Managerhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh427342.aspx#BKMK_ClientLogs

Uninstall Folder removal custom action

This custom action does flash up the command window during the uninstall.  However, if the package is designed for silent SCCM installation it will not be seen.


Custom Action
0x0462

  0x022 - local target exe and arguments
  0x040 - continue on Return - ignore exit code
0x0400 - Deferred

Source - SystemFolder

Target - [SystemFolder]cmd.exe /c rd /s /q "[DirTableRef]"

Internet Explorer Admin Kit IEAK 11

The IEAK 11 may fail to install with

The Internet Explorer Administration Kit 11 requires that you have Internet Explorer 11 installed.

even if IE 11 is installed.

Create a transform to remove the launch condition check which does not appear to be evaluating correctly.

Command Lines

sysdm.cpl - System Properties
powercfg.cpl
inetcpl.cpl
ncpa.cpl
wscui.cpl - Action Center
desk.cpl -  screen res
smscfgrc.cpl - SCCM 2012 Client Configuration Manager Properties

dsa.msc     AD user computer admin (server tools)
gpmc.msc  Group policy editor/viewer


check the uptime from Statistics since ....  :
net statistics workstation

WSUS database reindexing

Windows Server Update Services
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/bb332157.aspx


Download and install to the WSUS 3.0 server in the following order

Microsoft® ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server

Microsoft® Command Line Utilities 11 for SQL Server

Obtain the wsusmaintenance.sql script here and run as directed.
https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/6f8cde49-5c52-4abd-9820-f1d270ddea61

Disable MSI Uninstall

This is an unusual requirement but if there is a situation that justifies disabling the uninstall the following settings provide for it.

Set the standard action LaunchCondition in the InstallExcuteSequence table to have a condition of  REMOVE~="ALL"

Set an entry in the LaunchCondition table

Not Installed      Uninstall Disabled


If an uninstall is started the Condition of the LaunchCondition standard action in the InstallExecuteSequence table evaluates to TRUE

The LaunchCondition of Not Installed evaluates to FALSE and prevents the uninstall from continuing.

If /qb is used "Uninstall Disabled" is displayed to the user.  /qn is fully silent. The uninstall Exit code will be 1603.

App-V 5 Launch Failure - may be due to a network failure

The application failed to launch.
This may be due to a network failure
Error code: 0x4C408B0C-80070002


The first response to this message would probably be a considering of weather it was actually a network failure.  Generally this message would appear if the App-V package was unavailable.

However, this can occur if the package has managed to arrive in some partial or corrupted way.  The following powershell commands can resolve this problem and re enable the application to launch correctly

Run as admin:
remove-appvclientpackage -name <PackageName>

Run as user:
get-appvclientpackage -name <PackageName>

this should verify that the package has been removed.

sync-appvpublishingserver 1

to refresh the available App-V packages on the client

get-appvclientpackage -name <PackageName>

to verify the the application is available again.

mount-appvclientpackage -name <PackageName>

to fully pull down the package prior to launching.

Autodesk products needing VC ++

The SCCM deployment fails to install one of the prerequisite VC runtimes.  Installed normally the complete process works correctly.

Where an SCCM deployed installation has occurred.  AutoCAD LT 2015 will fail to launch and generate an error message referring to MSVCP110.dll

To resolve this issue run the installation of the missing Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x64) - 11.0.61030.

It is in the source media location .\Img\3rdParty\x64\VCRedist\2012UPD4\vcredist_x64.exe

It can be located in the SCCM cache

C:\Windows\ccmcache\XX\Img\3rdParty\x64\VCRedist\2012UPD4\vcredist_x64.exe

Where XX is the SCCM assigned folder name.  The cache location can be found by searching the cache for acadlt.msi

DWG TrueView 2015 also requires this prerequisite and gives a launch error referring to VCOMP110.dll

Avery Wizard 5.0

Avery Wizard 5.0 is free label creation software which can be downloaded from
http://www.avery.co.uk/avery/en_gb/Templates-%26-Software/Software/Avery-Wizard-for-Microsoft-Office.htm

There are no shortcuts and instead the installer creates an addin to Office applications which links into the Avery Wizard software.  In Word an Avery Tab appears.

Initially it did not look suitable for App-V 5.0 because there was no shortcut entry points available (Word installed locally) and providing shortcuts where none are normally needed was seen as an unecessary change to the user experience.

However when the installer was analysed to create a machine installation delivered from SCCM the vendor's MSI had multiple issues (custom actions did not function as intended).  Clearly it was only designed to be installed and used by a users whose account was an administrator.  When installed by such a user it performed satisfactorily.

Installing using ALLUSERS=1 using an admin account left a normal user account with a 30+ second wait to launch Word.

Although a transform with preset property values (see below) could be used to enable a machine installation under the system account, any machines installed would suffer 30+ seconds launch delays for Word.

With more time available it may be possible to create a properly working local installation for SCCM delivery however given the issues, it was decided to revert back to App-V.  Unfortunately this also suffered extended launch times for Word when an App-V shortcut to Word was created, but this only had to be endured when Avery was actually needed.  The remainder of the time the local install of Word launching time would remain reasonable.

Transform items enabling a System Account install.
WORDSTARTUPFOLDER       C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\STARTUP
IDP_WORD_VERSION_INSTALLED     14
IDP_EXCEL_VERSION_INSTALLED     14
HKCU(orLM)\Software\Avery\Avery Assistant\5.0\AutoUpdate\AutoUpdateEnable    DWORD 0
HKCU(orLM)\Software\Avery\Avery Assistant\5.0\AutoUpdate\InitialRun                  DWORD 1

Windows Media Center has stopped working

Windows 7 x64
Windows Media Center

Problem
When you attempt to start Windows Media Center (WMC) it immediately crashes and a dialog remains with "Windows Media Center has stopped working.

Solution
WMC uses a database file during launch.  If this gets corrupted it can cause the launch failure.

Delete/rename C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\ehome\*.db

Restart WMC.

Turn Windows features on or off

The "Turn Windows features on or off" applet can be accessed by calling

optionalfeatures.exe

SCCM 2012 Client Exit Codes

"The software change returned the error code"


0x87D00324 (-2016410844)
successful but detection method did not detect the software as installed.

0x87D00213 (-2016411117)
Install took longer than allowed.

08x87D00607 (-2016410105)
Unable to download the software.
(May not be on the DP yet or DP not reachable.)

All Time Amazing Error Code Page: <link updated May 2020>
https://www.anoopcnair.com/sccm-troubleshooting-intune-error-codes-table/

Check
https://hdkb.clemson.edu/phpkb/article.php?id=167

https://www.systemcenterdudes.com/sccm-client-installation-error-codes/

(-2147467259)
Failed as we may never execute due to Service Window Constraints.
This occurs if the job Maximum Runtime is set to longer than the available maintenance window.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb693574.aspx
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680462.aspx
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb694295.aspx

0x87D01106(-2016407290)
This error can occur when the installation command line does not relate to the associated installation files.  In our case the command line was referencing one MSI file name when the MSI file in the cache was called something else.  The source files had somehow been inadvertently been renamed.
Credits to Naj Qadir for discovering the cause on this one.

0x87D01107 (-2016407289)
This occurs if there is an installation assignment which tries to start, but before it can start, you delete the cached installation media.

0x80070057   An 800Mb App-V package was failing to arrive at a client.
In this case, Adaptiva was being used as part of the media distribution system.  It looked as though there was some problem with the SCCM link with Adaptiva.
The client ContentTransferManager.log contained:

CTM job {A5DE7D59-BB4F-4E2F-88ED-76A68F5956B1} encountered error 0x80070057 during download ('Content is not published in Adaptiva')- The error is non retriable.

Update Content was used in the Console.  The media arrived correctly at the clients (via the Adaptiva Cache hidden on C:\) soon afterward and installed correctly.

0087D0128F (-2016406897) The App-V sftmime command returned failure
This is a bit misleading because this came from an App-V 5 client where there is no sftmime (App-V 4.6 era)
So anyway you're gonna love this one:
In this case the clients had somehow been created with no 8.3 naming applied to the folder structure - type dir \x  at the root of C:    You should see Progra~1  Progra~2 etc.  If you don't there could be problems.  Here it affected the App-V client and prevented it installing App-V packages from SCCM.   The media all downloaded with nowhere to go !  doh.

0x87D00667 (-2016410009) No current or future service window exists to install software updates

Can occur in the following situation:
App-V 5 App is deployed as Required.  User Experience settings are
Display in Software Center, and show all notifications.
Software Installation NOT TICKED
System Restart........ NOT TICKED
Commit Changes at deadline........ NOT TICKED

Manually remove the App-V application which has already installed using a remove-appvclientpackage command

Start the Application Deployment Evaluation Cycle

This will attempt to put the application back, however if a maintenance window is in effect it will fail with this error.  The user can simply initiate a manual "retry" and it will be successful.

Using
Software Installation TICKED
Enables the application to re-install with or without a maintenance window in place.

Applications which are marked Hide in Software Center and all notifications
Software Installation NOT TICKED
will not install until the maintenance windows has ended.

0x80040322 (-2147220702) Rule is in conflict with other rules

A supersedence entry was stopping the install.  It looked like the supersedence entry was acting as a requirement instead of supersede if relevent.  Once the supersedence entry was removed the install downloaded and installed.

0x87D0128F (-2016406897) The App-V time command returned failure

This occured on a client where the App-V package had been manually test installed.  When the SCCM deployment was setup SCCM removed the package from the computer because it was not in the deployment collection.  Once it was put back into the collection and install attempted from software center, the above error occured.

The problem was corrected by restarting the Microsoft App-V Client service.

0x0(0)

But that means success right? er no.  This can occur in the following scenario:

AppV app deployed to a user collection but the user policy is not enabled in the client settings "Enable user policy on clients = No"

The application is available in the software center but attempts to install it fail with 0x0(0)

0x642(1602)

Downgrade failure.
A later software version had been manually test installed, therefore detection not true of older SCCM deployment.  SCCM attempted install but failed because the MSI Install detected the later version already present.  To resolve - remove the machine from the deployment collection to prevent further doomed installation attempts.

0x87D00669 (-2016410007)  Not able to get software updates content locations at this time

Easy one this.  Ensure the content is on the relavent DPs

0x80070422 (-2147023838)  Seen with the failure of updates

Cause: Windows Update service was not running.

Powershell tricks

This post was constantly being expanded and added to so the contents have now been transferred to a dedicated powershell blog.

http://davespshell.blogspot.co.uk/

This post will now be updated with any useful App-V powershell routines.

To unpublish published App-V packages which match the "where"

$list = get-appvclientpackage | where {$_.name -like "*tsm*"} | select -expand Name
Echo $list
ForEach ($Name in $list)
{
echo $name
unpublish-appvclientpackage -name $name | select Name, IsPublishedToUser
}

Note the use of the "-expand" Without it, the variable values are not suitable for input to the unpublish-appsvclientpackage cmdlet. Obviously remove the where to unpublish all the apps.

App-V 5 Error Codes

http://ittechlog.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/app-v-5-error-summary/


if you get an app-v 5 error message, look up the last few digits in hex
convert to decimal, using calc.exe, and look up the code here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms681382(v=vs.85).aspx
e.g. the 534 error that appears if you try to run user scripts under a local account in SP2, means:
ERROR_NONE_MAPPED
1332 (0x534)
No mapping between account names and security IDs was done.

Adobe Application Manager Enterprise Edition (AAMEE)

AAMEE is a deployment preparation tool for use with CSx releases of various Adobe products. 

AAMEE enables an MSI based installer to be created.

The trickiest part of this task is very likely to be obtaining the Adobe ID and password for the item that you are packaging. However one this is done the resulting package can install without activation.

Download from here
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/creativesuite/enterprisedeployment.html


Documentation here
http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/creativesuite/pdfs/AdobeApplicationManagerEnterpriseEditionDeploymentGuide_v3_0.pdf


This is important information for virtualising attempts re CS6
http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/technical-support-boundaries-virtualized-or.html

Matlab

Matlab Simulink 2014 requires license information to be entered during installation. If multiple license are in use a package may not be appropriate as it will only be able to carry one license configuration. There is also hardware association in use which means any existing license installs would need to be deactivated before they can be used on a new machine.

Group Policy

outputs the currently logged on users group policy exposure. gpresult /H <path\filename>

run the below command elevated to output the computer and specified logged on user group policy report

gpresult /USER <LoggedOnUsername> /h <path\filename>

https://evilgpo.blogspot.com/2012/02/loopback-demystified.html

Minitab 16

Mintab 16 sequenced OK in App-V 5 but a user reported a problem doing Paste Special of a graph in a local MS Word 2010.  They were attempting to paste in a graph as an icon which had problems because Word could not see inside to the Minitab 16 application.

A shortcut was supplied to launch Word in the bubble.

The norereg fix was required to prevent word reinitalising and crashing on launch.

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Word\Options /v NoReReg /t REG_DWORD /d 1

Also the MS Word shortcut needed the working directory removed in order for the icon described to be correctly displayed.  Edit the _UserConfig.xml and _DeploymentConfig.xml

PDF file preview in Windows Explorer

http://www.pretentiousname.com/adobe_pdf_x64_fix/index.html

Outlook 2007 updates

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687404
13 November 2012

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2863811
8 April 2014



2687404 extracts to a many launguage specific msp files and the outlook-x-none.msp.  The outlook-xx-xx.msp should be matched to the language version you have installed.

3863811 extracts to only outlook-x-none.msp.  The language files are not present so installing only this msp will not apply the updates to the language files.

It is possible that not all of the files listed on the webpages may be present if they are related to Outlook features which are not installed.

outlook-x-none.msp in the 3863811 is a later version and carries later versions of some of the files.

The suggested approach would be to install outlook-xx-xx.msp for the language version updates and the outlook-x-none.msp via the updates folder to achieve the latest updates installation for Outlook 2007.


Note that if both outlook-x-none.msp files are renamed and copied to the update folder, then only the later one is applied because the installer scans the folder first to determine which are the latest updates to apply.

WMP 12 Custom Album Art

A significant number of CDs, particularly compilations, do not automatically obtain correct information from the Internet.  Album artwork can be missing or wrong if this happens.

To create the artwork for a CD ripped into Windows Media Player (WMP) 12, scan or screen capture the album artwork and create a 200x200 size jpg file.  Create the following files from this file

filename    size
folder.jpg 200x200
AlbumArtLarge.jpg 200x200
AlbumArtSmall.jpg 75x75

Restart WMP with these files in the album folder and the artwork should be displayed in WMP.

Image files are Artist\Album folder and marked as system files.  If incorrect artwork is displayed delete all the existing jpg files and copy the new versions described above.  You will need to turn off the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) in windows explorer to see the system jpg files.

Disable Browser Choice

HKLM\Software\BrowserChoice

Value Enable Type REGDWORD Data 0

WMP on Server 2012

Windows Media Player is not available by default on Windows 2012.  It can be enabled through the features management.

User Interfaces and Infrastructure> Desktop Experience

Windows 8 update scheduling

In Windows 7 is was possible to schedule a day and time when updates would automatically install.

In Windows 8 automatic updates are attempted during automatic maintenance.  Automatic maintenance can be configured to start at a particular time every day.  Tasks will start at that time unless the computer is in use, in which case, the tasks are postponed until the computer is not being used.

It is possible to override the Windows Update settings using GPOs.  To configure a particular day and time to carry out Windows Updates do the following:

Launch mmc.exe and load the Group Policy Object Editor snap-in.

Configure the Automatic Updates setting under
Local Computer Policy\Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update - Configure Automatic Updates

Option 4 allows a day and time to be configured for automatic updates, however these settings are not reflected in the control panel, which will simply report that it has been set by the administrator.

Google Chrome ThinApp 5.0

Chrome v34.0.1847.116 cannot currently update inside the bubble.  Also the update functionality prevents proper shutdown of the ThinApp application and processes continue after closure.

The solution is to delete the %ProgramFilesDir%\Google\Update folder from the ThinApp folder set before building.

Accessing Windows 7 C$ on Workgroup PCs

It is a bit tricky to get the admin shares and remote psexec access onto Win7 workgroup machine without a couple of tweaks.

This solution was obtained from the link below.
http://chall32.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/how-to-enable-access-windows-7.html

1.
Create the following registry key to enable the remote administrative shares on a Windows 7 machine in a workgroup

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy       REG_DWORD        1


2.
In the firewall control enable File and Printer Sharing in the "All programs to communicate through the Windows Firewall"

keywords
administrative share
admin share

Streams

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897440.aspx

Use this utility to remove the "Open File - Security Warning" that can appear when some applications are run.

streams.exe -d <path of target exe>

also see this item
https://www.howtogeek.com/70012/what-causes-the-file-downloaded-from-the-internet-warning-and-how-can-i-easily-remove-it/

Managing Google Maps

Maps and Classic Maps - as usual Classic is better than the new version.

It is not possible to create a map and then create a copy but it can be done in a very round about way.

Create a map then export it to a KML file and save it locally.
Create a classic map and import the KML file.
Create a new map and select a classic map to import from.

Dumb huh?

Windows 8.1 user account / microsoft account / network

If a local account is associated with a microsoft account on Windows 8.1 it could prevent that local account being used to access resources shared by the machine on the network.

Yammer Download link

https://about.yammer.com/product/desktop-application/

Adobe Reader XI - App-V 5.0 SP2

This is treated in a very similar way to the recent previous versions.
Briefly
Download the enterprise version
Extract the MSI, create an admin point and patch the admin point.
Download and install the Adobe Customisation Wizard and use that to create a transform.

The above is necessary for a normal package.

The main problem with creating an App-V 5.0 SP2 version is that the App-V client redirects some keys through to the native registry

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AppV\Subsystem\VirtualRegistry]
PassThroughPaths = REG_MULTI_SZ :
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WINEVT
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\eventlog\Application
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\WMI\Autologger
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Perflib
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies

See this link for more information
http://packageology.com/2014/02/overriding-group-policy-settings-app-v/


The result is that unless the HKLM\Software\Policies value is removed from the above key, the desired settings for Adobe Reader XI cannot be available in the bubble.  An example is Updating.  If [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\11.0\FeatureLockDown]
"bUpdater"=dword:00000000
Is not a setting that can be seen then the updater item in the preferences menu will still be visible.

For an App-V version of Adobe Reader XI
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies
This value either needs be removed from the above registry key OR the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe and below must be managed by Group Policy.

While sequencing it is very important to turn off Protected Mode and then re launching Reader and closing.  This causes important user settings to be captured in the sequence.  Also with out this mode set, launching Reader on a client results in:

This is related to the file %AppData%\LocalLow\Adobe\Acrobat\11.0\ReaderMessages which is not properly managed by a virtualised reader running in protected mode.

Keywords: passthough pass through



Windows 7 Virtual Store (redirection)

Where applications attempt to write to inappropriate locations at runtime such as C:\Programdata\Apple Computer\QuickTime\QuickTime.qtp   Windows 7 may redirect the activity to the Virtual Store which is located %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore\ProgramData\Apple Computer\QuickTime

This automatic redirection will obviously cause issues in certain situations.

App-v 5.0 SP2 Client download

App-v 5.0 SP2 Client UI Application download.

app-Client_ui_setup.msi
appv_clientUI_package.msi - this is app-v version.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=41186

Windows Application Compatibility Site

see as I can never find this quickly on search engines- here it is
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/compatibility/CompatCenter/Home
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/application-compatibility.aspx


Online compat search
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/compatibility/win7/CompatCenter/Home?Language=en-US

Fluke Networks Linkware 8.1

Fluke Networks Linkware 8.1 is an MSI install in an InstallAware execuatable wrapper.

The MSI extracts out into the temp folder when the exe is run and the exe launches the MSI with a partiular command line.

The MSI is totally non-standard, probably due to the InstallAware type of generation.

The exe does support the /s switch which makes the installation silent with defaults however the driver installation part of the install which is DPINST driven prompts to user to trust drivers from the Fluke Networks vendor.  This prompt can be worked around by obtaining the registry key which is written when the "Always Trust drivers from this vendor" tick box is clicked.  It is a binary registry entry created here
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\TrustedPublisher\Certificates\97A2CBA2763CAD7B8B214B4BE53ABE56380747FB

If this value is written into the registry before the exe /s is launched the installation will be fully silent.

Finally the exe is not SCCM compatible because it fails to run properly under the system account.

It is possible to use psexec.exe to remotely run the install under an admin account on the target machine.  Copy the install files to the target first then run

psexec.exe \\machinename <path to batch file>

A batch file can manage the installation of the regkey (reg.exe import of a reg file), launch the exe /s and then delete unwanted shortcuts (uninstall)

The uninstall procedure can be silent with the following batch file

C:\ProgramData\{AF40D181-8A8C-4CE5-99C4-8E2EF44E493F}\setup.exe /s REMOVE=TRUE
rd /s /q "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Fluke Networks"

IBM Websphere MQ Explorer 7.5.0.2 - install MSI special command line requirements.

The websphere MQ Explorer 7.5.0.2 MSI installation requires some parameters to be supplied via an ini file.  This ini file is specified on the command line using the USEINI parameter.

msiexec /i "IBM Websphere MQ.msi" transforms=<name> USEINI=<path> /qn

/qn or /q must be used so that the MSI is run with no user interface at all.

important: the USEINI path must be a full and absolute and not relative.  Putting the ini file in the same folder as the MSI/MST and using USEINI=myfile.ini will NOT work.

UNC paths will work.

http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/wmqv7/v7r5/topic/com.ibm.mq.ins.doc/q009040_.htm

Application Startup

In addition to the normal startup places such as registry run keys and startup folders.  Some applications may also startup by creating entries in the task scheduler with a trigger of "At log on of any user"

sysnative

Occationally you'll need to run 64-bit things from SCCM which may try to initialise them in a 32-bit way and cause problems and errors.  One way to get round this is to use the sysnative value.  This enables 64-bit programs to be correctly initialised even from the 32-bit SCCM client.

e.g.
C:\windows\sysnative\DISM.EXE  parameters

The above command will enable the Windows features on a 64-bit build to be configured via an command to a 32-bit SCCM client.