The process to integrate MDT is extremely straight forward and takes two minutes – but the advantages it brings to Operating System Deployment are huge! Some of my favourites are:

• The ability to use a whole bunch of new variables in a Task Sequence. For instance, I can target laptop systems simply by using the IsLaptop variable. Equally, I can also use IsDesktop or IsServer. No more WMI querying for Chasis Type or battery presence. Hoorah.
• Better control over server roles for Server 2008 and 2008 R2. A neat feature if you deploy server operating systems through ConfigMgr.

So what are you waiting for, let’s get to it.

Download MDT 2010 Update 1 for your architecture from here.

Run the installation and work your way through the wizard, which is a simple next, next, next installation in most cases. Once installed, click Start > All Programs >Microsoft Deployment Toolkit > Configure ConfigMgr Integration.

In the Options screen, ensure you enter your Site server name and the Site Code for that site. Notice you can also remove integration from this point at a later stage if you so wish. Click Next.

At the Confirmation screen, you should receive a successful message. Click Finish.

I’m not usually one for ‘I told you so’ but, I told you so! It really is that simple. If you wish, you can jump into the ConfigMgr console and verify the integration by right clicking on the Boot Images node and verifying the new option as shown below.

I’m in the process of creating a demo environment for SCCM 2007 R3 in a local VMware Workstation environment. Everything was working fine and dandy until I came to deploy a Windows 7 x86 image to a bare metal VM.

The Task Sequence would initialise and the Partition and Format step would work, but as soon as it went to move on to the next step, I’d receive the error 0×80004005 with a 15 minute countdown to restart.

Eventually, I narrowed down the issue. I basically discovered that the VM was originally a Windows XP VM, therefore no x64 extensions were installed. Seeing as I was booting to a x64 boto image, I figured this could be the cause. Low and behold, changing the properties of the Task Sequence to use the x86 boot image solved the issue! The machine now builds.

So all those hours of throwing in different versions of drivers were wasted, It really was that easy…

Things you’ll need:

• The Adobe Reader 9.4.0 distributable package.
• Some disk space.
• The Adobe Reader Customisation Wizard 9.
• SCCM environment. (Although you can use this method for Group Policy Software Installation too).

Go ahead and grab your Adobe Reader 9.4.0 installation EXE. The first thing we’ll need to do with this is extract the MSI installation from within it. This is a pretty straight forward task that can be achieved with the following command:

<path to>\AdbeRdr940_en_US.exe -nos_o"Reader940" -nos_ne

The -nos_o switch is the folder name to extract the files to. This will form your AIP (Administration Installation Point) and is what we will customise using the Adobe Customisation Wizard. The Adobe Reader 9.4.0 – Setup screen will extract the MSI into your specified folder (as shown below). The screen will disappear once extraction is complete.

Once extracted, you will have your new AIP. It should look similar to my one below.

Now it’s time to customise your AIP. This is done using the Adobe Custmoisation Wizard. Install the application from the link provided above and you’ll find a new icon in Start > All Programs. Run it and select File > Open Package. Browse to the AIP you just created and select AcroRead.msi. You’ll then be presented with various categories down the left and options on the right. This is where the magic happens.

At this point you can go through the categories on the left and customise at your leisure. To get you started, here are a few common items you may wish to customise.

• Run Installation: Silently
• Suppress Reboot
• Suppress display of End User License Agreement (EULA)
• Hide Document Message bar
• Disable all updates
• Disable Help > Digital Editions
• Disable Product Improvement Program
• Disable all Acrobat.Com access, including initiation and participation

Once you have finished your customisations, select Transform > Generate Transform.

Save your transform to the AIP. You can now close the Adobe Customisation Wizard. Be sure to click No when prompted to save the package. We don’t want anything written to the original MSI. That completely goes against the idea of transform files.

Congratulations, you now have a customised Adobe Reader 9.4.0 installation which is ready for deployment.

Depending on your chosen deployment method, you can now create your SCCM package or Group Policy object using the files within your AIP. If you are using GPO deployment, you can use the AcroRead.msi file. Be sure to add the transform file in the Modifications tab so that the MSI file takes in your customisations.

If like me you have the benefit of SCCM in your environment, you’ll want to configure your package with a Program command line such as this:

msiexec.exe /i "AcroRead.msi" TRANSFORMS="<path to transform>" RebootYesNo="No" Reboot="ReallySuppress" /qb

One thing to remember, with 9.4.0 being a major release, the installation will remove previous versions of Reader by default, so you don’t have to worry about running my removal script as previously blogged. Bonus. You’re now ready to deploy. Good luck!

After running a few successful deployments, I started to notice PXE boots were failing. The PXE server seemed to be ignoring client boot requests as if they were ‘Known’ to SCCM. This was the case even after deleting the resource from the SCCM database. This behaviour was validated by looking into the SMSPXE.LOG file on the PXE server. I noticed the following lines were present.

No Boot Action for Device (17898) found
ProcessDatabaseReply: No Advertisement found in Db for device

I began to investigate the PXE server configuration and noticed that after deleting the resource from the SCCM database and restarting the Windows Deployment Services service, the computer was correctly identified by PXE boot as an Unknown Computer and successfully booted into the Task Sequencer.

It seems to be the PXE server cache is causing the resource ID to remain in memory so it is no longer discovered as an Unknown Computer. Luckily, I discoverd a fix that seems to work for me. The PXE server cache timeout is determined by the following registry key. In my case, it was set to 0, which I assume is infinite. I ammeded this value to 300 (decimal) and restarted the Windows Deployment Services service on the PXE server and all seems to work as expected. I can image a bare metal computer, delete it from the SCCM database and after approximately two minutes, I can PXE boot it as an Unknown Computer again to reimage it.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\PXE\CacheExpire

Be warned though, I believe this is set for a reason. I’d imagine that if you are using a mandatory advertisement to the Unknown Computers collection, the machine will re-PXE boot each time the OS deployment tries to reboot as part of the OSD Task Sequence. Though this hasn’t been tested and isn’t a problem for me as I am using optional advertisements.

SELECT SYS.Name, RSYS.Description0, LDISK.DeviceID0, LDISK.Description0, LDISK.VolumeName0,
LDISK.FreeSpace0, LDISK.Size0,
LDISK.FreeSpace0*100/LDISK.Size0  as C074
FROM v_FullCollectionMembership SYS
join v_GS_LOGICAL_DISK LDISK on SYS.ResourceID = LDISK.ResourceID
JOIN v_R_System RSYS ON SYS.ResourceID = RSYS.ResourceID
WHERE
LDISK.DriveType0 =3  AND
LDISK.Size0 > 0
AND SYS.CollectionID = 'SMS000DS'
ORDER BY SYS.Name, LDISK.DeviceID0

Reviewing the C:\ConfigMgrSetup.log file revealed that the install had indeed stalled and the last couple of entries in my logfile looked like this.

08-04-2010 12:55:21 Enabling monitoring for inbox def Status Manager.
08-04-2010 12:55:21 Enabling monitoring for inbox def Scheduler (LAN Outbox).
08-04-2010 12:55:21 Enabling monitoring for inbox def Scheduler (Requests).
08-04-2010 12:55:21 Enabling monitoring for inbox def Data Loader.
08-04-2010 12:55:21 Enabling monitoring for inbox def Software Inventory Processor (Site).
08-04-2010 12:55:21 Enabling monitoring for inbox def Despooler.
08-04-2010 12:55:21 Enabling monitoring for inbox def Replication Manager (Incoming).
08-04-2010 12:55:21 Enabling monitoring for inbox def Discovery Data Manager.
08-04-2010 12:55:21: Status Modules\Status Modules
08-04-2010 12:55:21: Components Status Module: SMS Server\Components
08-04-2010 12:55:21: Components Status Module: SMS Client\Components
08-04-2010 12:55:21: Components Status Module: SMS Provider\Components

After some research, I discovered that the reason this was occurring was I had a huge collection of .CCR files within the ccr.box folder on my site server. When I say huge collection, I mean over a million files. After deleting them all, which took around 30 minutes, the installation jumped right to the next stage.

It’s worth noting, the .CCR files were actually in a sub-folder of ccr.box, so I’m assuming that SCCM SP2 update searches for all .CCR files in the complete ccr.box folder hierarchy.

This is all well and good, unless you are intending on installing the EXE version of Flash, and not the MSI.

Usually, I’d go MSI over EXE any day of the week, but Flash Player is a fickle b*tch of an install. For some reason, I was seeing plenty of MSI installations fail while using SCCM 2007. Most of the failures related to certain files not being marked for installation. The following event log entry could be observed on the machines.

Product: Adobe Flash Player 10 ActiveX — Error 1722.There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program run as part of the setup did not finish as expected. Contact your support personnel or package vendor. Action NewCustomAction1, location: C:\DOCUME~1\<username>\LOCALS~1\Temp\InstallAX.exe, command: -install activex -msi

For this reason, I bailed out and went with the EXE installation, which so far, when used with the new silent install switch (-install) works flawlessly.

Now, obviously we can’t transform an EXE, so I’ve had to come up with the following CMD script which can be applied to computer startup through the use of a Group Policy Object.

ECHO AutoUpdateDisable=1 > %WinDir%\System32\Macromed\Flash\mms.cfg
ECHO DisableProductDownload=1 >> %WinDir%\System32\Macromed\Flash\mms.cfg

The nice thing about this script is that it will only run if the Macromed folder exists.

The trouble with Adobe Reader updates is that they aren’t particularly easy to distribute. Sure, you can download the MSI installer from Adobe’s website and use the Adobe Customisation Wizard to create a neat little MST file to transform the install with all your company’s standard settings, but have you ever tried installing the new MSI over a previous version? Not so easy now huh.

For some unknown reason, Adobe engineer their Reader installations in such a way that simply deploying the new MSI isn’t enough. For instance, you can’t simply push out Adobe Reader 9.3.3 and hope that it updates all the previous 9.3.2 installations. You first have to uninstall all previous versions.

Adobe updates usually come in the form of MSP files. These files are designed to patch your existing installation points. It’s important to note that this is only the case for quarterly updates. Security updates cannot be used to patch your administrative installation point.

For this example, I’m going to patch my Adobe Reader 9.3.0 administrative installation point with the MSP for 9.3.3.

Oh but wait, another fly in the ointment. You can’t patch a 9.0 administrative point with 9.3.3 directly. You must follow this order of patching:

9.3.0 > 9.3.2 > 9.3.3

Start by downloading all of your files. You’ll need:

• Your 9.3.0 administrative point
• AdbeRdrUpd932_all_incr.msp
• AdbeRdrUpd933_all_incr.msp

Slipstreaming Updates into the Administrative Installation Point.

Fire up a command line window, and run the following. This command will integrate your MSP with your installation point.

msiexec.exe /a "path to acroread.msi in admin point" /p "path to AdbeRdrUpd932_all_incr.msp" /qb

You’ll notice the installer wizard configuring your computer. Note that this is actually configuring your installation point, not your computer.

Repeat the above with the AdbeRdrUpd933_all_incr.msp file. You will now have an installation point with Adobe Reader 9.3.3 ready to roll.

Deploying the Updated Version.

If like me you have Microsoft System Center Configuration 2007 at your disposal, you can make use of my batch file script that I have created to remove all previous versions of Adobe Reader prior to installing the new 9.3.3 version. Simply set the script to run before the installation for Adobe Reader 9.3.3 and you should find the install takes place with no errors.

For the script to work fully, you’ll need to add the MSIZap executable into the same folder as the script. This can be downloaded for free as part of the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility (found here…). You only need msizap.exe for the script to work, forget about the other files. MsiZap is a very useful tool. Check out the command line syntax I use and experiment to your hearts content.

If you only have Group Policy at your disposal, I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to modify the script to call the install after the uninstalls have taken place. Hope this helps!

REM *** MSI Uninstall Adobe Reader 6
msiexec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A00000000001} REBOOT=Supress /qn
REM *** MSI Uninstall Adobe Reader 7
msiexec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A70900000002} REBOOT=Supress /qn
REM *** MSI Uninstall Adobe Reader 8.0
msiexec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A80000000002} REBOOT=Supress /qn
REM *** MSI Uninstall Adobe Reader 8.1
msiexec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A81000000002} REBOOT=Supress /qn
REM *** MSI Uninstall Adobe Reader 8.1.4
msiexec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A81300000003} REBOOT=Supress /qn
REM *** MSI Uninstall Adobe Reader 9.0
msiexec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A90000000001} REBOOT=Supress /qn
REM *** MSI Uninstall Adobe Reader 9.1
msiexec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A91000000001} REBOOT=Supress /qn
REM *** MSI Uninstall Adobe Reader 9.2
msiexec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A92000000001} REBOOT=Supress /qn
REM *** MSI Uninstall Adobe Reader 9.3
msiexec.exe /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A93000000001} REBOOT=Supress /qn
REM *** Zap Uninstall Adobe Reader 6
"%~dp0msizap.exe" TW! {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A00000000001}
REM *** Zap Uninstall Adobe Reader 7
"%~dp0msizap.exe" TW! {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A70900000002}
REM *** Zap Uninstall Adobe Reader 8.0
"%~dp0msizap.exe" TW! {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A80000000002}
REM *** Zap Uninstall Adobe Reader 8.1
"%~dp0msizap.exe" TW! {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A81000000002}
REM *** Zap Uninstall Adobe Reader 8.1.4
"%~dp0msizap.exe" TW! {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A81300000003}
REM *** Zap Uninstall Adobe Reader 9.0
"%~dp0msizap.exe" TW! {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A90000000001}
REM *** Zap Uninstall Adobe Reader 9.1
"%~dp0msizap.exe" TW! {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A91000000001}
REM *** Zap Uninstall Adobe Reader 9.2
"%~dp0msizap.exe" TW! {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A92000000001}
REM *** Zap Uninstall Adobe Reader 9.3
"%~dp0msizap.exe" TW! {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A93000000001}

SELECT
CS.Name0 AS [Hostname],
CS.UserName0 AS [Last User],
DateDiff(Day, OS.LastBootUpTime0, GetDate()) AS [Uptime (in Days)],
OS.LastBootUpTime0 AS [Last Reboot Date],
WS.LastHWScan AS [Last Hardware Inventory]
FROM
DBO.v_GS_WORKSTATION_STATUS WS LEFT OUTER JOIN DBO.v_GS_Operating_System OS ON WS.ResourceID = OS.ResourceID
LEFT OUTER JOIN DBO.v_GS_COMPUTER_SYSTEM CS ON CS.ResourceID = OS.ResourceID
LEFT OUTER JOIN DBO.v_GS_SYSTEM SYS ON SYS.ResourceID = OS.ResourceID
LEFT OUTER JOIN DBO.v_R_SYSTEM RSYS ON RSYS.ResourceID = CS.ResourceID
WHERE
SYS.SystemRole0 = 'Workstation' AND DateDiff(Day, OS.LastBootUpTime0, GetDate()) > @Days
ORDER BY
CS.Name0

SELECT
CS.Name0 AS [Hostname],
RSYS.Description0 AS [Directory Description],
DateDiff(Hour, OS.LastBootUpTime0, WS.LastHWScan) AS [Uptime (in Hours)],
OS.LastBootUpTime0 AS [Last Reboot Date],
WS.LastHWScan AS [Last Hardware Inventory]
FROM
DBO.v_GS_WORKSTATION_STATUS WS LEFT OUTER JOIN DBO.v_GS_Operating_System OS ON WS.ResourceID = OS.ResourceID
LEFT OUTER JOIN DBO.v_GS_COMPUTER_SYSTEM CS ON CS.ResourceID = OS.ResourceID
LEFT OUTER JOIN DBO.v_GS_SYSTEM SYS ON SYS.ResourceID = OS.ResourceID
LEFT OUTER JOIN DBO.v_R_SYSTEM RSYS ON RSYS.ResourceID = CS.ResourceID
WHERE
SYS.SystemRole0 = 'Server' AND DateDiff(Hour, OS.LastBootUpTime0, GetDate()) < 168
ORDER BY
CS.Name0