Nico's IT Rumblings

MDT Database connections wit MDT 2010

2009-07-17T13:41:00.002+02:00

If you encounter issues connecting to the MDT database, do the following for troubleshooting.

Put following files into one folder:

ztigather.xml
ztigather.wsf
customsettings.ini (where you specifiy the connection to the DB)
ztiutility.vbs
ZTIDataAcess.vbs

Execute following command from a host that needs to connect to the DB.
cscript ztigather.wsf /debug:true

Most common issues are SQL permission or Named Pipes that isn't enabled in SQL.

MDT 2010 Beta 2

2009-06-26T08:33:00.001+02:00

Available at the Microsoft Connect site.

From now on you have everything to test Windows 7 Deployments via SCCM.

Don't forget to install SP2 (also beta) of SCCM as well!

Nico

OSD wipes the disk instead of formatting

2009-05-12T13:10:00.003+02:00

Hi,

Did you ever noticed that if you change the advertisment distribution setting of your task sequence to "Access content directly..." your disk gets wiped instead of formatted?

The reason because of this is that MDT sets by default an argument on the "Format and Parition Disk" Task.

That argument looks like "_SMSTSDownloadOnDemand equals TRUE", if you remove this also your disk will be formatted when accessing the DP directly instead of downloading the content from the DP.

If you access the contect direcly you decrease the installation time significantly.

Nico

PXE issues - Part 2

2009-02-13T17:08:00.001+01:00

Issue:
You get an IP address from your DHCP server but the system get stuck with contacting your PXE point, in the end you get a Vista boot error.

Solution:

Distribute always 64 bit to PXE point as well even for 32 bit machines

Almost all new computers these days are x64 capable even though you may only deploy a 32-bit operating system onto it. If the computer is x64 capable, then you must have an x64 boot image on the PXE Service Point, even if you are only planning to use a 32-bit boot image. The reason is that the PXE Service Point extracts certain files from the boot image that must be used in the very early stages of the PXE boot process. In this early stage, x64 files must be used on x64 capable hardware. Later in the process the PXE Service Point will determine that you want to use a 32-bit boot image and will revert to the 32-bit only code. But if you don't have the x64 boot image present on the PXE Service Point, it can't get past the early stages on x64 capable hardware.

SCCM and PXE troubles

2009-01-15T14:25:00.001+01:00

Hi,

I suppose a lot of you have also troubles with WDS and SCCM.

Here you have a nice post, describing the issues I encountered.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/configmgrosd/thread/fb096553-22f8-4fe7-b326-a6bc7c126cb3

SCCM migration issues

2008-11-12T08:37:00.002+01:00

Hello,

It's been a long time that I have posted something because I was very busy prerparing a SCCM migration by one of my clients.

The goal:

Upgrade SMS 2003 SP3 hierarchy.
One of the primaries was located on a VM Ware and this one needed to be migrated to a physical 64-bit machine.

Most issues I had was located on this primary.

I did first an in-place upgrade of the VM Ware.

The upgrade wizard failed all the time with fatal errors during the installation of the INBOX_MANAGER. After investigating for hours (I needed Microsoft support for this) we noticed that there were corrupt ct2 files in the hman inbox.
We removed the corrupt files and executed a site reset hoping that the wizard should continue installing the failed components.

Originally we thought SMS was working, but after a while I noticed all my clients had error 401 in their ccmexec.log. The complete SMS console was green so no issues following SMS. After some investigation again we discovered that IIS was running in 5.0 compatibility mode. Normally SCCM should change this but probably because of the failure of the wizard this task was skipped.

When trying to remove the limited status of IIS we noticed that the after IISRESET the option was always checked again. After some hours we discovered that the service "Internet Printing" was preventing IIS to stop this compatibility mode.
When removing the Internet Printing everything worked.

So far the in-place upgrade of the VM Ware...

The next weekend I had to move the VM Ware to physicall hardware.

I took an SMS backup with the "backup site" task.
When trying to restore this data with Site Repair wizard... gues what... FATAL ERROR.
After some attempts I gave it up and restored the SQL database manually.
The restore of the SMS data luckily succeeded via the Site Repair Wizard.

All SCCM stuff was working, only OSD was suddenly very slow.
This patch resolved the OSD issue:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955955

So this was a short description of my SCCM rumbles ;-)
The misery someone can have in case the wizard are failing...

Holiday!!

2008-09-01T00:50:00.001+02:00

Finally a well deserved holiday

3 weeks west coast in the VS

USMT - custom.xml sample

2008-07-24T14:01:00.001+02:00

I needed to capture something out of the user profiles located under the hidden folders
local settings\application data\...
By default USMT skips these folders.
It took me a while to find this out, so it can might be interesstinf for one of you guys...

Here you have the sample. To make sure that this xml gets applied you need to add this /i:custom.xml as well in the loadstate and the scanstate command.

-
Lotus Notes
-
%CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA%\Lotus\Notes\Data

-
-
-
MigXmlHelper.DoesObjectExist("File","%CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA%\Lotus\Notes\Data")

-
-
-
# %CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA%\Lotus\Notes\Data\*

-
-
# %CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA%\Lotus\Notes\Data\*

Move of blog

2008-07-23T19:27:00.002+02:00

Hello

Just to inform you that this blog will be moved soon to

http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/nsienaert/default.aspx

People of ITForum asked me to create my blog on their domain.
What's a big honour off course!

Hope to see you guys there!

Nico

Fatal error during upgrade to SCCM SP1

2008-06-06T16:11:00.002+02:00

First of all check the configmgrsetup.log file.

If SCCM and WAIK are not installed on the OS driver (another partition)

and you receive 1603 error during the Waik Installation, this is the reason:

During the ConfigMgr 2007 SP1 upgrade process:
WAIK was uninstalled automatically
WAIK was attempted to automatically install using default settings.When the upgrade attempted to reinstall the WAIK it defaulted installed to the default OS drive. This failed on my server.

Solution

Before attempting to run SP1
Uninstall WAIK via ARP (Add Remove Programs) (if the previous attempt of SP1 hasn't done it for you)
Install WAIK via the new copy in: . \SCConfigMgr07_UPD_EN\SMSSETUP\WAIK\
Run the SCCM SP1 upgrade again

ZTI ERROR - Unhandled error returned by zticonfigure: Object required (424) and Unable to find CustomSettings.ini, rc = 1

2008-05-26T08:49:00.003+02:00

If you can find this errors somewhere in you log files you are probably refering in your CS.ini to a database value that does not exist.

Example:

In the past I used the column keyboardlocale in BDDAdminCorDB. In my CS.ini I had a line keyboardlocale=%keyboardlocale%

I removed the column because I use 'InputLocale' in place, but I forgot to remove the line out of CS.ini.

The result was that the "configure" action was hanging without prompting any error and my ztigather.log showed the errors of the title of this post.

After spending some days of troubelshooting I discoverd this was the root cause.

zti error opening sql connection: cannot initialize sspi package

2008-05-20T19:49:00.003+02:00

When this error appears in your ztigather.log you have to add security.dll to your winpe.wim image of WAIK 2.0 to make a named pipe integrated security connection possible.
You can find the dll in the system32 directory of a Vista box.
Add this dll to the system32 directory of the wim file.

OR

you can install WAIK 2.1 this has named pipe integrated security connection on board by default.

Upgrade MDT

2008-03-29T14:32:00.002+01:00

Microsoft released recently a new version of MDT. This newer version is providing a better support for Vista SP1 and Server 2008 AND is solving some bugs of previous version
(like one is descirbed in the previous post).

If you don't want to loose your Boot images, Task Sequences and MDT packages you can upgrade MDT.

Check Michael Niehaus's blog, he gives a very nice overview of the different upgrade scenarios and
explains the best manner to do it.

http://blogs.technet.com/mniehaus/archive/2008/03.aspx

Not able to change MININT-xxx name with MDT-ZTI-SCCM

2008-03-17T08:09:00.002+01:00

Hi All,

If you want install PCs Zero Touch with MDT via SCCM and you notice in the ztigather.log that the PC is correctly gathering the correct value (machinename) out of the database but the value is not getting applied.

This in fact caused by bug into MDT, the reason is that that diskpart is choosing the first drive letter for the primary partition. The drive letter turns into E and the system cannot find the sysprep.inf. (in the postinstall phase this is file is supposed to get modified).

To solve this add following lines in zticonfigure.wsf starting from line 159.

ElseIf oFSO.FileExists("E:\sysprep\Sysprep.inf") then
sSysprepInf = "E:\sysprep\Sysprep.inf"oLogging.CreateEntry "Found Sysprep.inf at " & sSysprepInf & ".", LogTypeInfo

ADO connecton errors when trying to connect to MDT database

2008-03-10T08:14:00.001+01:00

Hi all,

If you have following error in ZTIGather please check out my post on Technet.

Error: Unable to create ADODB.Connection Object"

Technet: http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2952634&SiteID=17

Coming up...

2008-01-30T13:49:00.000+01:00

Hello all,

I haven't got much time to publish new posts because I'm in the middle of the preparation of the upgrade scenario for SCCM and I'm also testing the new Microsoft Deployment to continue Zero Touch installations in an SCCM environment.

So keep on visiting this blog to discover my latest experiences regarding these topics!!

Nico

Unable to install and uninstall of SMS Client due to corrupt WMI

2007-12-19T07:42:00.000+01:00

Hi,

Recently I had an SMS client giving me following errors while I tried to install\uninstall SMS Client.

'unable to create namespace 80041002'
'2501 unable to delete WMI namespace CCM\SoftwareMeteringAgent 80041002'

WMIDiag learned me that my WMI was corrupt.

This script solved the issue:

execute following BAT files.

step1.bat
----------
cd /d %windir%\system32\wbem
for %i in (*.dll) do RegSvr32 -s %i
for %i in (*.exe) do %i /RegServer

net stop winmgmt /y

step2.bat
----------
cd c:\windows\system32\wbem

rd /S /Q repository

regsvr32 /s %systemroot%\system32\scecli.dll

regsvr32 /s %systemroot%\system32\userenv.dll

mofcomp cimwin32.mof

mofcomp cimwin32.mfl

mofcomp rsop.mof

mofcomp rsop.mfl

for /f %%s in ('dir /b /s *.dll') do regsvr32 /s %%s

for /f %%s in ('dir /b *.mof') do mofcomp %%s

for /f %%s in ('dir /b *.mfl') do mofcomp %%s

mofcomp exwmi.mof

mofcomp -n:root\cimv2\applications\exchange wbemcons.mof

mofcomp -n:root\cimv2\applications\exchange smtpcons.mof

mofcomp exmgmt.mof

Enoy!

Problems with XP machines to connect to SMS console

2007-10-30T09:39:00.000+01:00

After upgrading to SMS 2003 SP3, I had problems with XP machines to connect to the SMS console. Also they could not add users in the local admin group with the error that enough
storage was available to execute the command.

This is the solution:

http://blogs.technet.com/askds/archive/2007/09/21/not-enough-storage-is-available-to-complete-this-operation.aspx

Reporting Point problems after upgrade to SMS 2003 SP3

2007-10-02T16:07:00.000+02:00

Error:

SMS Site Component Manager successfully used the SMS_SERVER_BOOTSTRAP_SERVER service to run the following program on site system "\\SERVER": E:\SMS\bin\i386\rpsetup.exe /install /siteserver:SERVERThe program failed for the following reason: Child process "E:\SMS\bin\i386\rpsetup.exe /install /siteserver:SERVER" took too long to execute, and the process (PID = 4484) was orphaned. Possible cause: SMS Site Component Manager does not have sufficient access rights to administer the site system.Solution: Verify that the Site System Connection accounts are properly configured to allow SMS to administer the site system.SMS Site Component Manager cannot install component SMS_REPORTING_POINT until the program runs successfully. If this problem persists and you cannot fix it, refer to your SMS documentation or the Microsoft Knowledge Base for further troubleshooting information.

Solution:
- download the sysinternals streams tool- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/streams.mspx
- go to your SMS\Bin\i386 directory
- run 'streams reportinginstall.exe' if you see any streams registered for it, you can delete it with: - streams -d reportinginstall.exe

OSD with SCCM 2007

2007-09-15T20:28:00.001+02:00

Hello,

I created a nice document regarding OSD with SCCM 2007 based on the Microsoft TechNet pages.

If you are interested you can download it here:

http://www.myitforum.com/forums/m_164494/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm#164537

Enjoy - please add your comments...

Deploy Windows Vista in an SMS 2003 enviornment

2007-09-05T10:23:00.000+02:00

Hello,

Here you have my '10 steps-by-step' procedure to create a Vista image and to deploy this image via SMS 2003 OSD.

This procedure is tested and works fine.

Prerequisites.

On top of your existing SMS 2003 SPx enviornment with OSD_FP running do the following:

Install OSD_FP Update

Install BDD 2007

Install WAIK

SMS level: It’s possible to deploy Vista already with SMS SP1 or SP2, to manage the Vista machines in your environment your need SP3 or SCCM 2007 (SMSv4).

'10 steps-by-step' flow:

Create a Vista Reference machine manual or with LiteTouchPE_X86.iso.

This .iso is available in BDD.

(Execute 1 time)

On workbench.msc\Operating System node

Capture Winpe 2005 and Windows Server 2003 SP1

Create an OSD Capture CD via the SMS console and capture the Reference Machine.

Add the captured image (.wim version = 1.0 due to OSD_DP Update) to the Operating System node in workbench.msc.

Create build in workbench.msc (build node)

This is physically stored under \\ZTI$\

Create a Deployment Point in workbench.msc (Ex:SMS 2003 OSD)

Edit CS.ini and bootstrap.ini

Each time you change a setting you have to update your Deployment Point. Physically the Deployment Point is stored under ZTI$

(Execute 1 time)

Update WinPE2005 in SMS console with Generic_OSD_X86.iso

Create an Image Package in the SMS console (source: \\\OSD-

SRCPKG$.

Configure OSD program: all phases need to have ZeroTouchInstallion.vbs AND

all (*.*) under \\\ZTI$\

Update Distribution Points in SMS and Update System Package files

Create OSD Installation CD (tip: publish CD on WDS to download into RAMDISK of the PC)

10. Put PC that you want to install in SQL database or advertise it.

Have fun with it!! Please add your comments or questions!!

Nico (lnesta431)

Issues with SMS Administrator Console

2007-08-20T16:32:00.000+02:00

In my testlab I discovered some problems to install an SMS Administrator Console on a client PC.

After some troubleshooting I noticed I could not connect via WMI to my SMS Server.

Tough network, permissions, DCOM, WMI,... were all OK.

This patch solved the issue:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/832521

August Patching

2007-08-17T11:48:00.000+02:00

Microsoft released these week new patches:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-aug.mspx

I'll deploy these with ITMU 3.0.

@ work - OSD Capture CD

2007-08-07T10:52:00.000+02:00

Hello all,

What a busy start after holiday ppff!!

I had to capture an image for 2 new hardware models (Lenovo laptops)

I could not use my previous caputure CD as (hell yeah) new SATA and NIC dirvers need to be added.

So let's start...

I noticed when I tried to capture that I could not access my C-drive, network was OK.

So I added my SATA strings into the txtsetup.sif and recreate a new capture CD.

When I re-tried to capture I could access my C-drive but suddenly I had no network anymore??

I compared with windiff and the only file that was changed was the txtsetup.sif...

Any idea why I suddenly lost my network? Nope! The drivers are on the CD for sure, but when I execute an ipconfig in labshell I get no reply.

Finally I receive the error 80040001, which is normal. (timeout)

After investigating everything inside out I re-created my .iso (oscdimg) and burned it again on CD, just the same like before...
and guess what it worked!!

I don't know why it didn't worked the first time, this proves again that IT sience is not really an exact sience!

My desk @ work

2007-07-12T15:58:00.001+02:00

Quite clean isn't it ;-)