Check MECM Software Update Deployment Status with PowerShell
One object per update deployment with targeted, compliant, failed and unknown counts, so you can spot the deployments that need you.
Thread: Windows Update, untangled ↗1 min readRead note
Tagged · 26 notes
#SCCM.
Everything tagged SCCM, wherever it's filed, newest first.
Deploy the Most-Needed Updates in MECM with PowerShell
Find the updates the most machines are actually missing, bundle them into a group, and deploy them to a pilot collection, with a WhatIf preview first.
Thread: Windows Update, untangled ↗2 min readRead note
Upgrade a Windows Edition with a MAK Key from PowerShell
Install a product key, activate it and confirm the edition actually changed, without the key ever landing in a script file or a log.
Thread: Packaging with ConfigMgr ↗2 min readRead note
Create an MECM Package and Program from PowerShell
Turn "wrap this script in a package and push it to the DPs" into one command, with a dry run before anything gets created.
Thread: Packaging with ConfigMgr ↗2 min readRead note
Re-Enable Windows Update with PowerShell: Find Every Registry Block, Not Just One
When Windows Update is greyed out or just won't run, check all the policy values and services that can block it, and put them back the way Windows shipped.
Thread: Windows Update, untangled ↗2 min readRead note
Create a Local Administrator Account with PowerShell
A one-off local admin account done properly, with a hidden password prompt, a language-proof group lookup, and an expiry date for the temporary ones.
Thread: Local admin, done right ↗1 min readRead note
Create a Dedicated Local Admin Account for Windows LAPS to Manage
Roll out a named local admin account with a random password nobody knows, ready for Windows LAPS to take over, and optionally retire the built-in Administrator.
Thread: Local admin, done right ↗2 min readRead note
Count KACE Devices by Location from a CSV Export
Export your KACE device inventory to CSV and get a per-location (or per-label) device count, optionally just the machines added this week.
Thread: Packaging with ConfigMgr ↗2 min readRead note
Collecting Windows Update Logs with an SCCM Package
On Windows 10 and 11 there's no Windows Update logging to switch on. The trick is collecting it, and this script does that in one zip per machine.
Thread: Windows Update, untangled ↗2 min readRead note
Checking WinRM Before You Patch Remotely (Packaged for SCCM)
A read-first WinRM check that tells you why remote PowerShell won't connect, fixes it only when you ask, and doubles as a ConfigMgr compliance script.
Thread: Windows Update, untangled ↗2 min readRead note
Past IT Projects
A decade-plus of Windows migrations, endpoint security, and infrastructure work, boiled down to what I did and how big it was.
4 min readRead note
Microsoft Intune, Before You Enroll Anything: What It Does and What to Plan
A plain-spoken tour of what Intune actually handles, where it stops, and the identity decisions you want settled before the first device shows up.
Thread: Getting devices into Intune ↗4 min readRead note
Finding and Disabling SMBv1 Without Breaking the Scanner
Audit who still talks SMBv1 to your machines, then switch it off for good, with one script and three modes.
Thread: PowerShell craft ↗2 min readRead note
Skip Dell Boot Password Prompts During Maintenance with Password Bypass
Turn on Dell's Password Bypass so patch reboots don't sit at a power-on password prompt all night, then turn it back off when you're done.
Thread: Dell BIOS passwords, without the pain ↗2 min readRead note
Patching Without Fear: Rings, Risk and a Way Back
How I think about patch risk now. Sort updates by blast radius, roll them out in rings, decide what "bad" looks like up front, and know your way back before you need it.
Thread: Windows Update, untangled ↗4 min readRead note
WSUS, WUfB or Windows Update? Check (and Reset) Where a PC Gets Its Updates
One script that reads the WSUS, scan-source and Windows Update for Business settings on a device and tells you where it's really getting updates from, with a safe reset for leftovers.
Thread: Windows Update, untangled ↗2 min readRead note
Opting Devices In to Microsoft Update with an SCCM Package
Register the Microsoft Update service through the Windows Update Agent's own COM API, so devices pick up Office and other Microsoft product updates, not just Windows.
Thread: Windows Update, untangled ↗2 min readRead note
Set or Rotate the Dell BIOS Admin Password Without Baking It Into a Package
Put a BIOS admin password on new Dells, or change the old one across the fleet, with both passwords handed over at runtime.
Thread: Dell BIOS passwords, without the pain ↗2 min readRead note
Setting a High Performance Power Plan with an SCCM Package
Switch workstations to High Performance (or Ultimate Performance) by GUID, restore the plan if the image hid it, and don't end up with five copies of it.
Thread: Packaging with ConfigMgr ↗2 min readRead note
Remove a Dell BIOS Admin Password with PowerShell and ConfigMgr
Clear the BIOS setup password on Dell PCs and see exactly what changed, with the password supplied at runtime instead of sitting in a package.
Thread: Dell BIOS passwords, without the pain ↗2 min readRead note
Silently Uninstall Any App by Name with a ConfigMgr Package
One uninstall script for every retired app. Give it a display name and it finds the right uninstall command, MSI or not, and runs it quietly.
Thread: Packaging with ConfigMgr ↗2 min readRead note
Clearing a Stuck Print Spooler with PowerShell
Stop the spooler, clear out the wedged job files, and bring it back up, with -WhatIf and an option to leave recent jobs alone.
Thread: Spring cleaning for Windows PCs ↗2 min readRead note
Clear a Dell Hard Drive Password with PowerShell and ConfigMgr
Remove the internal drive password from Dell PCs with Dell's PowerShell provider, without ever writing the password into a script or package.
Thread: Dell BIOS passwords, without the pain ↗2 min readRead note
Defender for Endpoint vs. Intune: Who Actually Manages the Device?
Onboarding to Defender for Endpoint and enrolling in Intune are two different things, and you almost never have to offboard one to get the other.
Thread: Getting devices into Intune ↗3 min readRead note
Rotate Local Admin Passwords Across the Fleet with Windows LAPS and ConfigMgr
Force an immediate local admin password rotation on every machine in a collection, with Windows LAPS doing the password part so no script ever sees one.
Thread: Local admin, done right ↗2 min readRead note
Forcing a Group Policy Refresh with PowerShell and SCCM
A gpupdate wrapper that checks the domain trust first, never bounces anyone's session, and reports a real success or failure back to ConfigMgr.
Thread: Packaging with ConfigMgr ↗2 min readRead note