ConfigMgr

Windows as a Service: Remind users of pending Windows upgrades using Windows toast notifications, part 3

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Introduction

UPDATE: The script used here has been severely updated: https://www.imab.dk/windows-10-toast-notification-script/. The scenario described here is still relevant though, so I recommend that you still read through this 🙂

This will be a small but exciting contribution to my ‘Windows as a Service’ series!

The usual story here is, that everyone wants to add more user-friendliness to the whole experience around Windows Servicing.

End-users generally doesn’t care about new versions of Windows and they also, generally speaking, find interruptions in their work annoying, especially if those interruptions come unexpected.

So we come up with clever solutions to solve those problems and this will be an addition to that; remind the user with a big nice Windows toast notification when a Windows upgrade is pending. This is for the obvious reminder, but also to lure the end-user into a voluntary participation.

Find some of my previous WaaS posts here:

Part 1: https://www.imab.dk/windows-as-a-service-sharing-my-precache-and-in-place-upgrade-task-sequences-part-1/
Part 2: https://www.imab.dk/windows-as-a-service-sharing-my-precache-and-in-place-upgrade-task-sequences-part-2/

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Windows as a Service: Sharing my PreCache and In-Place Upgrade Task Sequences, part 2

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Introduction

This is an extremely hot topic and I do know that we have some awesome OSD experts out there sharing their content already (Gary Blok, Mike Terrill etc.).  Now, their content is way superior to mine and probably suit a lot of needs already, but I think that content around WaaS in particular is interesting and especially when sharing how one does Windows Servicing in details.

So, this is me doing just that – sharing my precaching and in-place upgrade task sequences – in details. This will be a lengthy post, so grab a good cup of coffee ?

Also, this is based on a mid-size company in Denmark and we don’t manage thousands and thousands of devices. WaaS is a small part of my daily job and I’m the only one doing it, so the time and effort put into this is reflecting the size of the company and the resources available, but is still done with an eye on the detail. With that being said, some of the stuff I do here is done with inspiration from how some of the mentioned people does it (credit where due during the posts). If you find yourself in similar position or just need some more inspiration – then this will be for you 🙂

Part 1: https://www.imab.dk/windows-as-a-service-sharing-my-precache-and-in-place-upgrade-task-sequences-part-1/

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Windows as a Service: Sharing my PreCache and In-Place Upgrade Task Sequences, part 1

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Introduction

Update! The content in this post, has been updated: Windows as a Service: Sharing my PreCache and In-Place Upgrade Task Sequences – 20H2 edition, part 1

This is an extremely hot topic and I do know that we have some awesome OSD experts out there sharing their content already (Gary Blok, Mike Terrill etc.).  Now, their content is way superior to mine and probably satisfy a lot of needs already, but I think that content around WaaS in particular is interesting and especially when sharing how one does Windows Servicing in details.

So, this is me doing just that – sharing my precaching and in-place upgrade task sequences – in details. This will be a lengthy post, so grab a good cup of coffee 🙂

Also, this is based on a mid-size company in Denmark and we don’t manage thousands and thousands of devices. WaaS is a small part of my daily job and I’m the only one doing it, so the time and effort put into this is reflecting the size of the company and the resources available, but is still done with an eye on the detail. With that being said, some of the stuff I do here is done with inspiration from how some of the mentioned people does it (credit where due during the posts). If you find yourself in similar position or just need some more inspiration – then this will be for you 🙂

Part 2: https://www.imab.dk/windows-as-a-service-sharing-my-precache-and-in-place-upgrade-task-sequences-part-2/

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Updating Configuration Manager Current Branch to version 1810 (Example from a production environment)

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Introduction

Good news everyone! System Center Configuration Manager Current Branch 1810 was released today, and similar to previous releases, I’m going to walk you through the process on how I updated my production environment.

Not much has changed, but I know someone will fancy to have an A-Z guide as inspiration, and as of such, I here give you the exact steps I went through to update SCCM to the very latest and greatest version.

The 1810 update ready for installation in the console

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