Introduction

This is just a brief storytelling on, how you can add more user-friendliness and flexibility to your Windows as a Service process with Configuration Manager.

That be whether you fancy using Task Sequences or Feature Updates, this post will show you how you can wrap the process into an initial Toast Notification, which again sends the end-user into a PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit experience, which again will run either the Task Sequence or the Feature Update automatically.

Carrot on a stick: All the binaries used in these examples, are available for download throughout the post. That goes for PSADT as well as exported ConfigMgr applications.

Task Sequence

The process in details for Task Sequences will be like following steps:

1. Toast Notification is displayed to the end-user
2. End-user clicks Install Now
3. Software Center is launched into the Installation status tab
4. Application based on PSADT is being run automatically
5. Going through the PSADT process will move Software Center into the OSD tab
6. PSADT will launch the IPU Task Sequence automatically

Feature Update

The process in details for Feature Updates will be like following steps:

1. Toast Notification is displayed to the end-user
2. End-user clicks Upgrade Now
3. Software Center is launched into the Installation status tab
4. Application based on PSADT is being run automatically
5. Going through the PSADT process will move Software Center into the Updates tab
6. PSADT will launch the Feature Update automatically

PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit

I’m making both of the PSADT projects used respectively for Task Sequences: ToastNotificationDummy-TS.zip (10232 downloads ) and Feature Updates: ToastNotificationDummy-FU.zip (10113 downloads ) available for a direct download.

The only real interesting part of the content of either PSADT projects, is the PowerShell scripts, which are initiating the Task Sequence and the Feature Update.

I made a virtue of making proper commenting, so everything should hopefully make some sense. If not, let me know in the comments section.

Below script will run the Task Sequence with the corresponding package id, and write the detection method used in the application, into the registry:

# Package ID of the package or Task Sequence in Configuration Manager
$packageID = "KR100907"
# Load the Software Center Object
$softwareCenter = New-Object -ComObject "UIResource.UIResourceMgr"
# A simple test to see if the specified Package ID indeed is deployed to the device
$testPackageID = Get-CimInstance -Namespace root\ccm\clientsdk -Query "SELECT * FROM CCM_Program where PackageID = '$packageID'"
# If the package/task sequence is deployed to the device
if (-NOT[string]::IsNullOrEmpty($testPackageID)) {
    $programID = $testPackageID.ProgramID
    $registryPath = "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\imab.dk\WaaS\2004"
    # Create registry path for detection method if it does not exist
    if (-NOT(Test-Path -Path $registryPath)) { New-Item -Path $registryPath –Force }
    # Install the package/task sequence and launch the Software Center into the OSD tab. Write successful detection method to registry
    try {
        $softwareCenter.ExecuteProgram($programID,$packageID,$true)
        if (Test-Path -Path "$env:windir\CCM\ClientUX\SCClient.exe") { Start-Process -FilePath "$env:windir\CCM\ClientUX\SCClient.exe" -ArgumentList "SoftwareCenter:Page=OSD" -WindowStyle Maximized }
        New-ItemProperty -Path $registryPath -Name "PSADT-TS-DetectionMethod" -Value 0 -PropertyType "String" -Force
    }
    # Write failed detection method to registry and exit PSADT with error code 1
    catch {
        New-ItemProperty -Path $registryPath -Name "PSADT-TS-DetectionMethod" -Value 1 -PropertyType "String" -Force 
        exit 1   
    }
}
# Else exit PSADT with error code 1
else {
    exit 1
}

Below script will run the Feature Update with the corresponding Article ID, and write the detection method used in the application, into the registry:

# Article ID of the Software Update in Configuration Manager. Also referred to as the KB-article
$articleID = "3012973"
# Name of the update in Configuration Manager. This is not required, but might be needed if several updates are found within same Article ID
$updateName = ""
# A simple test to see if the update specified above indeed is deployed to the device
# Still using Get-WmiObject here, as I failed to successfully convert this into the Get-CmiInstance equivalent
$testUpdateID = Get-WmiObject -Namespace root\ccm\clientSDK -Query “SELECT * FROM CCM_SoftwareUpdate WHERE ArticleID = '$articleID' AND Name LIKE '%$updateName%'”
# If the update is deployed to the device
if (-NOT[string]::IsNullOrEmpty($testUpdateID)) {
    $RegistryPath = "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\imab.dk\WaaS\2004"
    # Create registry path for detection method if it does not exist
    if (-NOT(Test-Path -Path $RegistryPath)) { New-Item -Path $RegistryPath –Force }
    # Install the update and launch the Software Center into the updates tab. Write successful detection method to registry
    try {
        Invoke-WmiMethod -Namespace root\ccm\clientsdk -Class CCM_SoftwareUpdatesManager -Name InstallUpdates -ArgumentList (,$testUpdateID)
        if (Test-Path -Path "$env:windir\CCM\ClientUX\SCClient.exe") { Start-Process -FilePath "$env:windir\CCM\ClientUX\SCClient.exe" -ArgumentList "SoftwareCenter:Page=Updates" -WindowStyle Maximized }
        New-ItemProperty -Path $RegistryPath -Name "PSADT-FU-DetectionMethod" -Value 0 -PropertyType "String" -Force
    }
    # Write failed detection method to registry and exit PSADT with error code 1
    catch { 
        New-ItemProperty -Path $RegistryPath -Name "PSADT-FU-DetectionMethod" -Value 1 -PropertyType "String" -Force
        exit 1
    }
}
# Else exit PSADT with error code 1
else {
    exit 1
}

Toast Notification Script

The Toast Notification Script is obviously my script of the same name here: https://github.com/imabdk/Toast-Notification-Script

The script is run with a config.xml file, which is similar to the below illustration.

The important bits here are following:

• UpgradeOS – This enables the toast notification to consider the build of Windows 10
• TargetOS – This is the actual build of Windows 10 once the upgrade is complete. (I intentionally configured the build to 19042 for testing purposes. 19041 = 2004)
• RunApplicationID – This is the Application ID of the application in ConfigMgr running the PSADT
• Action – This is the custom protocol (HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\ToastRunApplicationID), referring to the custom script (C:\ProgramData\ToastNotificationScript\ToastRunApplicationID.ps1), running the Application ID via Software Center

NOTE: The Toast Notification Script is capable of running Feature Updates as well as Task Sequences directly from the Action button. Both of the examples used in this post, are leveraging the ability to run applications directly from the action button in order to take advantage of the PSADT capabilities.

ConfigMgr Applications

Yet again and for the sake of everyone, I’m making an export of both applications in Configuration Manager available for download.

Task Sequence: TOAST-PSADT-TS.zip (9784 downloads ) and Feature Update: TOAST-PSADT-FU.zip (9565 downloads )

These can be imported directly into your ConfigMgr environment, where the PSADT projects downloaded above, will be the source files – everything standard ConfigMgr.

Below is an example of one of the applications made available in the Software Center:

Again, if any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out in the comment section down below.

ENJOY 🙂