SCCM Console Debugger – Show SCCM Object Details Option

SCCM console has many hidden debugging options. In the SCCM Console Debugger video tutorial post, you will see and learn more details about debugging options.

SCCM Console WMI Classes

Before going into SCCM console debug options and show object details option, you can learn more about SCCM WMI Classes related to Console and provider.

NOTE! – SCCM Console Debugger option called “Show Object Details” shall help to get the following WMI class details from SCCM console itself. More information about the right click option called Show Object Details in the video guide here.

  • The SMS_InstanceChangeNotification WMI class that notifies the SCCM admin console that an alert has changed its status.
  • The SMS_ObjectContainerItem contains information about an SCCM console folder item (Object details inside a particular folder in SCCM console etc…).
  • The SMS_ObjectContainerNode contains information for a given SCCM Console folder (folder details Folder Name etc..).
  • The SMS_ObjectContentExtraInfo & SMS_ObjectContentInfo contains the details about Application or Package Content Information and some extra information.

NOTE! – I don’t find the much difference between SMS_ObjectContentExtraInfo & SMS_ObjectContentInfo WMI classes.

  • The SMS_RoleInObjectType object helps to map a role and its associated object types.
  • The SMS_SearchFolder WMI class behaves the same as SMS_ObjectContainerNode is only used for search operations.

SCCM Console Connectivity

The following diagram will give you more details about SCCM architecture. Also, this diagram will provide the Details about SCCM Console -> SMS Provider – WMI – SCCM Site connectivity.

NOTE! – You can find more details about SCCM Console Connectivity and SCCM architecture details from here. More detailed SCCM architecture decision-making tips are available here.

SCCM Console Connection - SCCM Console Debugger
SCCM Console Connection – SCCM Console Debugger

How to Enable SCCM Console Debugger?

There is a hidden workspace called TOOLS in SCCM console, and that is referred SCCM Console Debugger in this post.

You can enable SCCM Tools workspace (SCCM Console Debugger) from the SCCM console shortcut file. The steps mentioned in the following link shall help you to allow the hidden Tools workspace visible in the console.

The following Step by Step Guide to Enable “Show Object Details” right-click option on all SCCM console objects >>>> https://www.anoopcnair.com/sccm-console-tips-tools-workspace-debug-view/

Resources

SCCM 1905 Awesomeness with Features

Microsoft released the latest version of SCCM 1905 technical preview version with a massive list of new features. As per Microsoft resources, this SCCM TP version is one of the top feature-rich releases.

SCCM 1906 Production version might have most of these below-listed features. If that is going to be accurate, then SCCM 1906 production release would be a real feast for SCCM customers.

SCCM 1905 – Full Version 5.00.8827.1000
SCCM 1905 – Client Version 5.00.8827.1000

SCCM 1905 List of Features

The Following list is the publicly available feature list from Microsoft team. I’m sure there are loads of improvements happened to SCCM product.

NumbersFeaturesSCCM Doc
1Improved control over WSUS MaintenanceLink
2Improvements to Configuration Manager consoleLink
3Configure the default maximum run time for software updatesLink
4Windows Defender Application Guard file trust criteriaLink
5Application groupsLink
6Task sequence as an app model deployment typeLink
7BitLocker managementLink
8Task sequence debuggerLink
9Delivery Optimization in client data sources dashboardLink
10Improvements to Community HubLink
11View SMBIOS GUID in device listsLink
12OneTrace log viewerLink
13Software Center infrastructure improvementsLink
14Improvements to Software Center tab customizationsLink
15Improvements to app approvalsLink
16Retry the install of pre-approved applicationsLink
17Install applications for a deviceLink
18More frequent countdown notifications for restartsLink
19Synchronize collection membership results to Azure Active Directory groupsLink
20Configure client cache minimum retention periodLink
21Improvements to OS deploymentLink
22Add a SQL AlwaysOn nodeLink
  • SCCM 1905 Download

BitLocker Management Policy Sample

Following is the BitLocker Wizard information from SCCM 1905 preview build. More details available about SCCM BitLocker management in the following link.

General Information
• Name: Bitlocker Management Policy Test from SCCM
• Description:
• Component Configuration: Client Management Component not configured
• Component Configuration: Operating System Drive Component not configured
Setup Information
• Choose a drive encryption and cipher strength: Enabled
• Select the encryption method: AES 128-bit (default)
• Choose a drive encryption and cipher strength: Enabled
• Operating System Drives: XTS-AES 128-bit
• Fixed Data Drives: XTS-AES 128-bit
• Removable Data Drives: AES-CBC 128-bit

Resources

Setup SCCM Third-Party Patching Video Experience

In this video tutorial, you will see how to Setup SCCM Third-Party patching for an infrastructure. I have step by step blog post which explains the third-party patching setup in details. I would recommend reading that post to get detailed information on SCCM third-party software update setup.

#SCCMThirdPartyPatching #ThirdPartySoftwareUpdates #SCCMPatching #StepbyStepGuide #PatchingGuide

Setup SCCM Third-Party Patching

Third-party software updates allow you to subscribe to partner catalogs in the SCCM console and publish the updates to WSUS. You can then deploy these updates using the existing software update management process.

The following points are explained in the SCCM third-party updates setup video. The SCCM third-party patching feature is enabled only for SCCM 1806 or later.

  1. Prerequisites SCCM Third-Party Patching Setup
  2. Setup SCCM Third-Party Updates
  3. Enable Third-Party Software Updates
  4. Add Custom Catalog – Third-Party Software Updates Setup
  5. What is the difference between partner catalog and custom catalog
  6. How to Subscribe to a custom catalog
  7. How to Subscribe to a partner catalog
  8. How to Publish Third-Party software Update content
  9. How to use Third-party update certificates
  10. How to Troubleshoot Third-Party Software Updates Setup
  11. Learn to check Third-Party Software Updates Setup
  12. More and more details … in this video.
  • SCCM Third-Party Patching
    SCCM Third-Party Patching

FAQ – Third-Party Patching Setup

I have conducted two hours on Facebook (1700 views) and YouTube Live online session on third-party patching with SCCM 1806 or later versions.

I have had many questions, and answers on the Facebook and YouTube live session. I would recommend checking those comments in SCCM Third-Party Patching Facebook Video post.

SCCM Live – SCCM – Third-Party Software Updates Setup – Step by Step Guide – Live

SCCM – Third-Party Software Updates Setup – Step by Step Guide – Live #SCCMLive #FreeTraining #SCCMSaturdays———————————————–Prerequisites Third-Party Software Updates SetupSetup Third-Party Software UpdatesEnable Third-Party Software UpdatesAdd Custom Catalog – Third-Party Software Updates SetupWhat is the difference between partner catalog and custom catalogHow to Subscribe to a custom catalogHow to Subscribe to a partner catalogHow to Publish Third-Party software Update contentHow to use Third-party update certificatesAnd How to Troubleshoot Third-Party Software Updates SetupLearn to check Third-Party Software Updates SetupMore and more details … in this videos.—————————————————————————–More Blog posts related to SCCM/Intune/Windows 10/Hyper-V/Cloud/IT Pro/Azure -https://howtomanagedevices.com/Learn SCCM Read https://www.anoopcnair.com/sccm/https://www.anoopcnair.com/learn-sccm-intune/Learn Intune Read – https://www.anoopcnair.com/intune/https://www.anoopcnair.com/learn-microsoft-intune/Learn Windows 10 Read – https://www.anoopcnair.com/windows-10/Learn Hyper-V Read – https://www.anoopcnair.com/hyperv-2/Learn About Cloud Read – https://www.anoopcnair.com/cloud/Learn about Azure Read – https://www.anoopcnair.com/cloud/azure/Learn About IT Pros Events – https://www.anoopcnair.com/itpro/Learn about me – https://www.anoopcnair.com/about/#SCCM #ConfigMgr #SCCMVideos #SCCMTutorials #SCCMStudyVideos #SCCMFreeTraining #SCCMTraining #HowtoManageDevices———————————————————-

Posted by How to Manage Devices SCCM Intune on Saturday, April 13, 2019

Resources

Top 5 Awesome New Features of SCCM 1903

In this video post, you can uncut video of SCCM 1903 live upgrade demo and walk through of SCCM 1903 new features.

I spend almost 2 hours via Facebook Live (see the below section – it’s more clear video and live interaction with audience through chat) and YouTube Live to share the SCCM 1903 upgrade experience with SCCM Community.

SCCM 1903 Step by Step Upgrade Guide

Microsoft recently released SCCM Technical Preview version 1902. I shared the upgrade of SCCM 1903 upgrade live with SCCM community. And tries to answer the questions related to:

Recording of SCCM free training video is available in YouTube Channel and Facebook Page.

SCCM 1903 New Features Walk Through

Microsoft SCCM Product Group introduced Five (5) exciting new features with SCCM 1903 technical preview version.

  • Cloud services cost estimator
  • Use SCCM DP as a local cache server for Windows DO (Delivery Optimization)
  • Reclaim lock(SEDO) for editing SCCM Task Sequences
  • Drill through required updates
  • Improvement to SCCM Task Sequence media creation

SCCM Cloud Services Cost Estimator

In the SCCM console, you can navigate to the Monitoring workspace, and select the Cloud Management node. You would be able to see the Cloud Services Usage Estimation tool. This is one of the exciting SCCM 1903 new features.

  • SCCM 1903 new features

The SCCM Cloud Sevices Usage Estimation tool is helpful to analyse the cost of your Azure subscription. The tool can be adjusted with the following variable values:

  • Clients enabled for client services
  • Client data consumption (per client/month)

The SCCM Cloud Sevices Usage Estimation tool shall provide the following output based on your above inputs on client servives and data consumption:

  • Total monthly cost estimate
  • Monthly cost per device

I would recommend reading the Microsoft documentation to have more details about SCCM Cloud Sevices Usage Estimation tool. ( The coolest
SCCM 1903 new features)

SCCM DP Windows DO (Delivery Optimization) Cache Server

Microsoft released another awesome feature to help modern Windows 10 management with peer to peer client cache solution. Now, you can use SCCM DP as Windows Delivery Optimization Cache Server.

I would recommend reading the following post Using Delivery Optimization In-Network Cache (DOINC) in SCCM TP 1903 by Johan Arwidmark. This post shall provide you in depth analysis of DO Cache Server and SCCM DP integration details.

  • SCCM 1903 new features

Reclaim lock (SEDO) for editing SCCM Task Sequences

With SCCM 1903 or later, you can clear your lock on a task sequence. You don’t have to wait for 30 minutes to get this unlocked after the SCCM console crash.

If the SCCM console stops responding, you can be locked out of making further changes until the lock expires after 30 minutes. This lock is part of the SCCM SEDO (Serialized Editing of Distributed Objects) system. Another interesting SCCM 1903 new features.

I would recommend reading the Microsoft documentation to get more details on SEDO Task Sequence topic.

Drill through Required Updates

SCCM 1903 version comes with more granular drill through compliance statistics dashboard options. This drill down idea was one of the User voice item.

This drill down options will help to see which devices require a specific software update. To view the device list, you need permission to view updates and the collections the devices belong to.

Panu Saukko did a Tweet about new SCCM drill down software update compliance feature. The following picture is taken from his tweet. Thanks to Panu for the details of SCCM 1903 new features.

  • SCCM 1903 new features
    SCCM 1903 new features

SCCM Task Sequence Media Creation

SCCM 1903 added ability to not include Autorun.inf when you build SCCM OSD Task Sequence boot media. This media creation update was also an idea from SCCM User voice item.

[Related Post – SCCM OSD Task Sequence Steps by Step Ultimate Guide]

Facebook Live Video – SCCM 1903 Upgrade & New Features Walk Through

You can watch the SCCM 1903 Preview version Upgrade Video Facebook live video published in my Facebook page “How to Manage Devices“.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/howtomanagedevicesSCCMIntune/videos/

Another interesting SCCM 1903 new features are discussed in the following SCCM 1903 upgrade video.

Resources

Download SCCM 1902 Baseline Version Free

SCCM 1902 is available as an in-console update. SCCM 1902 is also a baseline version. You can download SCCM 1902 from VLSC or Eval Center as 1902 is a baseline version. You can install a new SCCM primary server or CAS site to build a new infra with SCCM 1902 baseline media.

Microsoft released the eval version of SCCM 1902 yesterday as per the tweet from Eswar Koneti.

Download from VLSC Portal (Not Released Yet)

Download from Evaluation Portal (Released).

How to Download SCCM 1902 Production Version?

You can download the eval version from Microsoft Eval center. You don’t have to login to eval center to download. You just need to fill out a form and download SCCM 1902 production version free.

You can use the SCCM 1902 production version with full functionality for 180 days without paying anything to Microsoft.

NOTE! – You can download & install SCCM 1902 baseline eval version. But, the fact is that SCCM 1902 media content in VLSC and Eval center is the same.

  • Download SCCM 1902
    Download SCCM 1902 – SCCM 1902 Download Free Version

What is SCCM Baseline Media?

With new 1902 baseline version of SCCM, you can avoid installing an outdated version of SCCM (e.g 1802, 1710, etc..) followed by an additional in console update upgrade of your infrastructure to bring it up to date.

SCCM 1902 Baseline media can be used for following scenarios:

  • New SCCM CAS Server Installation
  • New Primary Site in a New SCCM hierarchy
  • Migration from SCCM 2012 scenarios
Scenarios(Download SCCM 1902)Baseline VersionIn-console UpdateCD.Latest Folder
New CAS Server        Yes        No        No
New-Site-NEW-Hierarchy        Yes        No        No
Migration from SCCM 2012        Yes        No        No
New-Site-Existing-Hierarchy        No        No        Yes
Restore Site        No        No        Yes
Upgrade Existing Hierarchy        No        Yes        No

SCCM 1902 is Available in VLSC?

As per the tweet from David James, the SCCM 1902 download is available in VLSC after 2 weeks. Download SCCM 1902 from VLSC (VLSC Portal ).

Upgrade SCCM Eval Version to Full Version

You can upgrade SCCM evaluation version to full version by entering the proper license key. Read more details about SCCM eval to full version upgrade from here.

How to Remove USB External Storage Safely Windows 10 Top Tips

There are two different policies in Windows 10 which decide the best practices to remove USB or External HDD. Let’s look into the recent policy changes in Windows 1809. Also, Learn how to remove USB drive safely from Windows.

Recently, Microsoft released a KB4495263 article which changes the default behavior of USB or HDD external storage devices on Windows 10 1809.

Can we Remove USB Drive Directly? Is that Safe?

Yes, you can remove the USB drive directly from a Windows device. This direct removal of USB is advisable only when the Quick removal storage policy is in place. What is Quick Removal storage policy? Read on…

Differences between Quick removal and Better performance Policies

The Quick removal policy manages storage operations in a manner that you remove the USB or external HDD anytime directly from Windows devices. This quick removal keeps the external storage USD or HDD ready to remove at any time.

When Quick Removal policy is set – You can remove the device without using the Safely Remove Hardware process.

However, if you use this quick removal storage policy, then Windows cannot cache disk write operations. These non-cache disk operations will degrade system performance in some scenarios.

Remove USB Drive Safely
Learn How to Remove USB Drive Safely

The better performance policy manages storage operations in a manner gives you better performance and faster file transfer. Overall better performance policy improves system performance.

When this better performance policy is configured, Windows can cache write operations to the external device. However, you must use the Safely Remove Hardware process to remove the external drive.

The Safely Remove Hardware process protects the integrity of data on the device by making sure that all cached operations finish.

So if you directly remove the USB or HDD storage directly, this could end up in data loss.

Which is the Better Policy for External Storage? Remove USB Drive Safely?

I love ❤️❤️💗💕 Quick removal policy because I hate using Safely Remove Hardware process to remove the device.

But if you are looking for better performance and faster copy-paste operations between USB and Windows device, then you should use Better performance storage policy.

Resource

Microsoft Edge Chromium Browser Spell Check is Not Working

You must remember that the current version (11th April 2019) of Microsoft Edge Chromium is NOT a production version. You might need to wait for the production release of Microsoft Edge Chromium browser. Until that time the spell check on Microsoft Edge Chromium won’t work.

More updated options on spell check are shared in the latest post. 4 Methods Enable Spellcheck In Microsoft Edge. We have shared Registry, Group Policy, Settings menu, and from Intune.

Updated on 8th May 2019 – Spell Check is added to the latest version of Microsoft Edge Chromium Canary Build.

Related Post – Learn To Change Microsoft Edge Chromium Deafult Search Engine

My assumption is there will be more announcement related to Microsoft edge chromium based browser in upcoming Microsoft BUILD event.

Where is the Spell Check Option in Microsoft Edge Chromium Browser?

To enable or disable the spell check service in Microsoft Edge chromium, you need to go to SETTINGS – Search Bar – Type Spell Check.

  • Go to settings button of Microsoft Edge Chromium Browser.
  • Click on Languages tab.
  • At the bottom of Language settings page of Microsoft Edge Chromium browser, you can see an option to Enable or Disable Spell Checks of Microsoft Edge Chromium Browser.

Microsoft Edge Chromium Browser Spell Check is Not Working – It’s not enabled for Preview versions.

Microsoft Edge Chromium Browser

Why is Spell Check NOT working in Microsoft Edge Chromium?

When Microsoft adopted the chromium into Microsoft Edge, they have disabled/replaced more than fifty(50) services. More details about these feature changes in the following video.

Watch this video on YouTube.

So, the spell check is one of the services replaced and disabled by Microsoft in Edge Chromium browser. But, I’m sure Microsoft will integrate their spell check service to Microsoft Edge Chromium soon.

Resources

New Azure Intune Portal App for Windows Devices

I have noticed that there is a new Azure portal application for Windows devices. You can download the app from Microsoft trusted website. Yes, it’s exciting for me that I can use this new Azure Portal Application for Intune Device Management as well.

Download and Install Azure Portal Application

You can download the new Azure portal app from Microsoft’s official website – https://ms.portal.azure.com/App/Welcome.

I got this piece of information from the walkingcat tweet. I downloaded the AzurePortalInstaller.exe from the Microsoft Azure site mentioned above and double click on it to install it.

I have explained the entire download and installation process of the new Azure Portal App is in the above video tutorial.

Details – Azure Intune Portal Application

I initially felt like a new Azure portal application is a PWA application based on chrome or Microsoft Edge Chromium browser. But, I could find any processes running in the background while the new Azure Portal application is running.

Azure Portal Application

Processes – Azure Portal Launcher Application

I have checked the processes running on Windows 10 1809 machine while Azure portal application is open. I could find three (3) processes with the same exe as you can see below.

  • Microsoft Azure Portal Launcher (MicrosoftAzurePortal.exe)
    • Microsoft Azure Portal EXE (MicrosoftAzurePortal.exe)
    • Sign in to Microsoft Azure (MicrosoftAzurePortal.exe)

Folder Location of Azure Portal Application

I found that the portal launcher application created specific folders in my user profiles as I showed in the above video. You can check the details of the Azure Portal application folder details.

C:\Users\Anoop C Nair\AppData\Local\Microsoft\AzurePortal\Production\MicrosoftAzurePortal.exe

Version – Azure Application Portal Launcher Application

I think the version details you can get from the file called version inside the same folder as mentioned above.

Azure Portal App Launcher == v3.0.10

Known Issues

  • Azure portal App is challenging to close, and you need to close it from Windows task manager.
  • It won’t really work offline unlike other PWA apps 🙂
  • Not sure whether it will work for Windows 7 or Windows 8 or Previous versions of Windows 10? I tested with Windows 10 1809 and Microsoft Edge Chromium, Chrome, etc… installed device.

Learn to Change Microsoft Edge Chromium Default Search Engine

How to change the Microsoft Edge Chromium Default Search Engine Settings? How is to add Google Search engine ? #MicrosoftChromium Why to Change Microsoft Edge Chromium Deafult Search Engine?

How to Change Microsoft Edge Chromium Deafult Search Engine

The following steps will help you to change the default search engine of Microsoft Edge Chromium browser (Learn how to Change Microsoft Edge Chromium Deafult Search Engine).

  • Go to Settings – from Microsoft Edge Chromium Browser
  • Use the Search option to search “Default Search Engine settings”
  • Scroll down to the last part of the search results
  • Select the bottom on the right side
  • Click on Add button new search engines in Microsoft Edge Chromium
  • Once added click on …. on the right side of search engine URL and select EDIT to make changes in search engine options
  • Click on Remove button from …. option to delete the search engine option in Microsoft Edge Chromium Browser
  • Change Microsoft Edge Chromium Deafult Search Engine
    Change Microsoft Edge Chromium Deafult Search Engine
  • There are three properties you want to add when you add search engine to Microsoft Edge Chromium Browser.
  • Search engine
  • Keyword
  • URL with %s in place of query
    • https://www.google.com/search?q=%s

I tried to change default search engine as Google in Microsoft Edge but it didn’t work immediately but suddenly it started working !

I don’t know why it took more time appear Google icon in Microsoft Edge Chromium Deafult Search Engine settings. Learn Change Microsoft Edge Chromium Deafult Search Engine.

Resources

SCCM Console Version Details – Updated List

I have posts which explain about how to check the SCCM Client Version and SCCM Build Version. In this post, you will learn how to check SCCM console version. The post will also provide the list of SCCM console versions for all SCCM current branch releases.

  • SCCM Console Version
    SCCM Console Version

How to Check SCCM Console Version

Let’s find out the version of the SCCM console by following the below steps. You want to learn more details about SCCM console in the following SCCM Admin Console Walkthrough guide.

  • Open SCCM Console from start menu
  • SCCM console – Click Start | <All Programs> | Microsoft System Center | Configuration Manager Console
  • Click on the drop down Arrow near to Home button
  • Click on “About Configuration Manager” button
  • The popup windows shows SCCM Console version

SCCM Console Version

The following table will give all the details about SCCM Console Version. The list provides latest or updated SCCM Console versions.

  • SCCM Console Version
    SCCM Console Version
SCCM ReleasesSCCM Console Version
SCCM 19025.1902.1085.1600
SCCM 19025.1902.1085.1500
SCCM 18105.1810.1075.2600
SCCM 18105.1810.1075.2000
SCCM 18105.1810.1075.1700
SCCM 1810 5.1810.1075.1017
SCCM 1810 5.1810.1075.1014
SCCM 1810 5.1810.1075.1013
SCCM 1806 5.1806.1074.1507
SCCM 1806 5.1806.1074.1500
SCCM 1806 5.1806.1074.1200
SCCM 1802 5.1802.1082.1807
SCCM 1802 5.1802.1082.1807
SCCM 1802 5.1802.1082.1800
SCCM 1802 5.1802.1082.1700
SCCM 1710 5.00.8577.1115
SCCM 1710 5.00.8577.1111
SCCM 1710 5.00.8577.1108
SCCM 1710 5.00.8577.1100
SCCM 1706 5.00.8540.1611
SCCM 1706 5.00.8540.1601
SCCM 1706 5.00.8540.1500?
SCCM 1706 5.00.8540.1300
SCCM 1702 5.00.8498.1711
SCCM 1702 5.00.8498.1700
SCCM 1702 5.00.8498.1400
SCCM 1702 5.00.8498.1500
SCCM 1610 5.00.8458.1526
SCCM 1610 5.00.8458.1520
SCCM 1610 5.00.8458.1009
SCCM 1610 5.00.8458.1007
SCCM 1610 5.00.8458.1205
SCCM 1606 5.00.8412.1323
SCCM 1606 5.00.8412.1322
SCCM 1606 5.00.8412.1309
SCCM 1606 5.00.8412.1307
SCCM 1606 5.00.8412.1205
SCCM 1606 5.00.8412.1204
SCCM 1606 5.0.8412.1207
SCCM 1606 5.00.8412.1000
SCCM 1606 5.00.8412.1003
SCCM 1602 5.00.8355.1307
SCCM 1602 5.00.8355.1306
SCCM 16025.00.8325.1000
SCCM 16025.00.8325.1003
SCCM 16025.00.8325.1003
SCCM 1511 5.00.8325.1126
SCCM 1511 5.00.8325.1110
SCCM 1511 5.00.8325.1104
SCCM 15115.00.8325.1000

Resource