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When PXE booting to image a PC, as it loads the boot image, it stops, pauses, and gives the error, "A required device isn't connected or cannot be accessed" I've tried to reboot the ConfigMgr server and re-distribute the boot image and that has proven unsuccessful. Can anyone advise?

Good method. Thanks!

So a software update needs at least one active and enabled deployment or it will re-visit all of them?

We have a schedule to sync updates from WSUS daily and deploy them every Thursday. However, we have a specific update that we do NOT want to deploy to any PCs. When I go to the specific update and choose to disable the deployment, it shifts back to "enabled" on the next synchronization. How do I permanently disable the update from deploying via SCCM?

Peter, We're currently testing VMWare Horizon ThinClients (HP t410 model All-in-Ones). Initially, we'll be using a training room that will have group of about 30 clients that have a consistent image, just different PC names. I haven't actually set up the Horizon environment yet, but it sounds like we're creating a VM (or two or three) that acts as a base image, and then we could use SCCM to manage updates on those VMs. ThinApp (or SCCM) could be used to customize individual applications from there if specific departments need additional applications. It doesn't sound like we'll have a need for too many full clone PCs. I'm curious how folks have VDI deployed and SCCM's role in it.

Is everyone just being shy, or is SCCM in a VDI environment a rare thing? Separately, I'm curious if folks who are in a VMWare environment using Horizon View use View Composer, SCCM, or both, and what functions each are used for in your environment and any tips for someone diving into it.

We are looking at implementing VDI in a few departments of our company. This is something that most of us are pretty new to, particularly when it comes to utilizing SCCM for a VDI environment. In what ways can SCCM be utilized with VDI? We're looking at a HP Thin Client VDI solution with VMWare Horizon. Has anyone implemented SCCM in their VDI environment and can reflect back and provide tips? Keep in mind that we're very new to it. Thank you!

I am not all that familiar with hard-linking, but if I'm re-imaging a PC and having it partition and format the drive, how does it store the user and Windows data? On the local thumb drive? Obviously the data is stored before the format and is then restored afterwards... just wanting to confirm how it all works. Thanks!

Thanks Peter! This page was very helpful. Does both hard-linking and the offline method work when you format and partition the hard drive offline? I'm considering a situation where we are at a low-bandwidth site that has a crashed physical device and want to start with a pretty clean slate.

Thanks Peter! I did not even notice that option until you had mentioned it. Two questions: 1. It isn't even getting to that step before it crashes. In the event that I load the PC into a PXE session from the BIOS, it crashes on "Capture Network Settings" with the above error. 2. If I enable offline mode capture, will that impact the task sequence when I choose to remain online? If it detects a connection, will it still capture online, or always default to offline? Further, how does it capture it offline? Does it copy the files to the USB drive?

Update: I ran it using IE rather than Chrome and it worked.

Whenever I attempt to build a custom report in SCCM 2012 R2, I get an error, "Cannot download the application. The application is missing required files. Contact application vendor for assistance." Has anyone run into this and found a resolution?

Hello all, I've been exploring migrating user data, windows settings and network settings whenever we perform a re-image (Win7->Win7) The process seems to work when it's deployed and executed via Software Center, but not when it's performed directly from a PXE boot. I have my task sequence set to capture windows settings, capture network settings, and then begin the three step process of capturing the user files and settings. However, in PXE, it never gets beyond Capture Network Settings. It crashes, with SMSTS.LOG saying "Request is not supported" Do I need to do something additional to get this to work in PXE/offline media? What aspects of migrating settings and user data is not supported with PXE?

Anyone have any thoughts/input? I'm surprised that nobody has run into this and thought to optimize the overall OS deployment process by choosing to go ahead and deploy certain applications during the actual OS deployment.

They are configured as task sequence variables that are asked upon PXE boot and configured in our All PCs collection. If the answer is "Y" then it proceeds with the install for the specific application the variable references. Finding a way to integrate a similar system or injecting the task sequence variables prior to deployment would be great, if it's possible. The task sequence variables we have configured are used to set the computer name, and whether or not to install certain applications like Office and some other proprietary applications.

Okay, so I quickly resolved the Software Center error. Next question: When it started the OS deployment, it did not ask for any of the variables I set up - machine name, whether or not to install certain software, etc. How do I handle this?

execmgr.log, regarding that Software Center error, shows that the task sequence is not on the DP - but none of them are showing up under "Content" when viewing the DP status. They are part of the DP group, however.

Peter, When I attempt to deploy the task sequence just like any other application or program, I get an immediate error when I attempt to run it that says, "Unable to make changes to your software. None of the applications you tried to install began installation successfully. Investigate the reason for the installation failures and then try to install the applications again." How do I investigate or resolve this issue? Are there extra steps I'm missing that I need to consider when doing a normal deployment of an OS vs doing it directly via PXE? Second question: In my task sequence, I have variables for some programs set (i.e. Install_Office) that are used to determine if certain applications should be installed. These are requested from the administrator/user at the time of the PXE boot. I also request the device name as a task sequence variable. How do I automate this or "pre-set" those variables so I can launch the task sequence at a scheduled time and have it be completely automated?

Let me rephrase: I don't mind booting into PXE, but I'd want it to actually work, and have everything be automated. I'm not sure if there's a way to do it without PXE or not. I was hoping there was a way to launch it just like an application deployment with software center, set it to required, and initiate the process that way without PXE. If PXE is required, we have task sequence variables that we set in the PXE boot to define extra software components that we want installed. I'd want to schedule the OS deployment with those variables set beforehand, and launch the re-image automatically. What is required to make this happen, and what are my options? Right now everything is established and set up so that if I manually PXE boot into a PC and set the task sequence variables, it works great. However, for the particular environment we're looking at, the VLAN for PXE is different so we have to make network changes when we need to PXE boot a PC and we'd prefer to not change any of those settings in this environment. If there's no way around PXE then so be it, but I want to be aware of all of my options of imaging over the LAN and the requirements in my situation to do it.

We have SCCM 2012 R2 installed. So far, we've used a PXE-based option and a USB thumbdrive option for imaging PCs. What I'd like to explore next is doing it over LAN, without having to PXE boot. Just assigning a OS deployment task sequence isn't doing it. What changes have to be made to support doing this over the network, without PXE? Our current task sequence is: * Restart in Windows PE * Partition disk * Assign C:\ to boot * Apply Operating System * Install Drivers * Apply Windows Settings * Apply Network Settings * Install Applications

If you have a connection, that would be great!

Thank you! That page is very helpful. However, some of the things that I listed in my original post are not listed on that page. Would you be able to tell me which (if any) of the above listed requirements would not be met with the inTune/SCCM solution?

What I've been looking for more than anything is a feature list of *what* Windows InTune and SCCM can do with iOS devices.

We are looking for a solution that achieves a number of goals to manage company iPads and iPhones. These required features include: * Needs to restrict down to allowing only specific apps * Restrict down to specific allowed websites * Block iTunes * Force pw policy * Force background and start image * Needs to auto update/deploy allowed apps without user intervention It's my understanding that Microsoft InTunes, integrated with SCCM 2012 may be able to accomplish some/all of these. Can anyone tell me if this is the case?

I'd like to know the answer to this as well if you've had any luck. We use a USB thumb drive for re-imaging to obtain optimal speed and flexibility, and being able to automatically join the domain would be a great time-saver.