Howto: Slipstream SP1 in to the Office 2013 installation

In this post we'll discuss how to slipstream SP1 into your Office 2013 installation.
The great benefit of this is that after installing Office 2013, it's at SP1 level, so that you don't need to install so many updates after your base installation.

First off, download the SP1 installer package:

Office 2013 SP1 32-bit version
Office 2013 SP1 64-bit version

Once downloaded, put them in a seperate folder on your hard drive:

Then, create the following folder structure:

Copy the content of your Office 2013 DVD to the appropriate DVD folder.

Use the following commandline to extract the contents of the Service Pack to the extract folder.

 Accept the license information (note: despite the fact that I'm running an English version of my OS, and I've opened the en-us version of the Service Pack installer, it still somehow comes with the EULA prompt in Dutch...... VERY strange).

 The files are being extracted....

 After it's completed, it should look something like this:

 Now, copy all the files within extract_x86 or extract_x64 to your DVD\Updates folder

 After it's done, you can test it by running setup.exe. In my case, I've used a custom msp file, which makes the installation silent. Note that if you have made a custom msp file, it still works, so no further customization is neccessary.

 Once installed, you can open up Word 2013 for example, to check what version is installed.

 The version 15.0.4569.1506 is the minimum version SP1 is at. Any higher or equal number indicates that you have installed SP1 (this is the same for the 64-bit version).

If you use SCCM, don't forget to update your distribution points!

Howto: Create a Driver Package in SCCM 2012 R2

Welcome back! Today we'll discuss how to create a driver package in SCCM 2012 R2, and add it to a Task Sequence. We will discuss how to use a WMI query in the Task Sequence, to distinguish the model to get the correct driver package. This way, we prevent that the wrong drivers will be installed on a certain device!

So lets start off by opening the SCCM console, and browsing to 'Software Library'.
Then rightclick 'Driver Packages' and click on 'Create Driver Package'

 Give the driver package an appropriate name, in this case we are making a package for the DELL XPS 17.

Point it to the correct UNC path, and click on OK.

Next, we'll import the driver to SCCM. Rightclick 'Drivers', and click on 'Import Driver'.

A Wizard appears. Choose the location of where the driver resides.

Next, the wizard will show the recognized drivers.

Optionally, you can create or select a categorie. In this case, it's a Storage driver.

Next, choose the driver package where you want to add the driver(s) to. Optionally, you can check the checkbox 'Update distribution points when finished'.

You can optionally also add the driver to a boot image, and update the distibution point when the wizard finishes.

Check the details to see if everything is correct.

The drivers are being imported.

Everything went OK!

Next, you can update the driver package on the distribution point.

Accept the warning message.

Now, you can update the boot image(if needed) on the distribution point.

Follow the short wizard.

Now, you can edit the appropriate task sequence to include the driver package. First off, it's wise to retrieve the WMI information for the specific model.

1. Open a command prompt on the model (in this case a Dell XPS 17).
2. Type: WMIC Computersystem GET Model and hit enter
3. The output should be something like this:
Model
Dell System XPS L702X

Copy and paste this information to a Notepad, so that you can use it in your task sequence in a moment.

Next, rightclick the task sequence, and click Edit

Add an 'Apply Driver Package' step, in the appropriate place in the task sequence.

Give it the correct name, and choose the correct driver package.

On the Options tab, using 'Add Condition', you can add a Query WMI rule.

Paste in the following code:
SELECT * FROM Win32_ComputerSystem WHERE Model LIKE ""

Put the model you got from the WMI query you ran, between the quotation marks.

Click on Test Query. If it says that it contains valix syntax, the query should work.

Save the task sequence. Now you are ready to roll out a machine with the correct drivers!

Howto: Create a device collection based on manufacturer in SCCM 2012

In this blog we'll discuss how to create a device collection in SCCM based on a device manufacturer.
This can be usefull when targeting hardware specific applications for instance.

First off, we'll need to get the manufacturer as it is noted in WMI. In our example, we used an ASUS.

The command you can run in the command prompt is:

wmic computersystem get manufacturer

 As you can see the return value is : ASUSTek COMPUTER INC.

 Next, we'll create a new device collection in the SCCM Console.

 Give it an appropriate name and optionally comment it. Choose 'All Systems' as the limiting collection. Click Next.

 Choose for 'Add Rule' and click on 'Query Rule'.

 Give the query a recognizable name, and click on 'Edit Query Statement...'

 Go to the Criteria tab, and click on 'Show Query Language'.

 Paste in the following code:

select SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceID,SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceType,SMS_R_SYSTEM.Name,SMS_R_SYSTEM.SMSUniqueIdentifier,SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceDomainORWorkgroup,SMS_R_SYSTEM.Client from SMS_R_System inner join SMS_G_System_COMPUTER_SYSTEM on SMS_G_System_COMPUTER_SYSTEM.ResourceId = SMS_R_System.ResourceId where SMS_G_System_COMPUTER_SYSTEM.Manufacturer = "ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC."

Notice the last line, where the manufacturer comes in.

Click Next and finish the wizard.

Then rightclick the collection and choose 'Update Membership'. 

After refreshing the console, you'll notice that it's populated with ASUS devices.

Howto: Create an application in SCCM 2012 R2

This blog describes how to create an application in SCCM 2012 R2, which you can deploy to your users and devices. 

In this example, we have created an application called 'Audacity'. Bare in mind that this is an MSI application. For an executable the steps are similar, but some extra windows in the wizard need to be overcome.
Below are the steps that need to be taken to implement the application:


First, you open your SCCM console.

Then, you browse to Software Library, rightclick Applications, and choose 'Create Application'.

 Choose the above option, and browse to the unc path (\\servername\sources$\softwarelocation)

 You can click browse, and doubleclick on the MSI to let SCCM automatically fill out the information based on what is available in the MSI file.

 Follow the wizard to complete the 'Import Information' step.

 Fill out the missing fields, and give the correct parameter in the 'Installation program' field.

 Follow the wizard by clicking next next next (etcetera).

 Once finished, lookup you package and rightclick it, select properties.

 Place the check mark for the 'Allow this application to be installed from the Install Application task sequence action without being deployed' option. It's pretty much self explanatory...

 I also tend to add the /l*v switch in the MSI property, for troubleshooting reasons.

 Also add the product code for the Windows Source management option

It's possible to change the detection method or user experience if needed. Also you can specify requirements or custom return codes, or dependencies (other applications).

Once done, you are ready to deploy your application to your user collection(s) or device collection(s)!