Ben Hunter

The Last Post

Ben Hunter — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:41:00 GMT

Well I am sad to say that this is my last post. But don't worry I have something better. I have been thinking for quite a while that there are so many different blogs out there with useful deployment information. This is great but it can be difficult...(read more)

Microsoft Deployment - Released

Ben Hunter — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 10:21:00 GMT

Well it looks like I no longer have to answer the question "when will Microsoft Deployment be released?" with the response "sometime soon :)". Microsoft Deployment is now released!! I wont go into all the details of what MDT does, you will find...(read more)

BDD 2007 - TechNet Magazine article worth reading

Ben Hunter — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 12:22:00 GMT

One of my fellow Microsoft Services consultants from the UK Adam Shepherd, has just had an article published in TechNet Magazine. The article provides advice on how to scale BDD. This includes how to to support multiple databases, use DFS-R and how...(read more)

BDD is now Microsoft Deployment

Ben Hunter — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:55:00 GMT

The big secret is now out! BDD has officially had a name change, the next version will be called Microsoft Deployment. I was hoping the new name would be "the solution accelerator formerly known as BDD" but I don't think that even made it to first...(read more)

BDD 2007 - How to create a Custom task sequence with reboots

Ben Hunter — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:44:00 GMT

I am often asked how to setup a custom task sequence that will continue after a reboot. If you have created a custom task sequence to install a number of applications that includes a reboot then you will know the problem I am taking about. When you...(read more)

BDD 2007 -How to ensure the computer is in the correct OU

Ben Hunter — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 12:25:00 GMT

As promised in a previous blog post here is a script to move a computer to the correct OU from within the host operating system. There are two situations where I find this script useful: When a computer object already exists in Active Directory...(read more)

Deployment 4 - UPDATE - How to create a custom task sequence

Ben Hunter — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:16:00 GMT

I have previously mentioned how to create a custom task sequence to save time when testing application installation in BDD 2007. You will find the article here . There are two problems you could run into when using this process with Deployment 4...(read more)

BDD 2007 - How do you do it?

Ben Hunter — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 23:21:00 GMT

I am often asked how I install and configure BDD 2007. So I thought now was a good time to detail at a high level the process I go through to create and deploy operating system images using BDD 2007. This is not a step by step guide but more of a rant...(read more)

BDD 2007 - Special characters special problems

Ben Hunter — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 02:07:00 GMT

Here is a simple tip when using BDD. DO NOT use special characters anywhere. They cause problems. Let's illustrate this with an example. I create an application with the name "AT&T Dialer". Then when I add this application to the task sequence...(read more)

Deployment 4 – Who stole my build?

Ben Hunter — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:42:00 GMT

Well for those of you that have already installed Deployment 4 may have notice that Deployment 4 does not use builds anymore. Task sequences are used instead. Task sequences are very similar to builds with a few subtle changes. All of the task sequence...(read more)

Deployment 4 (the next version of BDD) - Beta 3 Released

Ben Hunter — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:11:00 GMT

It looks like the BDD team has been very busy! They have just released Deployment 4 Beta 3 the worthy successor to BDD 2007. Having spent a reasonable amount of time testing Deployment 4 I must say I am very impressed, particularly when it is combined...(read more)

BDD 2007 - How to move a computer object in Windows PE

Ben Hunter — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 12:47:00 GMT

Many of my customers have Group Policy settings that are very restrictive and cause problems during operating system deployments. For example the legal notice messages can interrupt an automated logon process. This can be a real hassle to get around...(read more)

BDD 2007 - Time saving tips - How to manually restart the build process

Ben Hunter — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 23:15:00 GMT

When troubleshooting the BDD deployment I often make a change then test. Then find that I need to make another adjustment and test again. Well this this process can be time consuming especially if you have to wait for Windows PE to reboot each time. ...(read more)

BDD 2007 - A pretty good ZTI front end

Ben Hunter — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:44:00 GMT

In the past I have written a number of blogs about how you can use the LTI wizard to create a customized front end for your ZTI deployments. They detail both how to use the wizards to gather information, how to automatically enter this information into...(read more)

BDD 2007 - How to Prompt for information then update the database

Ben Hunter — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:41:00 GMT

I have previously published posts detailing how you can perform bulk updates to the database and how you can use the LTI wizard to prompt for information in ZTI deployments. Now I think it's about time I show you how to combine these two features and...(read more)

Presenting at TechEd New Zealand

Ben Hunter — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:26:00 GMT

I will be presenting a session at TechEd New Zealand on Monday covering Vista Deployment using BDD 2007. So if you happen to be attending make sure you come along, introduce yourself and ask lots of questions. I would like to put some faces to the names...(read more)

BDD2007 - Bulk database updates

Ben Hunter — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 04:58:00 GMT

I am often asked how I perform bulk updates to the BDD 2007 database. BDD 2.5 provided a tool to perform this task but BDD 2007 does not. To get around this issue I use a simple CSV import process. Unlike the BDD 2.5 the BDD 2007 database is made up...(read more)

BDD 2007 - Reusing the SMS GUID in a New Computer deployment

Ben Hunter — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:50:00 GMT

When performing a refresh based deployment using Zero Touch BDD will retain the computers current SMS GUID. This is very handy if you want to rebuild a computer but not lose any information associated with the computer SMS. (i.e. Assigned applications...(read more)

BDD 2007 - Quick Start Guide Released

Ben Hunter — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 13:07:00 GMT

For all of you that are new to BDD 2007 (and some of those that aren't) I would highly recommend getting your hands on the "Quick Start for BDD 2007" white paper. As it says it will help you quickly get started with BDD without the need for wading through...(read more)

BDD 2007 - Integrating Mass Storage Drivers into your XP image

Ben Hunter — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:51:00 GMT

After my previous blog about integrating mass storage drivers into Windows PE I have a number of requests about how to the same integrate drivers into XP their XP images. So here we go... The key point to note about integrating mass storage drivers...(read more)

BDD 2007 - Troubleshooting Database issues

Ben Hunter — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:53:00 GMT

I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked to help some troubleshoot their database issues, so I decided it was time to write a blog about it. This blog details the common issues faced when using the BDD configuration database. The first...(read more)

BDD 2007 - Intel Mass Storage Drivers (iastor)

Ben Hunter — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:44:00 GMT

Everytime Intel releases a new mass storage chipset I receive the same call/email from from most of my customers and it goes something like this:

"Hi Ben, I have just got a new machine and I can't deploy an image to it, do you know what is going on?"

The problem they are having is that their Windows PE does not support this new chipset. The new drivers must be integrated into the Windows PE source they are using. This is not an issue for Windows PE 2.0 as BDD 2007 will automatically integrate the drivers for you. But with Windows PE 2004/2005 you must integrate the drivers yourself.

Well a new Intel mass storage chipset seems to have appeared so I though I might put my recommendations here to preempt the calls. These recomendations use the new Intel chipset bas an example but can also be applied to any other mass storage driver. This blog entry specifically recommends how to integrate drivers into Windows PE 2004/2005 using BDD 2007.

Mass Storage drivers consist of a .SYS file that Windows PE references via the txtsetup.sif file. In order to integrate the driver into Windows PE we must identify the .SYS file that the driver uses and the additions that must be added to the txtsetup.sif file. The file that provides this information is the txtsetup.oem file that is shipped with the driver.

The following steps should be followed to integrate a new Mass Storage driver into a Windows PE 2004/2005 source:

Download the drivers

The first part of the configuration process is the obtaining of the Mass Storage drivers. The drivers must be downloaded from the hardware vendor. The driver must include a txtsetup.oem file. The latest version of the Intel driver is located here. The version must match the Operating System that Windows PE is based on, for example:

Windows PE 2004 - Windows XP
Windows PE 2005 - Windows 2003

Identify the .SYS file

Once the drivers have been downloaded the .SYS file must be identified.

To identify the .SYS file

1. Open the txtsetup.oem file downloaded in the previous section.
2. Locate the [Disks] section, and record the name of the .SYS file specified in that section.
The following excerpt from a txtsetup.oem file clearly identifies the .SYS file (iastor.sys).
[Disks]
disk1 = "Intel Matrix Storage Manager driver", iaStor.sys, \

Gather the Plug and Play ID’s

The PnP identifiers for the driver must now be identified. These drivers are of the form PCI\<PnP ID>.

To identify the PnP ID’s

1. Open the txtsetup.oem file downloaded in the previous section.
2. Locate all lines that contain PnP ID’s, and record their values.
The following excerpt provides an example of the PnP ID’s extracted from and Intel Mass Storage driver txtsetup.oem file.
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2922&CC_0106","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_282A&CC_0104","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2829&CC_0106","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2821&CC_0106","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2682&CC_0104","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2681&CC_0106","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C3&CC_0104","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C6&CC_0104","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C1&CC_0106","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C5&CC_0106","iaStor"
     id = "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2653&CC_0106","iaStor"

Copy the driver files

To automatically integrate the driver files into Windows PE a folder structure must be created to support the added files.

To create the folder structure

1. Create the folder structure, .\Distribution\Extra Files\i386\System32\Drivers
2. Copy the .SYS file into the newly created Drivers folder.
3. Copy the txtsetup.sif file located in the Windows Source\i386 folder for the ZTI deployment point. (i.e. .\Distribution\Windows 2003 SP1\i386) to the folder .\Distribution\Extra Files\i386.
Note if you already use the extra files functionality then simply add the files into the current folder structure.

Update the txtsetup.sif file

Now that we have identified the .SYS file and the PnP ID’s for the Mass Storage driver we can update the txtsetup.sif file.

To update the txtsetup.sif file

1. Open the file .\Distribution\Extra Files\txtsetup.sif file using Notepad.
2. Update the [HardwareIdsDatabase] section to specify each PnP ID.
Note   This will require translating the information gathered from the txtsetup.sif file into the txtsetup.sif format. For example:
     id ="PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104","iaStor" would translate to PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_282A&CC_0104="iastor".
The following excerpt provides an example of the PnP ID’s extracted from the Intel Mass Storage driver txtsetup.oem file and translated into the txtsetup.sif format.
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_282A&CC_0104="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2829&CC_0106="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2821&CC_0106="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2682&CC_0104="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2681&CC_0106="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C3&CC_0104="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C6&CC_0104="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C1&CC_0106="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C5&CC_0106="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2652&CC_0104="iastor"
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2652&CC_0106="iastor
     PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2653&CC_0106="iastor"

3. Update the [SCSI.Load] section to identify the .SYS file. This should be in the format DriverName = FileName.sys,4
The following excerpt provides an example of the .SYS file information as it has been added into the txtsetup.sif file.
iaStor = iaStor.sys,4
Note The DriverName value must match the value specified in the HardwareIdsDatabase section. For example if the value is PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2652&CC_0106="iastor" then the DriverName must be iastor.

Update the deployment point

Once the drivers have been setup we must then update the deployment point to create the updated Windows PE source files.

To update Windows PE

1. Click Start, then point to All Programs. Point to BDD 2007, and then click Deployment Workbench.
2. Click Deploy, right-click Deployment Points, and then click Image Distribution Deployment Point.
3. Click the Windows PE 2004/2005 tab.
4. Set the Extra Directory to Add to that of the extra files location created in the previous step. (i.e. D:\BDD\Distribution\Extra Files)
5. Right-click the newly created ZTI deployment point, and then click Update to force it to create the ZTI directory on the file system and generate the Windows PE source files.

Update Windows PE in the SMS 2003 OSD Feature Pack

To update SMS with the new Windows PE source files (created in the Deployment Workbench), complete the following steps:

1. From the SMS Administrator console, locate Site Database, then expand Image Packages.
2. Right-click Images Packages, point to All Tasks, and then click Update Windows PE.
3. In the Update Windows PE Wizard, click Next.
4. Browse to the generic Windows PE source folder (DistributionPoint\boot\source), click Open, and then click Next.
5. Click Finish when the update is completed.

Once you have completed all of the steps above then you simply need to re-create any SMS OSD Deployment CD's you may be using and update your OSD packages and the process is complete, EASY ;)

UPDATE: For information on integrating these drivers into an XP image please refer to the following blog:

http://blogs.technet.com/benhunter/archive/2007/07/12/bdd-2007-integrating-mass-storage-drivers-into-your-xp-image.aspx

If you are looking for further information then the following article by Johan is a great place to start:

http://www.deployvista.com/Blog/tabid/70/EntryID/18/Default.aspx

Disclaimer: The information on this site is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, confers no rights, and is not supported by the authors or Microsoft Corporation. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified in the Terms of Use.

BDD 2007 - New BDD blog

Ben Hunter — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:57:00 GMT

Richard Smith one of my fellow Microsoft consultants from the UK has started a blog (finally!). Richard is very knowledgeable on everything about BDD and operating system deployment so I am sure you will find his blog very useful.

Richard has started his blog with two great video walk through's covering Lite Touch and Zero Touch deployment. This are very informative and should prove particularly useful to those new to BDD.

It looks like I will have too put together my own video walk through's now just too keep up!

I recommend that you subscribe to his blog as there is bound to be lots more great stuff coming... No pressure Richard;)

http://blogs.technet.com/richardsmith

Disclaimer: The information on this site is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, confers no rights, and is not supported by the authors or Microsoft Corporation. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified in the Terms of Use.

BDD 2007 - Understanding BDD logs

Ben Hunter — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:36:00 GMT

Before you can troubleshoot BDD 2007 you need to clearly understand the many logs used during an OS deployment.

If you understand what log to refer to and at what time you will find things that where once mysterious become understandable.

With this in mind I thought I would provide this quick guide to BDD logs.

BDD scripts automatically create log files. Each script creates a log file that matches the name of the script, for example ZTIGather.wsf creates a log file named ZTIGather.log. Each script also updates a common log file (BDD.log) that aggregates the contents of logs created by the BDD scripts. BDD logs are located in the C:\MININT\SMSOSD\OSDLOGS folder during the deployment process. They are then moved at the completion of a deployment, their destination is dependent on the deployment type:

Lite Touch - C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\BDDLogs unless the /debug:true option has been specified.
Zero Touch - C:\TEMP\SMSOSD or C:\SMSOSD unless the C:\MININT\Archive_OSD.SMS file is found.

The BDD.log file is also copied to a network location at the end of the deployment if the SLShare value is specified in the Customsettings.ini.

The BDD log format is designed to be read by TRACE32, part of the SMS 2003 Toolkit 2 - download here. I would strongly recommend that you use this tool whenever possible to read the logs as it makes finding errors much easier.

The rest of this blog details the log files that are created during the deployment and examples of when they can be used when troubleshooting.

BDD logs

Bdd.log - The aggreated BDD log file.

<Scriptname>.log - A log file created by each BDD script.

Wizard.log - Updated by BDD wizards.

DeployUpdates_platform.log - Created when deployment points are updated. Also used when updating Windows PE. Useful when troubleshooting Windows PE driver integration issues. This log is located in the %temp% folder.

SMSTS.log - Logs all of the transactions for the Task Sequencer. This will be located in %TEMP%, C:\Windows\System32\ccm\logs, or C:\SMSTSLog, depending on the situation.

WPEinit.log - Logs the Windows PE intialisation process - Useful for troubleshooting error starting windows PE

USMT Logs

BDD 2007 automatically adds the logging switches to save the USMT logs to the BDD log file location

USMTEstimate.log - Log created when estimating the USMT requirements

USMTCapture.log - Log created when capturing data

USMTRestore.log - Log created when restoring data

Windows setup logs

Vista

This is a subset of the log files that are most useful for troubleshooting deployment issues, for more detailed information about Vista setup log files refer to this KB - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927521.

setupapi.dev.log - Windows setup log, located in C:\Windows\inf - Useful for investigating failed Driver installations.

setupact.log - Windows setup log, located in C:\Windows\panther - Useful for investigating failed installations.

setuperr.log - Windows setup log, located in C:\Windows\panther - contains a list of errors that occurred during installation.

netsetup.log - Windows setup log, located in C:\Windows\Debug - useful for troubleshooting domain join issues.

XP

setupapi.log - Windows setup log, located in C:\Windows - record inf installation actions - useful for investigating failed driver installations.

setupact.log - Windows setup log, located in C:\Windows - Lists installation actions.

setuperr.log - Windows setup log, located in C:\Windows - Details installation errors.

netsetup.log - Windows setup log, located in C:\Windows\Debug, useful for troubleshooting domain join issues.

OSD logs

The following logs are created during the deployment phases, these logs are located in the C:\MININT\SMSOSD\OSDLOGS folder:

OSDAgent.log - This is the primary log and should be the first place you look to determine what step failed

OSDEnv.log - Indicates which OSD environment variables are set

OSDInstallWIM.log - Logs image installation options

IDUser.log - User notification log

IDUserNotification.log - User notification log

MachineState.log - Logs computer state migration information (computer name, IP Address, Registered Owner/Org

WinPEInstall.log - WinPE installation information

Exec.log - Logs ‘Run SWD Program’ actions

scanstate.log - USMT scanstate log

OSDLaunch.log - OSD Bootstrap - May contain errors if the Advanced Client Network Access account is not configured correctly.

SMSCMT.log - Logs SMS Client migration information (site code, client GUIID)

WinPEInstall.log -Windows PE installation information.

OSDInstallWizard.log - Logs start-up operations.

OSDShell.log - Launches the OSD Install Wizard.

OSDSWDProgramExec.log – Logs Run SWD Program Actions.

OSDUsmtScanstate.log – Logs Capture User State operations

OSDUsmtLoadstate.log - Logs Restore User State operations

OSDBootstrap.log - May contain errors if the Advanced Client Network Access account is not configured correctly.

Note: The C:\minint folder is lost during the disk partitioning process. If you need to trobleshoot issues that occur before this point then disable the disk partitioning task in the task sequencer.

BDD 2007 - Patch 1 released

Ben Hunter — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 07:49:00 GMT

Well the first patch for BDD 2007 has been released, download it here.

This fixes a number of those niggling BDD issues, hopefully making your BDD experience a happier one!

Here are my highlights:

You no longer need to use the work around's I detailed here when deploying Vista patches with BDD. Patches can now be imported directly into the workbench as MSU files.
USMT 3.01 is now downloadable from the workbench.
The issues around the detection multiple PnP IDs on a single INF file line, when importing drivers into the deployment workbench.

Be sure to use the correct installation command line as detailed by Michael Niehaus. If you do not install the patch in the correct manner you may find that it has changed your customized scripts or even updated the location of the distribution share in the registry. Here are some alternatives:

1. Replace all the files with new versions from the patch, without disturbing registry entries:

msiexec /update BDD2007_x86_Patch1.msp REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=as

2. Update without replacing modified scripts:

msiexec /p BDD2007_Patch1_x86.msp REINSTALL=ALL /quiet