Michael Niehaus' Windows and Office deployment ramblings
If you have manually moved the distribution share since you installed BDD 2007, updating the HKLM\Software\Microsoft\BDD\Distribution_Dir registry value to tell BDD the new location, you may notice that the patch install still tries to update the old location. This happens because MSI still thinks its in the old location.
To avoid this particular problem, you can add an additional parameter to the patch installation command line:
msiexec /update BDD2007_x86_Patch1.msp REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=as DISTRIBUTIONDIR=c:\distribution /quiet
Just substitute your location for "c:\distribution" and you should be all set.
If you have made modifications to any of the scripts used in BDD 2007, you will want to make a backup copy of your changed scripts before installing the patch. The above command will cause the customized scripts to be overwritten. After the patch has been installed, you can compare the copied files against the newly patched files, then reintegrate your changes (if necessary - some of the changes in the patch were made so that you don't need to make as many script modifications).
No, just kidding :-) But for those of you who closely watch every new download from the Microsoft download center, you may have noticed that the BDD 2007 download (available at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=62043) shows a new date, June 21. So what exactly changed? For those of you with good memories, you may remember that there used to be two downloads, an x86 MSI and an x64 MSI. Now, there are two new documents available:
So check them out and let us know what you think.
Are you more visually oriented? Don't like step-by-step guides and want to learn by seeing? Then you want to check out the videos that Richard Smith posted on his blog:
http://blogs.technet.com/richardsmith/archive/2007/06/20/bdd-2007-lite-touch-video-walkthrough.aspx
http://blogs.technet.com/richardsmith/archive/2007/06/20/bdd-2007-zero-touch-video-walkthrough.aspx
These go through a time-compressed version of the whole process, cutting out all the parts that take too long, but not skipping any of the steps involved -- just notice that progress bars go by very quickly :-)
We want to do more of this type of content for the next version of BDD (being developed now): step-by-step guides, checklists, video walkthroughs, etc. If you have any additional suggestions on what you'd like to see in the BDD documentation (or anywhere else in BDD for that matter) let me know.
Check out http://support.microsoft.com/?id=937191 for the list of fixes included in BDD 2007 Patch 1, as well as for the links to the MSI patch files (MSP's) that can be downloaded. When installing the patch, be sure to use a command line such as:
msiexec /update BDD2007_x86_Patch1.msp REINSTALL=ALL REINSTALLMODE=as /quiet
If you're curious as to what files have been changed in this patch, here's a list.
It's been a number of years since I've been in Orlando for a Microsoft conference, having gone to TechEd (the first one I had ever been to) here a few years ago. I went to register yesterday and realized that I didn't recognize the convention center at all. Then I realized that this wasn't the same convention center - this is a new building, connected to the old one by a long sky bridge. I'm hoping that's a good thing, because what I remember from the old one was big crowds waiting to use the escalators to go from level to level, and lots of walking from end to end.
This year, I have three presentations during the conference:
CLI334Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007: Windows Vista Deployment Walkthrough6/5/2007 4:30PM-5:45PM S220 D
This demo-intensive session walks you through a desktop deployment and many of the features of BDD 2007 Deployment Workbench. It demonstrates the tools leveraged and integrated by BDD 2007. We show how to build and capture an image, use SMS 2003 OSD to set up Zero Touch Installation (ZTI), add in applications, and perform a deployment.
SVR311Windows Server 2008 Deployment Overview: Applying Microsoft Business Desktop Deployment 2007 Tools to Server Deployment6/5/2007 8:30AM-9:45AM S220 E
Windows Server 2008 deployment will leverage many of the core concepts and tools provided in Business Desktop Deployment 2007 and extend those to Windows Server 2008. The new accelerator will offer comprehensive role-based guidance for all phases of deployment, aligned to IT Service Management best practices. It will also take advantage of new deployment features in System Center Configuration Manager 2007. This session introduces you to the differences between Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2000 deployment, and what is in store from the Solution Accelerators Team for automating Windows Server 2008 deployment.
CLI418Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007: Advanced Zero Touch Installation with Microsoft Systems Management Server 20036/6/2007 8:30AM-9:45AM S310 E
Enterprise Windows Vista deployment is enhanced significantly from previous desktop deployment processes and methodologies. Zero Touch Installation (ZTI) with SMS 2003 in Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 has been updated to support zero touch Windows Vista deployments. This session explains the complexities of large scale desktop deployments, options to consider, and demonstrates how the BDD 2007 Deployment Workbench along with SMS 2003 and the OS Deployment Feature Pack, can fully-automate the process. We also discuss how some organizations are extending the BDD 2007 toolset to enable additional capabilities.
I hope I'll see some of you there. Be sure to say "hi".
p.s. I remember one other thing from my first TechEd in Orlando: the mad dash for tables full of junk food. A word of advice: don't get trampled :-)