Andy May's questions

We currently have a WDS server that we use for imaging both Windows XP and Windows 7 machines. We use MDT 2010 to add drivers to the WIM files. It works for all of our existing hardware, but we recently got in some Dell E6420 machines that we can't get to image (we're trying to install XP). After the machine downloads the WIM it throws an error:

A connection to the deployment share (\\servername\DeploymentShare) could not be made. DHCP Lease was not obtained for any Networking device! Possible Cause: Check physical connection. Abort - Abort Litetouch and cleanup (No Recovery). Retry - Retry network operation. Ignore - Cancel out of Litetouch (Retry later).

I don't think this is a network or DHCP issue, since all other models work. I think it's a driver issue, but I added the network driver from Dell's site to the WIM using MDT so I'm not sure why it isn't working. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

We are experiencing the same issues as described in this post on TechNet. We use Remote Desktop to log into Windows XP machines remotely. If the connection is lost the user is logged out instead of being disconnected. I checked in GPO for the remote desktop settings but they are all set to no session limit. It doesn't matter for how long the connect is lost, the log off happens immediately.

This happens when using both Windows 7 and Windows XP. Are there any other policies I should check? I see this question asked a lot online but I don't see a solution.

Our servers are Windows Server 2003, clients are Windows XP.

Update: I tested using remote desktop into a Windows 7 computer and the user remains logged in. So this is isolated to Windows XP it seems.

When deploying machines in our enterprise we run through a series of checks before deployment. Some of these include:

• Verify required files and folders have been copied to the computer
• Verify all required applications have been installed
• Verify some registry and file configurations have been set up for the intended user
• Verify the machine is in the correct OU in the Active Directory Domain

I assume this is a pretty standard thing. We use a combination of WDS, GPO, and SCCM to deploy Windows XP to the machine and install some software. However, before the machine can be deployed to the user we need to go through a somewhat manual process to verify that the machine is ready to go.

Is there any software out there that you can create a checklist of things to test and it runs automated on the machine? Right now we use an HTA that I created, but maintaining it is a bear and I'd like something a little more robust. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We have Windows XP clients currently (moving to Windows 7 soon) and mostly Windows 2003 servers (a few 2008).

EDIT:

In order to clarify what I'm looking for, I'll explain more about what our current HTA does, and what the ideal app would do.

Gather Information about the End User

• Gather username of the user [entered into a textbox]
• Gather the role of the user [chosen by a drop-down box]
• Gather what office the end user will work in [chosen by a drop-down box]

When you click the "Run Checks" button a series of checks run. The above 3 variables are used to determine exactly which checks should run and what their expected values should be.

Checks

• Verify that all the required software is installed (the Role gathered above is used to determine which software is required for this specific user)
• Verify that the computer sits in the proper OU (the Office gathered above is used to determine the proper OU for this computer)
• Verify that some registry values are set correctly (turn off Windows Tour, enable UNC, etc)
• Verify some files exist (Shortcuts on the desktop to our intranet and some internal apps, etc)
• Verify some user settings (location of My Documents folder, etc)
• Verify a local folder matches a template folder on the network

Fixes

• Install any missing apps
• Create/Read/Update/Delete registry keys and values
• Create/Read/Update/Delete files and folders

Right now this is all custom written (in VBScript, ugh). What I'd like to find is an application where I could create templates of fixes and have each saved in an XML file (or some other human-readable file format). Then I could create a new Check Group by selecting some of those checks that I want to run, and save that check group out so that I could easily rerun the specified checks in the future.

EDIT 2 One more thing that would be nice is if we could run these verifications at any time. For instance: a computer that has been deployed for a year. Open up this application and check that the proper applications are installed, the updates are installed, and the files on their machine that we sync are the current versions.

I guess I'm looking for more than just a pre-deployment app. I'm just looking for a Verification application that could be run at any time (perhaps even by the end user?).

... Maybe this is something I have to build myself, but if something exists out there already I would prefer to buy that instead of spend all my time making it.

All of our workstations have a folder on their local drive that contains some common files used by our company. Periodically we need to push out changes to some of these files. Currently we are using System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) to run a VBScript that executes robocopy.

This method does not provide very good reporting in SCCM and some clients are not receiving the updates.

There has to be a better way to do this, but I cannot find anything online. We would like an automated method that is transparent to the user. We are open to spending a little money, but a free solution is best. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

I have an external drive that has had issues with corrupt data in the past. However, I'm not sure if this is a physical problem with the drive, or whether it was just a file problem.

Typically, I would take the drive out of the enclosure, install it in a computer, and use a bootable CD (such as the Ultimate Boot CD) to test a hard drive. However, I would also like to test the USB enclosure that this is in as well.

What do you suggest using to determine if this is a physical problem with the drive or USB enclosure?

We have ~200 users and are currently using Blue Coat to filter web content. Basically we just block things like porn and streaming media. Our contract is coming up and the device is End Of Life, so we are looking for possible alternatives. I know that WebSense is popular, but we'd prefer something a little cheaper.

Have you used anything that you would recommend?