MECM (SCCM, MEM, MCM... whatever you want to call it) OSD TS Gpupdate blocked?

Question

I've found some posts out on the internet that indicate that GPupdate may be blocked during an OSD TS deployment. This makes sense as it might slow down the TS if it is trying to update group policy ever reboot. However, there seems to be some vacillation on whether this is actually true or not. I also cannot find any documentation indicating this online. I did seem to have issues implementing this in our OSD TS, which is what got me started looking in the first place.

Does anyone know if this is actually the case or if there is documentation on what processes might be blocked during OSD TS?

@Jason Sandys ? (I've seen you weighing it on it here and there : ) )

Answer 1

It's not that the task sequence blocks GPO - it doesn't - its that GPO doesn't run until the Windows Setup completes. Since the task sequence runs entirely within Windows Setup, then GPO doesn't run until the task sequence completes. This is documented here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/intune/configmgr/osd/understand/task-sequence-steps?redirectedfrom=MSDN#the-step-completes

Theoretically GPOs can run during the task sequence if its triggered appropriately, but it's not recommended since certain GPOs can conflict with the task sequence. Also, this only really applies to task sequences installing a new OS. For other types of task sequences - stand-alone, in-place upgrade, GPO can theoretically run while the task sequence is running.

Answer 2

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

During my search, there is no official article about this GP blocked, I will consult the product team to verify this and wait the official article change. If there is any update, I will let you know.

Thanks for your time.

Best regards,

Simon

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Answer 3

Hi,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Q&A forum.

1,==>Does anyone know if this is actually the case or if there is documentation on what processes might be blocked during OSD TS?

Per my experience, yes, GPO settings for all OS layers are applied after a TS is finished. The further explain, GP cannot be applied during a task sequence, it is essentially blocked. When a task sequence finishes, it does not force any kind of refresh, but the machine is in a state where GP can now be applied. If it is critical to apply GP immediately, using a reg key and script is generally a good way.

2,Besides, if there is any error during the OSD, it's firstly recommended to examine the smsts.log on the target system. Please refer to:

SCCM: How to copy SMSTS.log when a Task Sequence fails

Thanks for your time. Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Simon

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