There are many benefits to moving away from .hta or command prompt based End User pop up notifications in Configuration Manager application deployments.  Forcing an open command prompt window open and not hidden, on an end user’s screen has always been non-optimal, fraught with permissions issues and very 1990’s.  Using a .hta file allowed for some really nice looking end user notifications, but .hta was limited to the display elements that were acceptable to a web page.

I’ve been trying to move most of the command based scripts/tasks that I’ve used over the years to PowerShell, and moving Configuration Manager Application End User notifications to PowerShell just seemed like a good idea.

PowerShell has full access to the .NET framework, and as such you can move all of your SCCM End User Notifications into a PowerShell script and put them in the Notification Area (just like all the other Notifications the operating system already displays).

Here’s an example:

I want to create a package to remove Office 2013 and install Office 2016, and I want to put a notification in the Notification Area for my end users.

The creation of the Office 2016 package is easy.  You can find details on how to do that here Deploy Office 2016 with SCCM 2012.

But remember, I want to customize the Notification and put it in the Notification Area with the rest of the OS notifications, and I want to specify the time each notification is displayed.

Using Windows PowerShell ISE I create the following:

So what does all this do?

The [void] statement just prevents commands that load the System.Forms.Windows class from being displayed.

I then point to a folder where I keep custom icons for the icon I want displayed in the Notification.

I add the Balloon Tip text and title.

Then I specify how long I want the Balloon tip to display in milliseconds. Less is more in my experience,

but your mileage may vary (as your end users probably vary as well).

And then here’s what I end up with.

and then

I can now either add this to a Task Sequence in ConfigMgr that installs Office 2016 or I can make it a requirement to an existing Office 2016 deployment package.

Here’s a link to the completed PowerShell script EndUserPowerShellNotification

So…. you wanted to open the Windows App Store, huh?  You click on the little store thingy

But…instead of the of the Windows Store you get this:

“The server stumbled”?  What does that mean?  What do you do next?

Well you also might see an error code like 80072EFF or 80072EFD or 801901F7, and if so… we’ll fix it like this:

1. First let’s make sure that Windows Update is running.

Right-Click your Start Menu icon and select Run.

Type Services.msc in the Run dialog box.

In the Services app scroll down to Windows Update.  Verify that Windows Update is set to Automatic (Manual may not solve the problem in some cases).

Double click Windows Update to get to Properties.  Change the Startup Type to Automatic.  Click Apply and then click Start to start the service.

Close all open diaglog boxes and try the Store again.  You should not have to restart your computer.  If the same error occurs, hop in place on one foot for 7 minutes while holding a rabbit (see note*), and continue with the next steps…

2.   Enable TLS 1.2

Right-Click your Start Menu icon

Click on Settings.

Click on Network & Internet.

In the Network & Internet window scroll down and click on Internet Options.

In the Internet Options click on the Advanced tab.

Scroll down and place a checkmark in Use TLS 1.2

Click OK.

Close all open diaglog boxes and try the Store again.  You should not have to restart your computer or sacrifice a goat.

Until next time!

Dave

*hopping in place while holding a rabbit is completely optional, rather unnecessary, and utterly silly.

          Microsoft has put together a handy dandy guide to Windows 10 called the Windows 10 Quick Guide.  In the Quick Guide you can get information on Cortana, Continuum, Windows Store, the new browser Microsoft Edge, Gaming and Xbox integration and how to Get Started!

You can download your copy of the Windows 10 Quick Guide here -[View:~/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-00-71/Windows-10-Quick-Guide.pdf:550:0]

It’s back! The Windows App Store issue that makes you think you’re going to download exciting applications and games, but in reality, you’re just gonna watch spinning dots until your eyes bleed.  We fixed this in Windows 8.1 with PowerShell, so what do you do this time?

If you click on the App Store icon in the Taskbar here or

If you click on the App Store in the Start Menu

What you expect to see is this:

But if you are suffering from App Store misbehavior what you might end up seeing is hours and hours of this:

Fortunately, once again, PowerShell is our hero. 

First right-click on the Start Menu icon and select Command Prompt (Admin)

(alternately you can type  + X to open the context Window.)

In the Command Prompt (Admin) Window type or copy and paste the following text:

PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "& {$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.WindowsStore).InstallLocation + '\AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest}" 

It should look like this:

Once the command finishes, you should be able to open the App Store and download Apps and Games to your heart’s content.  Tip your waiters and waitresses, I’ll be here all week.

Dave

I’m sure that you, like me, like to do things quickly and efficiently.  I mean, come on, who hasn’t eaten their toast in the shower, while brushing their teeth?  Sometimes you just need to do something quickly and efficiently and get stuff done.

That being said, here are some handy (and also dandy) Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts.

  This is your Windows Key.  Find it on your Keyboard now.  I’ll give you an hour or two.

Found it?  Good.  I was getting worried.  You can now use it in combination with other keys to do magic stuff.

by itself brings up the Start Menu.

+1 Brings up the 1st application in the Taskbar.

+2 Brings up the 2nd application in the Taskbar.  What do you suppose +3 brings up?

+A Brings up the Action Center.

+C Get Cortana’s undivided attention.

+D Switch back and forth from desktop to applications.

+E  Open File Explorer

+G Open the Game Bar

+H Open the Share Charm.

+I Open the Settings App.

+K Open the Connect pane to connect to a wireless display or change a Bluetooth connection.

+L Lock the device.

+M Minimize all Windows.

+P Open the Project Display Settings.

+R Open the RUN dialog.

+S Open Cortana to Search

+U Open the Ease of Access Center

+X Open the Start Menu Advanced Context.

+Enter  Launch Narrator.

+,  Desktop Peek.

+Switch to Opened Windows View.

+ Plus Sign  Zoom In.

+ Minus Sign Zoon Out.

+ Up, or Down, Or Right Or Left Arrows   Fun with Windows!

+Shift + Up or Down Or Right Or Left Arrows   More Fun with Windows!

+Control +D   Create a New Virtual Desktop

+Control + F4  Close the current Virtual Desktop.

+?   Launch the Windows Feedback App.

+Print Screen    Take a screenshot and place it in the Computer\Pictures\Screenshots folder.

+THX1138  Win a role in the next Star Wars film!  (just kidding).

Have fun!

If you’re a loyal user/administrator of System Center Configuration Manager 2012 R2 (and why wouldn’t you be?) it may interest you to know that Cumulative Update #4 released to the public on 2/3/2015.

Here’s a super quick rundown of what this Cumulative Update brings to the table:

• Client Communication fixes
• Applications not being downloaded
• Deleting packages may block other package distribution.
• Pull DPs may pull the wrong version of a frequently updated package.
• Replication Configuration Monitor component fails when the connection pool is full. 
• CU3 upgrade scripts may fail.
• Viewing a report by using an account in a forest separate from that of the Reporting Services Reporting Point causes a "Logon failure: unknown user name of bad password" error.
• AND MUCH MUCH MORE!!

Read more and get the CU4 HERE

OUC1TOO - Oh You see IT, too?

How to use the Windows Action Center for Good instead of Evil.

If you are like me, you’ve told your supermodel girlfriend you couldn’t take her out bikini shopping and instead stayed home to play with your computers and basically be uber-nerdy….  If you’re even more like me, you’ve screamed in absolute despair when you’ve logged onto one of said computers only to see this:

The “Maintenance is in progress” system tray notification. 

Ugh.  The maintenance being reported here can be anything from software updates (this includes application software updates for Microsoft Applications), security scanning, and system diagnostics.

So what exactly is happening when “Maintenance in progress”?  There’s a simple way to find out:

Open a Command Window as an Administrator:

Type the command “schtasks /query” without the quotes.

You’ll get an output of tasks.

[NOTE – If your computer is a member of a domain, you might see tasks added by your domain administrator, you will also see other tasks added by 3rd party applications, Office, 3rd party Management Tools, Antivirus, backup software etc.]

The core Windows Automatic Maintenance Tasks will all list their path as Folder Microsoft\Windows\

Here is a brief list:

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
INFO: There are no scheduled tasks presently available at your access level.

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\.NET Framework
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
.NET Framework NGEN v4.0.30319           N/A                    Ready         
.NET Framework NGEN v4.0.30319 64        N/A                    Ready         
.NET Framework NGEN v4.0.30319 64 Critic N/A                    Disabled      
.NET Framework NGEN v4.0.30319 Critical  N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Active Directory Rights Management Services Client
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
AD RMS Rights Policy Template Management N/A                    Disabled      
AD RMS Rights Policy Template Management N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\AppID
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
PolicyConverter                          N/A                    Disabled      
SmartScreenSpecific                      N/A                    Ready         
VerifiedPublisherCertStoreCheck          N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
AitAgent                                 N/A                    Ready         
Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser        1/3/2015 12:15:02 AM   Ready         
ProgramDataUpdater                       N/A                    Ready         
StartupAppTask                           N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\ApplicationData
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
CleanupTemporaryState                    N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\AppxDeploymentClient
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Pre-staged app cleanup                   N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Autochk
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Proxy                                    N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Bluetooth
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
UninstallDeviceTask                      N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\CertificateServicesClient
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
SystemTask                               N/A                    Ready         
UserTask                                 N/A                    Ready         
UserTask-Roam                            N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Chkdsk
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
ProactiveScan                            N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
BthSQM                                   N/A                    Ready         
Consolidator                             1/2/2015 12:00:00 PM   Ready         
KernelCeipTask                           N/A                    Ready         
Uploader                                 N/A                    Ready         
UsbCeip                                  N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Data Integrity Scan
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Data Integrity Scan                      N/A                    Disabled      
Data Integrity Scan for Crash Recovery   N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Defrag
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
ScheduledDefrag                          N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Device Setup
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Metadata Refresh                         N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Diagnosis
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Scheduled                                N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\DiskCleanup
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
SilentCleanup                            N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\DiskDiagnostic
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Microsoft-Windows-DiskDiagnosticDataColl N/A                    Disabled      
Microsoft-Windows-DiskDiagnosticResolver N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\DiskFootprint
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Diagnostics                              N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\File Classification Infrastructure
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Property Definition Sync                 1/3/2015 3:51:00 AM    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\FileHistory
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
File History (maintenance mode)          N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\IME
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
SQM data sender                          N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Live
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
INFO: There are no scheduled tasks presently available at your access level.

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Location
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Notifications                            N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Maintenance
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
WinSAT                                   N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\MemoryDiagnostic
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
ProcessMemoryDiagnosticEvents            N/A                    Ready         
RunFullMemoryDiagnostic                  N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Mobile Broadband Accounts
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
MNO Metadata Parser                      N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\MobilePC
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
HotStart                                 N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\MUI
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
LPRemove                                 N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Multimedia
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
SystemSoundsService                      N/A                    Running       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\NetCfg
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
BindingWorkItemQueueHandler              N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\NetTrace
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
GatherNetworkInfo                        N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Offline Files
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Background Synchronization               N/A                    Disabled      
Logon Synchronization                    N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\PerfTrack
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
BackgroundConfigSurveyor                 1/3/2015 3:00:00 AM    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\PI
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Secure-Boot-Update                       N/A                    Ready         
Sqm-Tasks                                N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\PLA
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
INFO: There are no scheduled tasks presently available at your access level.

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Plug and Play
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Device Install Group Policy              N/A                    Ready         
Device Install Reboot Required           N/A                    Ready         
Plug and Play Cleanup                    N/A                    Ready         
Sysprep Generalize Drivers               N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Power Efficiency Diagnostics
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
AnalyzeSystem                            N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\RAC
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
RacTask                                  1/2/2015 7:14:09 PM    Running       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Ras
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
MobilityManager                          N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\RecoveryEnvironment
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
VerifyWinRE                              N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Registry
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
RegIdleBackup                            N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\RemoteAssistance
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
RemoteAssistanceTask                     N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\RemovalTools
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
MRT_HB                                   N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Servicing
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
StartComponentCleanup                    N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\SettingSync
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
BackgroundUploadTask                     N/A                    Queued        
BackupTask                               N/A                    Ready         
NetworkStateChangeTask                   N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Shell
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
CreateObjectTask                         N/A                    Ready         
FamilySafetyMonitor                      N/A                    Ready         
FamilySafetyRefresh                      N/A                    Ready         
FamilySafetyUpload                       N/A                    Disabled      
IndexerAutomaticMaintenance              N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\SideShow
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
AutoWake                                 N/A                    Disabled      
GadgetManager                            N/A                    Ready         
SessionAgent                             N/A                    Disabled      
SystemDataProviders                      N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\SkyDrive
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Idle Sync Maintenance Task               N/A                    Ready         
Routine Maintenance Task                 N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\SoftwareProtectionPlatform
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
SvcRestartTask                           N/A                    Disabled      
SvcRestartTaskLogon                      N/A                    Disabled      
SvcRestartTaskNetwork                    N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\SpacePort
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
SpaceAgentTask                           N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Sysmain
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
HybridDriveCachePrepopulate              N/A                    Disabled      
HybridDriveCacheRebalance                N/A                    Disabled      
WsSwapAssessmentTask                     N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\SystemRestore
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
SR                                       N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Task Manager
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Interactive                              N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\TaskScheduler
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Idle Maintenance                         N/A                    Ready         
Maintenance Configurator                 1/3/2015 1:00:00 AM    Ready         
Manual Maintenance                       N/A                    Ready         
Regular Maintenance                      1/3/2015 3:16:16 AM    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\TextServicesFramework
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
MsCtfMonitor                             N/A                    Running       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Time Synchronization
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
ForceSynchronizeTime                     N/A                    Ready         
SynchronizeTime                          N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Time Zone
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
SynchronizeTimeZone                      N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\TPM
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Tpm-Maintenance                          N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\UPnP
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
UPnPHostConfig                           N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\User Profile Service
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
HiveUploadTask                           N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\WDI
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
ResolutionHost                           N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
QueueReporting                           N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Windows Filtering Platform
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
BfeOnServiceStartTypeChange              N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Windows Media Sharing
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
UpdateLibrary                            N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\WindowsBackup
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
ConfigNotification                       1/2/2015 10:00:00 AM   Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\WindowsColorSystem
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Calibration Loader                       N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
AUFirmwareInstall                        N/A                    Disabled      
AUScheduledInstall                       N/A                    Disabled      
AUSessionConnect                         N/A                    Ready         
Scheduled Start                          1/2/2015 5:25:58 PM    Ready         
Scheduled Start With Network             1/2/2015 5:26:00 PM    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Wininet
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
CacheTask                                N/A                    Running       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\WOF
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
WIM-Hash-Management                      N/A                    Ready         
WIM-Hash-Validation                      N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Work Folders
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Work Folders Logon Synchronization       N/A                    Ready         
Work Folders Maintenance Work            N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Workplace Join
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Automatic-Workplace-Join                 N/A                    Disabled      

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\WS
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Badge Update                             N/A                    Ready         
License Validation                       1/5/2015 8:26:39 AM    Ready         
Sync Licenses                            N/A                    Ready         
WSRefreshBannedAppsListTask              1/3/2015 4:55:04 PM    Ready         
WSTask                                   N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows Live
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
INFO: There are no scheduled tasks presently available at your access level.

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows Live\SOXE
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status        
======================================== ====================== ===============
Extractor Definitions Update Task        1/10/2015 1:38:03 PM   Ready      

  
WHAT NOW?  “Maintenance in progress” is still killing me!

I mean, I get it.  This stuff has to happen sometime….but come on!  When I see this icon, I just KNOW that my server or desktop is going to be slow and sluggish until ‘Maintenance’ is over.

Fortunately there are a couple of things you can do, to mitigate the issues caused by this.

#1 Action Center to the Rescue!

In Control Panel – Action Center you can set Automatic Maintenance to run outside your normal nerd (or computer user) hours.

Action Center is your friend. 

Opening Action Center, you can see that beside the Automatic Maintenance section there is a notification that “Maintenance in progress” (apparently they couldn’t afford an ‘is’ as in “Maintenance IS in progress”, maybe there was a shortage of ‘to be’ verbs that day…but I digress).

You can stop the maintenance currently in progress as shown above.

Now that Automatic Maintenance has stopped, let’s change it to a time less likely to interfere with our nerdy computer habits….something like June 47th, 3183…. oh that’s not an option?

 

No.  We can only select the time each day we want to run the maintenance tasks.  Set it for a time you’re usually not using your computer….like when you’re watching your supermodel girl wash your car, or when you’re accepting checks from Publishers Clearing House… Just don’t think setting it for 2am, and then letting your computer be asleep at 2am, will help you avoid this issue… Nope!  If your computer misses its scheduled maintenance it will either Wake Up to  complete it, or start it at 8am when you turn on the computer to update Facebook with a picture of your cat (named Benedict Cumberbatch).  You’re weird like that.

#2 TiWorker.exe is just an executable trying to do a job, man.

So what’s really going on here?  Why does just doing some simple maintenance cause your computer/desktop/server to seem sluggish?  Why does applying software updates peg your CPU process?

Well one of the many reasons that performance can take a hit, is if the tiworker.exe process is eating up too much CPU time installing updates.

I call this slide “Straight Arrows are for boring people”.

Tiworker.exe is part of the Windows Modules Installer, and gets called whenever a software update is being applied to your system.  Sometimes this bad boy gets a little over zealous and doesn’t share CPU/Memory resources appropriately….

We think that tiworker.exe had a troubled childhood and that’s why now, he hogs resources and doesn’t share appropriately…

So what can be done about tiworker.exe?

Fortunately Microsoft has updated tiworker for just this reason. 

If you are running x86 or x64 Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, or any flavor of Windows Server 2012 R2, you can install KB2975061 to resolve issues with tiworker.exe.

You can get this update from Windows Update or manually get it from the article here Error 0x80070005 when you install an update in Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2

 

KB2975061 contains version 6.3.9600.17031 of tiworker.exe.  If you are unsure about installing this update, check the version number of tiworker.exe in C:\Windows\WinSxS.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES!!!!

The December 2014 servicing stack update for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 has an even more recent version of tiworker.exe.  KB3012199 contains tiworker.exe version 6.3.9600.17477.

You can get KB3012199 from Windows Update or HERE (KB3012199)

I’ll update this article soon on more ways to improve performance issues during computer maintenance.

Peace out.

If you are seeing this error, never fear.  Your computer files haven’t fallen through a black hole, or travelled back in time… and OneDrive Sync is probably working just fine. 

Time in relationship to Computers, Devices, Operating Systems, etc all began on January 1st 1970.  January 1st 1970  is considered the Epoch Time, and all minutes, hours days, weeks, months, and years since January 1st 1970 are counted in the number of seconds since 1970. 

Today’s date 9/9/2014 at 11:27AM EST represented in EPOCH time is 1410276437  or 1410276437 since January 1st 1970.

The reason your Computer, Device, OS, is blinking 12/31/1969 (prior to EPOCH time ) is that it is having an issue with either its internal clock, or the clock for the service it is trying to contact.

In this particular case, OneDrive is having an issue translating the Computer clock time into EPOCH time….so it displays the time in the only thing it understands which is 12/31/1969.

It’s kind of like you thinking the date is 12/31/1969 when you don’t know what date it is.  You don’t behave that way, because you are a person and not a dumb machine.  You can remember yesterday.  You don’t care what the date is…. You just know you’re late for work again. 

Computers can’t do that.  They have to know how many seconds have elapsed since 1/1/1970 in order to know what date/time it is.

I gotta go.  I’m a day late for a class.

Dave

Recently I was pulled into a customer engagement, where the customer had recently deployed Office 365 for their users.  While they loved the benefits of O365, they couldn’t quite get their head around allowing O365 to update on its own when a user launched Office, and a new update was available.

Their goal then, was to disable the Automatic Update feature of O365 and replace it with a scheduled and targeted Update from System Center Configuration Manager.  Once this was done, they could control what version of O365 was deployed across all of their systems, how and when their client machines were updated, and if necessary, rollback to previous versions of O365.

Follow along, shall we?

To do this, the first step is to disable the Automatic Update feature of O365.  Load the Office 2013 Administrative Template files into Group Policy.  You can find them Here:  Office 2013 ADMX ADML Files and Office Customization Tool.

Following this TechNet article to use the new Group Policy Settings to customize Office 2013 Use Group Policy to enforce Office 2010 settings.

Pay particular attention to this GPO setting:

Microsoft Office 2013 (Machine)\Updates

Enable Automatic Updates

This policy setting controls whether the Office automatic updates are enabled or disabled for all Office products installed via Click-to-Run. This policy has no effect on Office products installed via Windows Installer. If you enable or do not configure this policy setting, Office periodically checks for updates. When updates are detected, Office downloads and applies them in the background. If you disable this policy setting, Office won't check for updates.

HKLM\software\policies\microsoft\office\15.0\common\officeupdate!enableautomaticupdates

Once you have disabled O365’s ability to update itself, you’ll need to setup Configuration Manager 2012 to kick off the Office Update feature known as Click2Run.

Here’s how to do that.

Create a Collection that will contain the target machines you want to update with Click2Run.  In my lab I only have one client (Windows 8.1) that I’m going to use for this demo).  It is in a Collection of it’s own.

Next create an empty package. “But Dave, why an empty package?” you say.  Just follow me on this one….all shall become clear in due time.

Create a Package without any Source files. 

I called my package OfficeC2RClient.  I gave the Package the same version as the version of O365 I was updating.

You can find a list of all the Office 365 Versions and their Version information

 HERE: Microsoft Office 2013 Click-to-Run Virtualization

In my lab, the Package name is OfficeC2RClient (and for fun, I’m listing the Version of O365 that I want to update to with this package.  The full version number is 15.0.4631.1004 (which we will use in a minute).

Notice on the Data Source tab, I don’t point to any source files.  There is a really great reason for this. In this example we’re going to use the built in functionality of O365 to patch itself, but calling it as a command instead of distributing it as a package.

“Hey Dave!” You might say, “We could go grab the Office Click to Run executable and push it with Configuration Manager 2012. Couldn’t we?”

Yes we could make that the Source Files for our Package, distribute it across our Configuration Manager 2012 Distribution Points and push it like any other package to our client O365 machines to kick off their update.

  But we don’t really want to.  The reason for this, is that this file gets updated by 0365 itself.  Every time the file is updated, we’d have to pull it from a client source, repackage it, and redistribute to our Distribution Points….and that’s a lot of time wasted.

What we’re going to do instead is add a Program to our package that simply calls the officec2rclient.exe that already exists on each client machine.

The syntax for the Program will be "Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\ClientX64\OfficeC2RClient.exe" /update user updatetoversion=15.0.4631.1004

This is what our Program looks like.

And we’re making sure that we let it run “Whether or Not a User is Logged On.”

Now we create a Deployment for our Package/Program.

The Deployment allows us to Target our Collection that contains the Office 365 clients we want to patch.

Now add the Distribution Points (just for fun).

Nothing to see here.  Keep moving….

In my lab, I want OfficeC2RClient.exe to check for Office 365 updates once a month on the Last Friday of the Month.

The schedule looks like this:

Click on thru the Deployment Wizard and then Done!

Now on the Last Friday of every 1 months…

My Windows 8.1 client is getting its Office 365 update as Targeted and Scheduled by Configuration Manager 2012, but using the building officec2rclient.exe.  (Could we hide the above splash screen? Of course!  Using the /displaylevel variable |False you can prevent the User from seeing the splash screen interface during the update.  More details on that Here: Click-to-Run for Office 365 and its associated command-line switches

After the updates are downloaded, they get applied.

And finally checking to ensure the Version that we pushed is the Version that we got….

We pushed "Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\ClientX64\OfficeC2RClient.exe" /update user updatetoversion=15.0.4631.1004

And we got….

And that’s all folks!  Questions? Comments?

Dave

SPECIAL THANKS TO:  Alan Ross, Brian Moreland, Matt DePietro and Daniel Earnest for their background on Office 365 and support with this customer’s question!

Have you ever seen this?  You click on an app you got from the Windows 8.1 Store and it won’t open? You click on the app, but the app simply reloads the Start screen.

(Actual closing behavior not pictured because reasons!)

This is apparently a not uncommon issue if the permissions for the "All Application Packages” group have changed in the registry or to specific folders.  These changes to the registry can be caused either by User action or by a Group Policy that has been applied to a domain joined machine.

How to fix this:

(1) Open the Registry (REGEDIT)

Check that the All Applications Packages group has READ permissions to each of the following registry paths.

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Drivers
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM
• HKEY_USERS

This shows that HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT has READ Permissions for the All APPLICATION PACKAGES group.  You’ll need to check this for each of the registry paths listed above.

(2) Open File Explorer

Open your OS Drive (C).

Then select the Program Files folder and select Properties.

In Program Files Properties select the Security Tab.

On the Security tab click on Advanced.

On the Advanced Security Settings for Program Files screen verify that ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES has Allow Permissions Read & execute for This folder, subfolders and files.

(3) If you are unable to make the changes to the Registry or the folder permissions to Program Files, it is likely that your issue is caused by a Group Policy applied by your Domain Administrator that prevents Windows Store Apps from launching.

You can verify that this is the case by running the following:

Open an Administrator Command Prompt from your Start button.

The following steps are Optional, and may not work if you don't have the Administrative tools installed. 

You might need to download the appropriate toolset for your Operating System.

Proceed only if you have the gpresult tool.  It is not necessary to complete this step to resolve this issue.

Type the following in the Administrator Command Prompt

“gpresult /h c:\gpresults.html” without quotes.

Wait until the Report is finished being generated.

Open the report location c:\gpresults.html

Your report will look something like the below screen capture.

Look for Computer Settings – Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings.  Check for both “File System” the entry for Registry.  If you have settings here then you need to talk to your Domain Administrator about what Group Policy Objects are being applied, and how you can get the All Application Packages group the proper permissions via the Group Policy Object.

Direct your Domain Administrator to MSKB Article KB2798317 to resolve this issue.

I’ll be updating this article over the next couple of days with additional troubleshooting steps.

Dave