October 2004 - Duncan McAlynn Microsoft System Center

Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 Service Pack 1

To roughly zero fanfare, Microsoft has released Virtual PC 2004 SP1. It fixes a number of issues including the performance problems with XP SP2 in a VM. Be sure to shut down all of your VMs prior to installing. Apparently VMs in a “saved state”...

Published Fri, Oct 29 2004 6:55 AM by lduncan

MOM 2005 Team Adopts "Ladybug"

Have a feature request, product enhancement, or potential bug with MOM? Feel free to contact the product team DIRECTLY. The MSDN Product Feedback Center, codenamed Ladybug, now allows you to search for existing reports or submit your own suggestion. These...

Published Tue, Oct 26 2004 3:22 PM by lduncan

MS04-038 Command Line Arguments

Contrary to most Internet Explorer patches, MS04-038 uses “ /quiet /norestart ” to automate the distribution in a corporate setting instead of the “ /q:a /r:n ” command line arguments that are normally used with SMS . This is causing...

Published Tue, Oct 26 2004 8:51 AM by lduncan

New Section: About Me

I've added a new section to the site. In About Me you'll learn about some of the things that I'm passionate about. Ever hear of Ballycastle? How about Geocaching? No? Then click the About Me link to the left and learn more.

Published Tue, Oct 26 2004 7:39 AM by lduncan

Just How Bad Is Altiris Tech Support?

If you're an Altiris customer that's had a bad experience with the tech support, I'd love to hear about it. You can either use the 'Contact' option in the toolbar (anonymous) or use the Feedback option on this post (public). All experiences, both good...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2004 3:41 PM by lduncan

Security Expert Claims Altiris Tech Support Are "Morons", Posts Vulnerability in Carbon Copy

Last Friday a security expert posted a new vulnerability in the Altiris Carbon Copy remote contol product. He resorted to this only after repeated attempts to alert the Lindon, UT company of its error. However, the apparent incapacity of the tech support...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2004 3:24 PM by lduncan

The Debate Continues

Still following the SMS vs Altiris banter? Well, it's now had spillage over to Rod Trent's blog. Read how Travis Davis and I go blow-to-blow on the subject: http://msmvps.com/rodtrent/archive/2004/10/25/16636.aspx . Don't worry though, it's all in good...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2004 3:08 PM by lduncan

SMS 2003 Advanced Client Download / Installation

I recently posted the following to the myITForum.com SMS mail list and thought it might be of interest to others. So here you go: One of the nice features of the Advanced Client is the BITS technology*. If you look at the logging for the CCMSETUP one...

Published Fri, Oct 22 2004 5:33 PM by lduncan

Sample Scripts for VPN Quarantine

The following link contains sample scripts for validating remote client machine configuration in a VPN quarantine network. If you're not familiar with the built-in quarantine support for Windows Server 2003, this is definitately something you should check...

Published Wed, Oct 20 2004 10:58 AM by lduncan

SQL Server 2000 Management Pack for MOM 2005

By detecting and alerting on critical events and operational conditions, the SQL Server 2000 Management Pack helps you identify, understand, and resolve possible service outages or configuration problems. Download this Management Pack by clicking here...

Published Tue, Oct 19 2004 1:33 PM by lduncan

Altiris vs SMS (Round 2)

OK, so after my recent entry about the LawNet presentation, I've received several inquiries about my statement that “Altiris is becoming less and less of a competitor to Microsoft”. Allow me to expand on that thought. NOTE: The following is...

Published Tue, Oct 19 2004 11:36 AM by lduncan

LawNet Presentation in Austin, Texas

I was recently asked to present at the Austin LawNet SIG meeting by Dell Professional Services. The presentation was on comparing the SMS 2003 product to Altiris' Client Management Suite. There were a half-dozen law firms represented by their IT staff...

Published Mon, Oct 18 2004 11:41 AM by lduncan

Windows User State Migration Tool (USMT) version 2.6 Released to Web

Microsoft® Windows® User State Migration Tool (USMT) version 2.6 migrates user files and settings during large deployments of Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP. USMT captures desktop, network, and application settings as well as a user's...

Published Mon, Oct 18 2004 11:30 AM by lduncan

Microsoft Releases the MOM 2005 Resource Kit

The Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 Resource Kit contains five downloadable tools to help ease systems monitoring using MOM 2005: Management Pack Toolkit Infrastructure Management Solution Accelerators MOM Product Connectors Troubleshooting Tools...

Published Wed, Oct 13 2004 5:20 PM by lduncan

Hotfix Available for MOM Management Pack Import Process

A problem has been identified in the MOM management pack import process. When importing management packs which share a root level rule group, product knowledge can be lost when using the replace option during import. This QFE resolves this issue to prevent...

Published Wed, Oct 13 2004 8:43 AM by lduncan

Systems Management Server 2003 SP1 Status Message Documentation

This downloadable spreadsheet lists all status messages that are generated by Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 SP1. You can find specific status messages by using the filters in the spreadsheet. You can filter messages by message ID, by message type...

Published Tue, Oct 12 2004 1:55 PM by lduncan

AdminStudio SMS Edition Released

AdminStudio ® SMS Edition is the result of collaboration between Macrovision (formerly InstallShield), and the Microsoft Systems Management Server team to provide integration for customers seeking to simplify their Windows Installer software repackaging...

Published Tue, Oct 05 2004 3:03 PM by lduncan

Microsoft Management Summit 2005 Dates Confirmed

The next Microsoft Management Summit will be held in Las Vegas on April 18 th – 22 nd 2005 – save the date now! Visit the event web site www.mms2005.com after October 15 th for more information.

Published Tue, Oct 05 2004 3:00 PM by lduncan

MOM 2005 Deployment Guide Final Chapter Now Available

The final chapter of the MOM 2005 Deployment Guide "Deploying MOM 2005 in Advanced Environments" now available on the download center, along with it’s companion "MOM 2005 Deployment Checklists" at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx...

Published Tue, Oct 05 2004 2:59 PM by lduncan

Microsoft Releases SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Dell Updates

The SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Dell Updates (Beta) allows you to determine compliance and deploy the necessary updates for Dell BIOS, firmware and drivers using the same process utilized to deploy security updates with SMS 2003. The SMS 2003 Inventory...

Published Mon, Oct 04 2004 1:43 PM by lduncan