Mark Allen IT Blog

PowerShell: Get Programs and Features properties

markhallen14th September 201814th September 2018

The function is named Get-ArpPropertyByDisplayName and will quickly retrieve and return any of the properties of an installed application stored in the Windows registry.

PowerShell Module: Set the ConfigMgr Limiting Collections

markhallen18th January 20184th April 2018

I wrote a short blog post recently describing how you can semi-automatically update the limiting collection for all collections in a Configuration Manager console folder here. However, as is commonly the case, a one-time task became something that needed to be done at scale. We suddenly needed to embark on a mass reorganisation of our […]

Bulk update ConfigMgr limiting collection

markhallen12th December 201718th January 2018

UPDATE: the requirement below grew after I wrote this post, and so I have created a module to streamline the process; you can read about and get it from here. This is the second time that I needed to perform this task so, even though it is quite simple, I thought I would put it out […]

Automated creation of ConfigMgr operational collections

markhallen4th January 2017

Query collections can be used in SCCM to target or give a quick counts of specific device states. For example we could create a query collection that contains all Windows 10 workstations. Manually creating these types of collections can be quite time consuming especially if you manage multiple sites or hierarchies, therefore automatically generating these query […]

Import certificates into Java RTE using ConfigMgr Compliance Settings

markhallen26th November 201628th November 2016

We recently had a requirement from a customer to import two certificates into the Windows client’s Java Runtime certificate store. The problem they were experiencing was that when they tried to connect to a particular custom web app they were receiving a security prompt. Prompts such as this usually generate service desk calls and conditioning […]

Automated creation of a default Configuration Manager folder structure

markhallen28th October 201629th October 2016

TLDR: https://github.com/markhallen/configmgr/blob/master/New-CMFolders We regularly create Configuration Manager hierarchies for new customers and we like to standardise the organisation of the different object types. For this reason automation provides expediency, convenience and conformity. The New-CMFolders PowerShell script will accept a CSV file of the desired folder structure and create the folders therein. Mandatory parameters The script […]

Batch update Configuration Manager Software Metering Rules

markhallen29th August 20168th March 2017

I recently encountered an issue where a batch of Software Metering rules were not returning any results because the language settings were too specific. To resolve the issue I used two PowerShell commands to batch update the language to “Any”. The metering rules were all prefixed with a regular string so I first retrieved an […]

Windows 10 November 2015 Update disconnected me from the internet but there is an easy fix

markhallen14th November 201514th November 2015

I updated my home Windows 10 computer with the November 2015 (10586) update this week and when the process was complete I could not connect to the internet. I’m sharing my experience here in case someone else experiences the same issue because there is a very simple fix. My initial thought was that the NIC drivers […]

Planning the bulk import of applications into Configuration Manager

markhallen4th November 201529th October 2016

I love working to a plan; I like to think through what is the best way to build something in the best possible way before implementation, however this isn’t always possible, and in some situations not desirable. I’m not talking about always planning the full life-cycle of a product or project but at least planning […]

Proof of concept to mass import, organise, distribute and deploy applications in Configuration Manager

markhallen4th November 201529th October 2016

In time I will update this post with a breakdown of how it works but I am posting it in full now to support my blog post on Planning the bulk import of applications into SCCM 2012 R2 It is heavily influenced by the following three articles: http://www.david-obrien.net/2013/07/create-new-configmgr-applications-from-script-with-powershell/ http://www.dexterposh.com/2014/04/powershell-sccm-2012-r2-create-folders.html http://www.dexterposh.com/2014/03/powershell-sccm-2012-r2-create.html This script is not intended for […]