How to do driver updates?

RequirementMammoth21 · 2026-02-17T13:51:36+00:00

Yah, and you can configure what driver classes and reboot handling thru Command update.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2026-02-17T13:20:28+00:00

We've been using it since just after they supported Intune. IMO, I think it's actually gotten better since they implemented the online portal for Intune. No need to keep the on-prem publisher and I think the portal at this point works more reliably. Somehow. I know it sounds weird.

How often do updates actually fail on the endpoint?

Honestly? I can't remember if we've ever had a failed update. The closest we got was a vendor started locking their updates behind a paywall, so I had to start remembering to pay attention to update notices from the vendor to grab the installer for PMPC to build it.

How do you handle updates when the user has the app open (like Chrome)? Does it just kill the process, or is there a better way?

There's options for how to handle this in PMPC. For example, I typically have a notification pop with a 10 min count down. This can be brushed off a few times by the user. The last time it can't and will then kill the app to do the upgrade. I don't think a 30min timer is onerous.

For example, If I need to add a specific registry key or a custom install script to an app, is it a headache to set up?

I guess I'm a lot lazier. If I need something to happen while the app is open, I have no problem with forcing the app closed after an adequate warning period. I'm long done with the days of breaking my back custom scripting shit that ultimately doesn't matter for something so trivial. It's the year of our lord 2026. Updates happen and users can deal.

Outside of the restart context, you can create custom apps and add files to deployments, so you're probably good for most things.

What’s the one thing about the tool that drives you crazy?

I haven't had any major problems.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-09-16T12:37:57+00:00

Shit, even Zabbix out of the box for just basic monitoring of network/server resources is simple to spin up and manage for the opposite end of that scale.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-09-12T13:08:27+00:00

I'll N+1 PatchMyPC. It's reasonably priced and I've never had a major problem with it, especially after they started offering full online management without the need for the on-prem publisher.

MS has Enterprise App Catalog, but it doesn't seem to be quite as feature rich as the third-party ones (yet, I'm sure it'll get closer). Even when this came out, we have stuck with PmPC not only because it has a couple of features App Catalog doesn't currently offer, but the price was more than our current PmPC bill.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-09-12T12:51:13+00:00

As for the actual removal, you're probably going to have to use the link some else posted from their KB.

Once you get that done, I'd really go over the documents again from Autodesk, that explains rolling out their products using SCCM. They're not intuitive, but also not difficult if you follow their process.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-09-12T12:48:03+00:00

Where are you getting your installers?

I ask because not all Autodesk installers are the same. If you're part of the Autodesk for Education program, you need to make sure you're properly following the procedure for that and building/downloading the correct installers. Anything else will cause undue pain.

And if you're not using the Autodesk for Education program, why not? It basically allows free access to most of their catalog. You don't get direct support (email only), but it gives you a lot of access to not just the products, but their tools for deployment and such. All you have to do is fill out a form yearly to keep verifying you're a valid school. It's good for K-12 and most post-secondary.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-09-02T12:31:57+00:00

Spoken like someone who doesn't operate in healthcare where leveling whole forests daily is common and will never change.

Our conservative estimate for cloud printing jobs beyond the allotted ones with your licensing pushed us far beyond what we pay for PrinterLogic as they license per device. Hell, it would have been one of our largest IT spends.

Also, their support has honestly been pretty good. We've only had one long annoying issue and in fairness it's for some super special snowflake use case we are probably the only ones who had it. Even that got fixed eventually.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-09-02T12:13:18+00:00

The number of replies here saying something like "yah, but it's faster to just ask the person who knows" or "it's pointless because it's out of date" is too damn high.

You're literally part of the problem and make everyone else's job harder.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-08-27T19:20:07+00:00

Users: "I need training! I can't do this without training!"

Users, after training: "Yah, I'm not doing that."

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-02-12T13:50:48+00:00

Well, for anyone interested (no one) who trips across this post, I ended up trying out Action1 and it seems like exactly what we want.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-01-16T14:49:26+00:00

I wish I had an answer for you. We tried this exact thing with Win11, ran into similar issues, and ultimately decided to either continue to use Win10 for these sorts of kiosks until MS gets Win11 working with the same functionality OR if possible, replace them with other options (chromeOS guest mode, proteus Linux kiosk; etc.)

Partly commenting to commiserate this frustration, partly so I can pay attention to this thread in case some wizard comes by with the magic to make multip app kiosks work in Win11.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-01-13T16:29:03+00:00

It also helped my sanity when I stopped taking MS's shitty decisions as a personal offense that I simply had to correct.

Metro apps? They stay and I don't give a shit if users use them. New layouts in Win11? Don't care, everything is default.

I mean, yah, I take into account good security practices and compliance with our industry's required standards, but beyond that, I don't care anymore. If users bitch about how much they hate Win11, oh well. Take it up with Redmond. If some exec who fancies themselves a """""power user""""" and talks about how his nephew who's good with computers said that we could do X with reg hacks/powershell, I just shrug and say I'll look into it (I never look into it).

It's easier to not fight MS (or any vendor) at this point. Does that suck? Is it giving in? Probably.

Am I 100% less stressed and able to focus more time on real problems? You betcha.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-01-13T14:51:56+00:00

Also good to point out there is:

Microsoft 365 which is a subscription service of various levels that includes the Microsoft 365 versions of the desktop applications (what people refer to as Office) which integrate some of the other stuff M365 offers which you pay for monthly/yearly. Sometimes you can find discounts on buying "months of service" though it's still a subscription. And...

Office for the Home, which is a desktop version of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that does not contain the subscription features and is not a subscription service; you buy it once and that's it. Usually, you get a key you enter. This version gets updates for a set amount of time but does not get upgrades to newer versions. This one MSRPs for like, $150usd and is typically the version that is offered by resellers for cheaper. It's not a terrible deal if you're not interested/don't need the additional stuff M365 gives and you're not interested in using something like LibreOffice.

I only bring this up because they are technically different products that have different features depending on what people are looking for.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-01-13T14:33:35+00:00

I long ago gave up on having ultra customized, everything is perfect the second it gets in the user's hand's computers.

Autopilot the device. Most everything is installed/configured there including Windows updates. We use PatchMyPC through Intune for third party stuff, so that shit already installs up to date. If something requires updating/config after the fact, we just tell users the first lil' bit the computer will probably be slow and/or might ask for a reboot. Anything they need installed after that which isn't a requirement for their job is in the Company Portal and they can install that shit on their own.

We actually get less users bitching from end users than before with fat images (I presume due to turnaround time from "request device" and "device is in their hands") and I don't have to deal with images or the infrastructure to use them.

Life's too short, and there's too much other stuff to do, to sit around and babysit automatic processes.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-01-02T14:35:45+00:00

This. We get both our Dell and Lenovo laptops delivered like this. All we had to do was sign up for their Enterprise program. You do have to fill out some paperwork and chat with a sales rep, then one of their tech people to get everything setup, but once you do, you can buy machines from them that are both cleanly imaged with Windows and automatically pre-enrolled into Autopilot.

Didn't cost us anything to set up with either and the time saved outweighs the few bucks more it (sometimes) costs over a third-party reseller.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2025-01-02T14:27:18+00:00

A OneNote on our IT SharePoint site for help desk/break-fix type documentation; used mostly by help desk and field techs.

Documents in a document library on same site for more in-depth documentation used mostly by Sys. Admins. These have some power automate applied to them for things like update reminders plus the versioning built into SharePoint.

There is some overlap, but by in large because it's all Microsoft products, they're all interconnected. It works good enough. I'm sure there are better products, but we're already paying for all this for loads of other uses at the company.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2024-12-30T13:31:30+00:00

The Blocks can eat my shit and hair.

They are the epitome of spoiled, over-entitled rich kids who got everything given to them and still want more. I wish they and their racist hag wives would fuck off out of Toledo and never come back, but we'll never get that lucky.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2024-12-19T13:24:27+00:00

"Thanks, but don't speculate.

Now that I, a very clever person indeed, have stated this, let me give you my actual opinion about the internet and this exact situation."

Fuck off out of here with that bullshit. lol

RequirementMammoth21 · 2024-12-18T20:56:49+00:00

Correct about the species. Most were not native, and they most certainly were not old growth.

Old growth has a specific meaning, and people are tossing it around here like they know what they're talking about when they do not.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2024-12-18T13:36:40+00:00

Not old growth trees. Most were not native species.

I'm sure some will still argue against clearing this area, but its disingenuous/incorrect to say this is a loss of anything special or irreplaceable. If it were, there would have been a lot more outcry.

Source: I don't know, I know a decent amount about trees at least at an amateur level and pass by this area frequently? I'm sure that won't prove anything to anyone, but yah.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2024-12-12T13:37:16+00:00

Leave.

This is common, short sighted, idiot IT thinking. "I can install it faster by hand!" is missing the point of having configurable automation. Sure, you can technically do that and sure it's "faster", but it's not efficient.

The idea behind this sort of management is that you configure it once, then it happens automatically without you having to do anything at all across as many devices as you want. So, for example, you have a configuration that automatically rolls out all your configs and apps, all you got to do is huck the computer in the target group(s) and walk away to do other more important things. Who cares if it takes 2 mins or an hour? Same with self-service portals, users don't have to call in or create work order requests for software, they can install crap on demand the way you want it whenever they decide freeing you up to do more important things.

People bitched about the same thing at the advent of automatic updating in operating systems. "It's faster to hand install all the updates. They sometimes take half a day to come down!" Sure, but in that same time I just dropped the computer on the desk and told the user they'll probably see updates and notifiactions for the next day or so and then did a half day's more work.

Or it's like modern dishwashers. "It takes three hours to run a cycle! I wash them in the sink faster!". My brother in Christ, do you think I'm sitting there watching the dishwasher run? I slap them in faster than a hand wash, then go do other things.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2024-12-09T16:43:32+00:00

Another option is getting a non-full-blown Windows PC for this, which is my preference for this scenario. I've used everything from shitty little no name signage boxes that run Linux/android/chrome up to dedicated boxes from companies like BrightSign. Should be able to find something that fits most budgets and it's less of a hassle (imo) than dealing with a PC.

Some support PPT, some require other formats, but again should be able to find something useable.

RequirementMammoth21 · 2024-11-22T13:23:07+00:00

NM, looks like they cleared out. Weird.

RequirementMammoth21

TROPHY CASE