CloudStuff

Mixed bag of PowerShell scripts that interact with Microsoft's Azure Virtual Desktops offering and Configuration Manager

Overview

These scripts all work to help an administrator take their custom/in-house Windows 1X build and convert it for use with Azure's Virtual Desktops offering. Here is an overly simplified steps list:

• Download and Install Windows ADK on Build Machine (not the system you seek capturing)
• Prepare your Windows PE Media
  • Include ImageX.exe
  • Include the WinPE Optional Components (i.e., PowerShell, DISM, etc.)
  • Create a bootable ISO
• Build your VM as neeeded
• Prepare the Image for Azure
  • See PrepareImageForAzure.ps1
• Sysprep the VM as such C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\Sysprep.exe /OOBE /Generalize /Shutdown
• Boot VM with WinPE ISO
  • Use ImageX to capture the VM as such ImageX.exe /Capture /Compress Maximum C: "\\PATH\TO\SHARE\CustomWindowsBuild.wim" "FIRM - Windows 10 22H2 2024.01.23"
• Create a Virtual Hard Disk file that we will apply the newly-created image to
  • See CreateVHD-GPT.ps1
• Upload VHD to Azure AVD workspace
  • Test it, kick the tires
• Capture the Azure VD, converting it to an image we can use for Session Hosts Pool(s)
  • See CreateAzureImage.ps1

With a customized image and a Session Hosts Pool in place, the following scripts illustrate how to:

• Deploy additional session hosts to a pool
  • See DeployCloudPCs.ps1
• Include a custom script extension that calls a powershell script to install a Configuration Manager client
  • See Unzip.ps1 and InstallConfigMgr.ps1

Notes on Unzip.ps1 and InstallConfigMgr.ps1

• Grab the ConfigMgr folder off your primary site server and copy it somewhere, say \\domain.local\ConfigMgr\5.00.9106.1022
• Drop InstallConfigMgr.ps1 into this share
• Use 7Zip to compress the folder (i.e., 5.00.9106.1022) into a 7z file, say ConfigMgr_5.00.9106.1022.7z
• Grab the following files from your 7Zip installation and copy them into, say \\domain.local\ConfigMgr:
  • 7z.exe
  • 7z.dll
• Grab the following files and copy it to \\domain.local\ConfigMgr:
  • ConfigMgr_5.00.9106.1022.7z
  • Grab Unzip.ps1
• Upload \\domain.local\ConfigMgr to a storage blob container that is accessible to the session hosts you will be deploying.

Additional Notes on InstallConfigMgr.ps1

I added a repair feature to this script due to the corruption issues I've encountered with SCCM (or more recently referrer to as MECM) throughout my career.

The repair feature performs the following:

• Uninstall the MECM agent
• Removes leftover MECM agent directories
• Repairs the WMI repository
• Re-compiles system MOFs and the extended MOFs found in Microsoft Policy Platform
  • Microsoft Policy Platform is installed as a pre-req
• Manually re-registers the ExtendedStatus.MOF file if the ccmsetup.exe process hangs
  • You will see evidence of this in C:\Windows\CCMSetup\ccmsetup.msi.log, but the MOF file is incorrectly referred to as DiscoveryStatus.MOF within the log file.