WINDOWS 10 IN-PLACE UPGRADE USING SYSTEM CENTER CONFIGURATION MANAGER 2012 R2-SP1

1.1 Prerequisites

  • A System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager site is already installed and configured
  • Configuration Manager Clients are deployed and running at least Windows 7 OS
  • Windows 10 Enterprise (32 and 64 Bit) media (ISO file should be extracted as pictured below).

Download the Task sequence from the below URL and extract it to a network share.
It should look like below.

Windows-vNextUpgradeExport.zip
Windows-vNextUpgradeExport_files

o    Windows vNext Upgrade Media (empty)
o    Windows vNext Upgrade Script

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/enterprisemobility/2015/06/16/revised-content-for-the-windows-10-in-place-upgrade-via-task-sequence-for-configuration-manager/

1.2 Preparation of Task Sequence.

Extract the downloaded Task Sequence to our deployment root (Where we are placing all the software binaries required for SCCM)

1.      Copy the contents of the Windows 10 Enterprise media into the “Windows vNext Upgrade Media” subfolder. An Upgrade package automatically creates during the Import TS process explained below (Point-3).

2.    “Windows vNext Upgrade Scripts” folder contains the required PowerShell script during the Upgrade process. An Upgrade Script Package automatically creates during the Import TS process.


 3.      Open the Configuration Manager Console, switch to the Software Library workspace, expand Operating Systems, right-click Task Sequences, and select Import Task Sequence
Note:
Downloaded Task Sequence cannot be imported twice on our SCCM console. We have to Right Click on the Imported Task Sequence and Copy to have another Task Sequence – We may need two TS for importing multiple Built/Version for Windows10 Operating System. Process is explained in the below article.

1.3 Task Sequence Creation

1)  Open the Configuration Manager Console, switch to the Software Library workspace, expand Operating Systems, right-click Task Sequences, and select Import Task Sequence


 2)    Browse or Enter the UNC path of vNextUpgradeExport.zip
3) Select Windows-vNextUpgradeExport.zip and click Next

4)  The File Content page will display the following objects with the action, Create New (Action will be Ignore Duplicate in case if we are tried to Import the same TS again.)

o   Windows vNext Upgrade Media (Package)
o   Windows vNext Upgrade Scripts (Package)
o   Windows vNext Upgrade (Task Sequence Package)
5)    Click on the close button from the summary page.
6)    Windows10 Upgrade Task Sequence is ready for deployment. Distribute the Task Sequence to the appropriate distribution point – Below is the reference package that is related to the task sequence.
o   Windows vNext Upgrade Media
o   Windows vNext Upgrade Scripts

7)    Make sure that these two packages are distributed properly before starting Upgrade.

1.4 Task Sequence Modification.

Below are the Important steps involved in the task sequence, we can Right Click on the Task sequence to edit it.
Check Readiness:
These are the minimum system requirements for Windows but can be adjusted as necessary for your environment. Windows Upgradation will fail on Check Readiness step in case the systems are not met as per the configuration.
1.                  Minimum Memory : 2048 in MB
2.                  Minimum Processor : 1024 in MHz
3.                  Free Disk space in System Directory : 5120 in MB
4.                  Current OS to be referred is : CLIENT (Client Operating Systems)


 Note:
SMSTS.Log will provide all the information about Task Sequence and we can refer this log for troubleshooting purpose.
PreSetup:  This runs a corresponding Windows PowerShell script (PreSetup.ps1) to perform a variety of necessary actions prior to running Windows Setup.
Stage Content:  A simple copy of some scripts to a known, local staging directory to be referenced elsewhere in the process
Upgrade Windows:
This is where setup is actually run from the media package to automatically upgrade Windows.
As mentioned earlier in this article, downloaded Task Sequence cannot be imported twice on our SCCM console. We have to follow the below steps for creating another Task sequence from the existing one.
           
1.      Create a Package without program using Windows-10 source file and distribute the package to required distribution point.
2.      Create a New Copy of Task Sequence from our Imported Task sequence (Right Click on the TS and Copy it).
3.      Edit the New Task Sequence and click on Upgrade Windows Step.
4.      Click on the Browse Button and point the newly created Windows-10 Package (Highlighted in red on the above picture)

 Restart:  The task sequence is configured such that this step is only processed if the Upgrade Windows step succeeds. These three steps (Upgrade Windows Recover from Setup Failure, and Restart Computer) need to be kept together for the process to work properly.

·     We can Modify the User Notification on Restart Window
·     Message Delay can be increased as per our requirement. Default time-out will be 30 second.
Post-Processing:   This group is processed when setup successfully completes. Additional steps can be added to this group as needed, such as Install Applications, Run PowerShell and Run Command Line etc.
Rollback: This group is only processed in a rollback scenario. Additional steps can be added to this group as needed, for example to copy logs to a network share. The Trigger Rollback Failure step should be the last one in that group to purposefully fail the task sequence for proper status monitoring.