At the time of writing Windows Admin Center has been around for almost 18 months, in those 18 months it’s come a long way and is still being actively developed and updated. It’s a simple install, can be installed on either Windows 10 or Server 2016/2019, doesn’t require an internet connection or Azure, and will work with your existing on-prem servers. It’s also free. Windows Admin Center (WAC) is a much needed tool for modernising the management of servers in the Microsoft ecosystem.

As you may be able to tell I’ve updated the site design and structure to assist in finding the most relevant information. I’ve also recently updated all my PowerShell utilities to support custom subject lines in the email output, along with a few other improvements and fixes. The best place to get my most up to date utilities and see other scripts I’m working on is on my GitHub. I still update the scripts on TechNet and PowerShell Gallery, but GitHub is where I focus my work.

Download it from the Microsoft TechNet Gallery the PowerShell Gallery and GitHub. Today I’ve released a minor update to my Hyper-V Backup Utility. In version 4.4 I’ve added more feedback when the script is used interactively. Whether you are running Hyper-V on a Windows 10 desktop or a Windows Server 2016 cluster, this utility can be used to backup your virtual machines. My original post with the full documentation is available here.

If you’re familiar with deploying Office 2016 or any previous version, then the first big change when looking into Office 2019 or Office 365 is that there is no longer an MSI installer. Office 2019/Office 365 is now only available as a ‘Click-to-Run’ installation, which means we’ll need to change how we package, deploy and update Office 2019 or Office 365. Links to sites used in this post: Download the Office Deployment Tool (ODT) from Microsoft here.

Here’s a couple of helpful tips and tricks I’ve found from Windows 10 1909/1903 and previous versions. Let’s get into them! Search and Cortana Are Separated In 1903/1909 A good change IMO and my first impressions of the new search is that it’s back to being as good as Windows 7’s. The search bar on the Taskbar is now just search and has nothing to do with Cortana. By default the search bar is expanded on the Taskbar and Cortana is just an icon.

I’ve updated my previous post on removing the built-in apps from Windows 10 to reflect the minor changes in the Windows 10 1903 May 2019 Update. You can find that post here, or under the Windows Deployment menu at the top of the page, and click on 1903 May 2019 Update (19H1). If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Thank you. -Mike

Current Known Issue: With the Windows 10 1903 ADK on 64-bit, the Windows System Image Manager (WSIM) will fail to generate a catalogue. Microsoft has issued a fix which you can download here. The fix contains two updated files, ImageCat.exe and ImgMgr.exe which need to be copied to the location the ADK is installed. By default the location is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\WSIM. After installation you will still not be able to access the WSIM through MDT, but launching WSIM manually and then opening the install.

Current Known Issue: With the Windows 10 1903 ADK on 64-bit, the Windows System Image Manager (WSIM) will fail to generate a catalogue. Microsoft has issued a fix which you can download here. The fix contains two updated files, ImageCat.exe and ImgMgr.exe which need to be copied to the location the ADK is installed. By default the location is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\WSIM. After installation you will still not be able to access the WSIM through MDT, but launching WSIM manually and then opening the install.

Download it from the Microsoft TechNet Gallery, PowerShell Gallery and GitHub. I’ve released a major update to my Automated WSUS Maintenance utility. If you are using a previous version, please update to this new one. Fixed in version 1.7: The script will now not run the clean-up process twice. The script will now report if the service isn’t running before starting. My original post with the full documentation is available here.

Download it from GitHub, the Microsoft TechNet Gallery and the PowerShell Gallery. I’ve released a minor update to my Network Device Status Monitor utility. New in 1.1: Updated the style of the web page with a cleaner look. Added CSS animations for online devices. The CSS animations do not display when the utility is in ‘report’ mode. This is configured by omitting the -refresh switch, as I assume that this configuration is used to email the HTML report page rather than monitor continuously.

Download it from GitHub, the Microsoft TechNet Gallery and the PowerShell Gallery. I’ve released a minor update to my Windows Server Status Monitor utility. New in 1.6: Updated the style of the web page with a cleaner look. Added CSS animations for online devices. The CSS animations do not display when the utility is in ‘report’ mode. This is configured by omitting the -refresh switch, as I assume that this configuration is used to email the HTML report page rather than monitor continuously.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit has been updated to build 8456 and includes support for: Windows 10, version 1809 Windows Server 2019 Windows ADK for Windows 10, version 1809 Configuration Manager, version 1810 The full release notes are available from Microsoft here. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. -Mike

I’ve made all builds of 3D Maze Remix v1.3 available to download on itch.io, you can find it here: https://mikegalvin.itch.io/3d-maze-remix Making version v1.3 available on the Microsoft Store has proved to be impossible due to changes in Microsoft’s terms and conditions, however for some reason these changes don’t mean that the original version I uploaded to the Microsoft has been taken off, I just can’t update it. Itch.io seems like a good place for the game to live from here on out.