Unknown Computers in SCCM 2007 R2- how it works

re: Unknown Computers in SCCM 2007 R2- how it works

steverac — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:41:41 GMT

Hi Joachim - from what you have described the PC should be known. There is no need to install an OS first - bare metal provisioning will work fine - all you need to do is import the PC (as you have done), advertise an OSD task sequence to the collection with the imported PC and boot from a boot disk - either USB, CD-ROM or PXE. The scenario you describe is not an unknown computer scenario. If the PC still shows up as not recognized make sure you entered the MAC in the right format - you can see the attempt at matching in the smsts.log - just make sure your boot image that you created has support for F8 debug.

re: Unknown Computers in SCCM 2007 R2- how it works

Joachim — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:21:15 GMT

I want to apply a specific task sequence to a prestaged pc. I imported the pc (vm) with a specfic mac, added the pc to a specific collection and also advertised a program.

But the PC still is categorized as unknown. Do I have to install an OS first to get the client provisioned and to ensure that further advertisments are listed correctly?

Thanks

re: Unknown Computers in SCCM 2007 R2- how it works

steverac — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:20:09 GMT

Yep - I bet you don't have verbose/debug logging enabled in the registry.

re: Unknown Computers in SCCM 2007 R2- how it works

Alessandro Donnini [MCSE] — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:23:36 GMT

Hi Steve, tnx for this post!!

It's really interesting...

I have a question,

Do you know why in my MP_ClientID.log file I only see :

Parse a client ID request MP_ClientIDManager 09/07/2010 17.11.59 6380 (0x18EC)

Send reply message to the client MP_ClientIDManager 09/07/2010 17.11.59 6380 (0x18EC)

Parse a client ID request MP_ClientIDManager 09/07/2010 17.11.59 5044 (0x13B4)

Send reply message to the client MP_ClientIDManager 09/07/2010 17.11.59 5044 (0x13B4)

Parse a client ID request MP_ClientIDManager 09/07/2010 19.32.07 6624 (0x19E0)

Send reply message to the client MP_ClientIDManager 09/07/2010 19.32.07 6624 (0x19E0)

and not a fully log like your file....:-(

tnx in advance

Alex

re: Unknown Computers in SCCM 2007 R2- how it works

steverac — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:58:16 GMT

Variables will work great for this. Just set the variable OSDComputerName to whatever system nameyou want and you should be good to go. You can define OSDComputerName using a script/input file, using a front end of some sort, defining the variable on individual members of a collection, etc. For the unknown computer scenario I would likely use a script. I also always recomment reviewing the list of available TS variables. The ones that start with _ cannot be modified but there are hints about working in certain scenarios ont he page - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb632442.aspx.

re: Unknown Computers in SCCM 2007 R2- how it works

andy — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:00:45 GMT

Hi Steve,

I really like your blog. Especially the stuff about SCCM.

You worte that you can think of some ways to provide computer names - and you like variables. Can you give me an example how this aim is fullfilled with variables in a task sequence?

Thanks in advance,

Andy

re: Unknown Computers in SCCM 2007 R2- how it works

steverac — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:03:09 GMT

You would have to do that as part of the task sequence - there are several ways you could make it happen. I like using variables.

re: Unknown Computers in SCCM 2007 R2- how it works

UmeshMishra — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:41:42 GMT

Nice article Steve!

I know this an old article but I came across it today itself while searching for info about "unknown computer" support in ConfigMgr2007 R2.

I have one question:

How we give a particular name to a unknown computer during imaging process?

When we import manually we provide a computer name and mac address.

thanks,

umesh

Create your custom Boot Wizard - Make it available for all known and unknown Computers

Maik Koster at myITforum.com — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 20:31:36 GMT

This is the final article of a series creating a custom Boot wizard to dynamically choose the Task Sequence

Unknown Computer Support in ConfigMgr R2 Explained

Jeff Gilbert's Web blog at myITforum.com — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:52:02 GMT

Steve Rachui just posted some great information about R2's unknown computer support on his blog: