look, I get it. getting MDT compatibility working every time there’s a new version of windows 10 is NOT a fun time for developers. there are so many nooks and crannies in code to consider, and I don’t envy that team.

HOWEVER.

I am amazed at the inconsistencies when using MDT each and every version of windows 10. 1607, especially LTSB, was a breeze. 1809, not so bad. just removed a bunch of store apps using powershell and things shook out okay. 1909, well that was a bit of a bitch with the store apps. but I was able to automate more stuff thanks to the power of REG IMPORT and other neat things. then came 20H2/2009…

I did my normal stuff. copied the templates from last year, applied the new base ISO for 20H2, then configured a VM to take the new build. after I set up everything on the VM how I like, the capture wouldn’t work. it literally would say it completed but did NOTHING after freezing on the “configure” task and happily breezing past the rest of the task sequence. what do? well, apparently there are capture bugs where legacy BIOS doesn’t work anymore. I downloaded and applied the new DLL’s recommended by microsoft. did that fix it? NOPE.

after several failures, I decided to build out my first EFI virtual machine. not that tough. vmware is pretty good about options. I sent the build out again. configured what I needed to. ran the capture. it failed. well, just dandy. built it again, as a base image, no configs, and captured. IT WORKED. now what? I need all my pretty configurations and applications.

so I built the VM from base, again. and messed with it a little. capture worked. great! except… I didn’t do one of my primary application installations in my rush to test. no problem; I’ll just do that and capture just like before. BUT IT FAILED. after it rebooted post sysprep, it just loaded back into windows!!! what the fuuuuuuuuuuu-

so I said screw this, I’m going to start again again (again), and booted into PXE. but DO YOU KNOW WHAT STARTED ON ITS OWN? the “create WIM” task. okay. so it’s something to do with reboots? after doing some reading on reddit, I felt better about my deduction.

THE CONCLUSION: before I start my sysprep and capture task sequence, I wipe out ALL customsettings.ini EXCEPT:
<sub>[Settings]
Priority=TaskSequenceID, Default
Properties=MyCustomProperty

[Default]
SkipDomainMembership=YES
SkipProductKey=YES
SkipComputerBackup=NO
DoCapture=YES
SkipCapture=NO
SkipAdminPassword=YES
FinishAction=Shutdown
SLShareDynamicLogging=\\address\deploymentshare$\Logs\%OSDComputerName%
EventService=http://address
ComputerBackupLocation=%DEPLOYROOT%\Captures</sub>

Then I have to set the VM to boot to the BIOS menu on next reboot, so I can manually choose PXE, to properly capture the WIM. THEN I start the sysprep and capture task sequence. whyyyyyy?!?!? I DON’T KNOW. but this is what I’m doing now.

ya know, the inconsistencies in windows 10 are astounding. with my current responsibilities, I constantly struggle with configuring and deploying software thanks to the ever-evolving landscape that is the microsoft hellbeast, windows 10. don’t even get me started on store apps.

but we’re here to focus on windows 10 and its interaction with office 2016. “2016?” you may guffaw. well, we have some apps that still prefer the old school MSI style of installations. not my pig, not my farm. what IS MY PIG and THE FARM I WANT TO BURN DOWN are the interactions with windows 10 versions and office 2016.

it started simple enough – build out a new MSP (using the microsoft office customization tool) that basically matches 2013’s, test, keep moving forward.

THE WRENCH: office 2016/windows 10 doesn’t care to have a folder in the start menu that contains all office products. why? I dunno. my boss always says it’s because there are so many different developer teams in microsoft and they don’t talk to each other lol.

THE SOLUTION: create my own start menu folder and stick the shortcuts all in there. works! under additional content > configure shortcuts, I created new program shortcuts under [ProgramMenuFolder]\Microsoft Office 2016. now all the office programs would be contained in a folder called Microsoft Office 2016, instead of them loose in the start menu, alphabetically taunting me. WEIRD SIDE NOTE: when adding or modifying the shortcut entry, I kept getting an error that I had to fill out the “start in” field. but I didn’t need anything there?!?! I had to put an open straight bracket [ in that field for it to save. harmless, apparently. and it worked after that.

THE STORM OF BULLSHIT: testing went great. I used my own machine and several others to test. but you know what we never really focused on? outlook 2016 toast notifications. toast notifications? yes, the notifications that slide over from the notification center are called toast notifications. hamilton gets stuck in my head every time I say it. related: I’m not always satisfied with microsoft. har har.

back to the toast. they work fine on my machine. I meeeeeean, a little awkwardly because the notifying app is called “microsoft.office.outlook.exe.16” which is laughable. we blame this once again on development teams not talking to each other. or the fact that microsoft straight-up doesn’t care about MSI installs and only wants us to use click-to-run/store apps. hey, I’m not bitter. you’re bitter. shut up.

why in the world would the outlook 2016 toasts work for me but not others? I built this office 2016 creature. I tended to it, I coaxed it to do my bidding, and as far as my tests showed, everything was great. but guess what? I’m on windows 10 SAC 1909. others are on SAC 1809. and this… this is the problem. an operating system that reacts differently based on a feature update. I found a fantastic ITninja post by ondrar, where he had done the same thing – customized his office 2016 installation to create an office 2016 folder in the start menu, and have all the shortcuts in there. he said one of the requirements for HIS version of windows 10 (1709) was to make sure the icons were in the root of the start menu. using that as a testing scenario, I proved it out on my SAC 1809 build. and against all rational thought, ondrar was right. when I did a basic, uncustomized office 2016 install with all the damn shortcuts FLOATING AROUND THE START MENU LIKE THEY’D LOST THEIR WAY HOME, the toast notifications worked. they worked.

where does this leave me? either making a mess of the start menu, or furiously working to feature-update those on 1809. thanks, microsoft.