I'm trying to figure out how to add an interactive prompt to an SCCM task sequence that allows users to defer an OS upgrade installation. Currently, my task sequence is set to 'Install: Required,' and it's smoothly upgrading my test machine from Windows 10 to 11 whenever scheduled. However, my boss wants a pop-up window to appear before the installation, giving users the choice to either proceed or defer the installation for a few hours. I think this is doable by adding a step at the start of the task sequence to run a PowerShell script with buttons that return error codes. But to be honest, my SCCM training was seven years ago, and I'm still pretty new to PowerShell. Any guidance would be appreciated!
4 Answers
Don't forget to check out the resources on the PSAppDeployToolkit website. It might just have everything you need to get started!
Have you considered using the PSAppDeployToolkit? It has plenty of modules designed for situations like this and even supports deferred installs out of the box. I developed a module for our needs that creates a scheduled task for longer deferrals and manages it well for later runs. It could simplify your task sequence quite a bit!
This is definitely the way to go. Look over their example scripts and tweak them to fit your needs. If you're new to PowerShell, this is a great chance to learn!
That's interesting! My boss suggested the same tool, but I couldn’t wrap my head around how it works.
When I was dealing with the task sequence transition from Win 7 to Win 10, I made the task sequence available for 30 days before the deadline. Users would receive daily notifications about it, ramping up as it got closer to the deadline. It worked like a charm!
That's pretty cool! How did you manage to get those notifications to pop up?
It seems like a lot of folks have thrown some good technical solutions your way. Just a thought from my experience: rather than letting users defer, we let them choose to opt-in to the upgrade whenever they felt ready. We made the upgrade available for a couple of weeks, then shifted it to a required deployment but gave them a month to prepare. This way, users got ample notifications, and it worked really well for us without needing a complicated deferral process!
Thanks, that sounds like a solid approach! I think I might follow your lead on that.
Absolutely, just put together a simple package with a defer prompt. Once you nail that, you can follow up with a PowerShell command to trigger the task sequence. There are tons of examples online to help you out!