SCCM OS Upgrade Task with custom WIM

[smarties11]

We're deploying out Win 10 20H2 ready for the 1809 end of support in May. Most machines will be reimaged, but we have some machines I'd prefer to upgrade.

 

I've never done an OS upgrade task in SCCM, it looks like you use the original install media including setup.exe rather than a single WIM.

 

My question is, in this scenario can I replace the install.wim file with our custom one still, which has had all of the rubbish appx removed and the other OS flavour indexes removed, or will this break the process?

 

Is there a better way? I know I could remove the appx apps we don't want after the upgrade but I'd rather not introduce an extra step to manage.

 

Thanks!

[chris_uk]

Import the 20H2 version of the OS into Software Library \ Operating Systems \ Operating System Upgrade Packages. Right click, Add operating system upgrade package.

Follow the on screen instructions.

 

Now Click on Software Library \ Operating Systems \ Task Sequences. Right Click, Create Task Sequence. Select Upgrade an operating system from an upgrade package. Go through the options. Once you have finished you will be able to modify the task sequence to be the same as the fresh install.

 

Good guide is also here - https://systemcenterdudes.com/deploy-sccm-windows-10-20h2/

[smarties11]

Thanks for your reply Chris. I know what steps to take, my question was; before I import the OS upgrade package; can I switch out the WIM file that comes with the vanilla image, with our our custom one that has already had the unwanted appx apps removed?

[chris_uk]

Create a duplicate windows 10 20h2 folder and replace the existing wim with your modified wim.

[smarties11]

Create a duplicate windows 10 20h2 folder and replace the existing wim with your modified wim.

 

I understand how I would achieve it, I'm looking to see if anyone has done this and whether it's successful (i.e. does it then break the upgrade process if you replace the vanilla WIM with a custom one). I can't find a definitive answer online from any official source so thought I'd ask here!

[Guest Guest]

I tried this with a custom image and couldn't get it to work. Turns out custom images aren't supported

[smarties11]

I tried this with a custom image and couldn't get it to work. Turns out custom images aren't supported

 

Bummer. I thought this would be the case. I guess I'll just have to use the vanilla image then and remove the appx apps in a task sequence. Thanks for your feedback!

[3s-gtech]

With the newer versions, I've gone away from custom WIMs and just remove the apps I don't want with Powershell scripts. It's perhaps not quite as clean, but it's a lot simpler!

[smarties11]

With the newer versions, I've gone away from custom WIMs and just remove the apps I don't want with Powershell scripts. It's perhaps not quite as clean, but it's a lot simpler!

 

It used to be the case that if they weren't removed from the WIM, they would reappear after windows updates etc. That might have changed now though! Which script do you use to remove them out of interest?

[3s-gtech]

That's correct, but I believe it changed with 1909(?)

 

I use e.g for OfficeHub:

 

Get-appxpackage -allusers *officehub* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-appxpackage *Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub* | Remove-AppxPackage -allusers
Get-appxprovisionedpackage -online | where-object {$_.packagename -like '*Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub*'} | remove-appxprovisionedpackage -online

 

Belt and braces, but this works when run as a startup script.

 

The reason for the first two being different is one may throw an error, and the other may then work. The third entry removes for all future users on that machine.

Repeat this for every app you want removed. You'll need the app names.

[smarties11]

Hi,

 

Just to report back I went ahead and tested this anyway - nothing to lose - came back this morning to a successfully upgraded machine (1809 -> 20H2)! This was a using a custom WIM (the original vanilla WIM with unwanted appx apps removed and the unwanted operating system indexes removed - both removed on a mounted WIM using Microsoft tools). So perhaps it works if you manipulate the mounted WIM with Microsoft's command line tools but just not if you use a WIM you have captured yourself?