Exploring Device Management.
31 December 2023
Intune is a cloud-based service that allows organizations to manage their devices and applications remotely. It is a powerful tool that helps IT admins manage and secure their devices, and ensure that their users have access to the right applications and data. However, sometimes things don’t go as planned, and an Intune software package may fail to install. In this blog post, we’ll look at some troubleshooting steps you can take before uploading the package to Intune.
Before uploading a package to Intune, it’s essential to ensure that all its dependencies are met. Dependencies are additional software components that a package needs to function correctly. Some dependencies may already be present on the target device, while others may need to be installed separately. To check the dependencies of a package, you can use a tool like Dependency Walker. It will scan the package and generate a list of all the DLLs, EXEs, and other files that the package depends on. You can then check whether these dependencies are already present on the target device or not.
Before deploying a package to production devices, it’s a good idea to test it in a sandbox environment. A sandbox environment is a separate testing environment that is isolated from your production environment. You can use a virtual machine or a separate physical machine to create a sandbox environment. Once you have set up the sandbox environment, you can upload the package to Intune and test it on the sandbox device. This will help you identify any issues with the package before you deploy it to your production devices.
If a package fails to install, you can check the installation logs to identify the issue. The installation logs contain detailed information about the installation process, including any errors or warnings that occurred. You can find the installation logs in the Event Viewer under the Application log. Look for any events with a Source of „MsiInstaller“ or „MSIEXEC“ to find the installation logs. If you use an packaging wrapper like me (https://niklasrast.wordpress.com/2022/12/06/intune-packaging-wrapper/) you can also add your own logging and check if errors will be logged here.
PsExec is a tool from the Sysinternals suite that allows you to execute commands on remote systems. You can use PsExec to test the package installation on a target device before uploading it to Intune. To do this, copy the package to the target device and use PsExec to execute the installation command in the system context. This will help you identify any issues with the package installation, such as missing dependencies or incorrect command-line arguments. Intune will use the system context on your Windows clients to install the packages with PsExec you can enter the system context and test if your package will work in this context as you packaged it.
The Intune Management Extension is a service that runs on Intune-managed devices. It is responsible for deploying and managing software packages on these devices. If a package fails to install, you can check the Intune Management Extension logs to identify the issue. The logs contain detailed information about the package installation process, including any errors or warnings that occurred. You can find the Intune Management Extension logs in the Event Viewer under the Applications and Services Logs\Microsoft\Intune Management Extension\Operational log.
Intune is a powerful tool for managing devices and applications in an organization. However, sometimes things don’t go as planned, and a package may fail to install. Before uploading a package to Intune, it’s essential to ensure that all its dependencies are met, test it in a sandbox environment, check the installation logs, test the installation with PsExec, and check the Intune Management Extension logs. By following these troubleshooting steps, you can identify and resolve any issues with the package installation before deploying it to your production devices.