Systems

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (MECM)

Intended Audience

University of Illinois IT Pros leveraging MECM, hosted by Technology Services' Endpoint Services team

General Information

Please submit driver requests at https://go.illinois.edu/epshelp.

Please keep the following guidelines in mind regarding drivers:

• Enterprise PCs have a Windows sticker on the tower – this means the Windows OS is certified to have built-in drivers for that model
  
  
  • Drivers from the vendor (Dell, HP, Lenovo) provide additional functionality but are not always necessary for the OSD task sequence to complete
    
    
• Each Windows 11 feature update (e.g. 22H2) includes drivers for the enterprise hardware up until its release
  
  
  • For example, the 22H2 feature update will include drivers for Dell enterprise PCs that were released on November 2022 and earlier
  • New enterprise PC models released after the feature update may require a driver package
    
    
• For boot images, each MECM Current Branch release (e.g. 2303) includes drivers for enterprise hardware up until its release
  
  
  • New enterprise PC models released after the Current Branch release may require additional drivers in the boot image
  • Network and storage controller drivers are generally cumulative and support previous generations of hardware
    
    
• Know when to use the 'Auto Apply Drivers' vs  'Apply Driver Package' steps in your task sequence
  
  
  • Recommended: The 'Auto Apply Drivers' step searches for and applies the best-matched drivers and does not require future maintenance
    
    
    • Select the relevant model from the driver categories to limit the scope of drivers. This allows MECM to quickly search for and install the relevant drivers. 
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    • Under the Options tab, add a WMI query to have MECM only run the step for the relevant PC model
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      • Example query: select * from Win32_ComputerSystem where Model LIKE "%7040%"
        
        
    • Do not select the 'Consider drivers from all categories' option, and never select broad categories such as 'Dell', 'Win11' and 'x64'. MECM will time out while searching thousands of drivers.
      
      
  • The 'Apply Driver Package' step references a static driver package and works well if you want to install drivers of a specific age, or if you are using standalone media. This method is less flexible than 'Auto Apply Drivers' but has its uses. Driver packages with older date codes may be removed during recurring audits, so be sure to update your task sequences regularly.
    
    
    • Under the Options tab, add a WMI query to have MECM only run the step for the relevant PC model
      • 
      • Example query: select * from Win32_ComputerSystem where Model LIKE "%7040%"