While working on a new Windows 10 v1903 deployment, I encountered an application installation that randomly fails in SCCM. A goal for this new release was to deliver a faster and cleaner task sequence. Unnecessary tasks were stripped, and the order changed significantly. However, last I experienced this strange problem. Applications would randomly fail to install during the deployment.
Background
While deploying machines with the task sequence, some would randomly fail. An application installation randomly fails and it wasn’t always the same application. This raises eyebrows and makes it instantly hard to point out where it goes wrong. I started with some basic troubleshooting, but could not get my head around it.
Possible solutions from the internet
During the process of troubleshooting, one individual posited that the power settings within Windows PE could be contributing to the issue at hand. Responses such as “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” were received, which did not gave the confidence that the issue would be resolved.
Furthermore, guidance from a TechNet page indicated that Solid-State Drives (SSDs) might cause the application installation process to fail. The suggested course of action involved the incorporation of a 60-second delay within the task sequence prior to commencing application installation, attributed to the excessive speed of SSDs. This suggestion, which dates back to 2014, seems to be a workaround rather than a definitive solution. Given the passage of time, it would be reasonable to expect Microsoft to have addressed and remedied such issues at the time of writing.
Puzzling the solution together
Suddenly it all came together. I tried the 60 second delay, and for some reason it solved the issue. Does it take some time for the machine to prepare itself so it can resume the task sequence? By comparing the 1703 production deployment with our 1903 deployment, one thing got my attention.
Drivers would be applied after the installation of all the applications.
Including storage drivers and all that other stuff that is necessary to make Windows function properly. I changed the order to let the task sequence install drivers first, and install applications after. That solved the issue immediately.
Why would the application installation randomly fail?
My guess is that Windows would try to install built-in drivers from the internal driver store, and that reads/writes would be interrupted because of that. Unfortunately it isn’t worth to spend more time and effort to get to the bottom of it. I am happy that I didn’t stop implementing the 60 second delay. It would have worked, but just didn’t feel right.