Author Archives: Scott

Clearing Column and Grid Contents in BatchPatch

By Scott | Published: May 10, 2018

Beginning with the March 2018 version of BatchPatch we improved the functionality for clearing specific grid contents. In the past there were a handful of pre-defined methods hard-coded into the BatchPatch menu that one could use to clear the contents of a group of columns. However, we would regularly receive requests from our users to […]

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BatchPatch Error: -102: Failed to execute the search. HRESULT -XXXXXXXXXX

By Scott | Published: May 2, 2018

BatchPatch Error: -102 is one of the most common errors that users experience. In general, it indicates that the target computer had some type of problem connecting to the update server, which can be either your local WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) server or Microsoft’s public Windows Update or Microsoft Update server. In your ‘Remote […]

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How to Execute Batch Files (.bat or .cmd) on Remote Computers

By Scott | Published: April 23, 2018

Running batch files on target computers is actually a very easy process using BatchPatch. You can execute the same .bat or .cmd file on numerous remote computers simultaneously with just a few clicks. Perhaps the only confusing aspect of this process is that we won’t use the ‘Remote process / command’ action in BatchPatch to […]

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Using the Task Scheduler to Synchronize a BatchPatch Grid with Active Directory OUs and Groups

By Scott | Published: April 10, 2018

If you want to have BatchPatch automatically synchronize a grid with certain Active Directory organizational units (OUs) and groups at a scheduled time, you can do this now using the Task Scheduler in BatchPatch. The idea here is that instead of manually adding and/or removing computers from your BatchPatch grid, you can link a grid […]

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Using Email Notifications to Check Status of Automated Patching Events

By Scott | Published: March 27, 2018

Although we tend to think that BatchPatch really shines when used to execute and monitor patching operations in real-time on numerous remote computers, we have many customers who use BatchPatch to schedule various actions to occur in an automated fashion without any administrator involvement. We don’t recommend this for critical server patching because usually those […]

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BatchPatch Hardware Requirements and Recommendations

By Scott | Published: March 14, 2018

We have never previously posted any specific information about the type of hardware required to run BatchPatch because the reality is that BatchPatch should run fine on almost any modern Windows computer. We have run it without issue on systems with very limited hardware capabilities, but there are still a handful of things worth considering […]

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Creating a Recurring Scheduled Task in BatchPatch

By Scott | Published: March 5, 2018

Today I’m going to talk about the Task Scheduler, recurrence, and the alternative options available to BatchPatch users needing to create tasks that execute more than just one time. Let’s start with the standard recurrence options available in the Task Scheduler options. Scheduled Tasks with Standard Recurrence (Daily, Weekly, Monthly) To create a standard recurring […]

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Deploying Windows Feature Upgrades/Updates Remotely to Multiple Computers

By Scott | Published: February 26, 2018

Beginning with BatchPatch version 202004, Windows 10 ‘feature upgrades’ or ‘feature updates’ such as 1607, 1703, 1709, 1803, 1809, 1903, 1909, 2004, 20H2, 21H1, 21H2 etc can all be installed with the normal Windows Update actions in BatchPatch (you must disable cached mode and also check the ‘Upgrades’ classification under ‘Tools > Settings > Windows […]

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Advanced Multi-Row Queue Sequence – Contingent Operations with Custom Scripts

By Scott | Published: February 16, 2018

Today the goal is to tie together some concepts that I’ve written about in the past in order to demonstrate how you can use the Advanced Multi-Row Queue Sequence to execute certain actions on some hosts with a contingency that something must be true on another host before the additional hosts begin operations. The Plan […]

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BatchPatch Custom Script Integration – Install Windows Updates Only After Stopping a Specified Service

By Scott | Published: February 5, 2018

Today we’re going to look at another example of how you can integrate a custom script into BatchPatch to create an effect that you could not accomplish with the built-in actions alone. The Goal Using a combination of the Job Queue, a Deployment, and a custom script, instruct the target computer(s) to only install Windows […]

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