After having to sit in the conference room for 4 days straight and participate in a “PC Pitstop” where users brought thier laptops in i began to think there has got to be an easier way to do some of this, which lead me on a google quest for: AutoUpdate CRM Server.
Luckly I found some information that lead me to setup and configure the AutoUpdate feature to Microsoft CRM 4.0
1. Download the hotfix or Rollup to your Computer and extract the contents
a) Extracting the contents of the client patch on your System to determine the PatchId value which is required for the XML file configuration:
b) Open a command prompt, and type [DownloadLocation]CRMv4.0-KB[KB#here]-i386-Client-ENU.exe /x
c) You will be prompted for a location to which the files will be extracted
d) Once extracted, find the config.xml file at the root of the directory
e) Within the XML file, copy the value of the element and paste it into your
configuration file you will create in Step 3
2. Copy the exe file you downloaded (CRMv4.0-KB[KB#here]-i386-Client-ENU.exe )to the Server at location C:Program FilesMicrosoft Dynamics CRMCRMWebCRMPatches
3. Creating a configuration XML file name CRMRollup[#]Config.xml
<ClientPatches>
<Create>
<ClientPatchInfo>
<PatchId>(enter patch ID from above)</PatchId>
<Title>CRM v4 Update Rollup #</Title>
<Description>CRM v4 Update Rollup #</Description>
<IsMandatory>false</IsMandatory>
<IsEnabled>true</IsEnabled>
<ClientType>OutlookDesktop,OutlookLaptop</ClientType>
<LinkId>(file name of rollup that you put in patch directory)</LinkId>
</ClientPatchInfo>
</Create>
</ClientPatches>
Note: The title and description are up to the administrator to complete.
Note: The IsMandatory option dictates whether a user has to install this hotfix in order to continue using CRM functionality within CRM.
Note: The ClientType can be either OutlookDesktop or OutlookLaptop or OutlookDesktop,OutlookLaptop depending on which clients should receive the updates.
4. Copy the xml config file to c:Program filesMicrosoft Dynamics CRMTools
5. On the Server in a command prompt, go to the directory where the ClientPatchConfigurator.exe is located at c:Program filesMicrosoft Dynamics CRMTools and type microsoft.crm.tools.clientpatchconfigurator.exe [configfile].xml
6. Once the patch has been uploaded, launch the Outlook client
When Outlook launches, the following screen will pop up:
When complete, you’ll see this screen:
7. You can then proceed to use CRM with the hotfixes applied. The hotfix installs will show in the Installed Updates area within Programs and Features in the Windows 7 Control Panel.
To Remove a Rollup from being listed
1. Creating a configuration XML file name RemoveCRMMRollup[#]Config.xml, where is equal to the patch you want to remove
<ClientPatches>
<Delete>
<PatchId>{A4CEC8ED-18B4-4682-9D4D-1BD0C4FC85AC}</PatchId>
</Delete>
</ClientPatches>
2. Copy the config file to c:Program filesMicrosoft Dynamics CRMTools
3. On the Server in a command prompt, go to the directory where the ClientPatchConfigurator.exe is located at c:Program filesMicrosoft Dynamics CRMTools and type microsoft.crm.tools.clientpatchconfigurator.exe [configfile].xml