Hi, Can anyone please let me know how do I create a dynamic collection for all the XP mode machines running under Windows 7 in my environment. Also, what is the best way to do the patching of these XP mode VMs apart from Windows 7 patching. As most of the time these XP mode VMs would be offline I guess. Please suggest

As Scott says treat them as separate PC's. If you have domain joined them and AD Discovery picks them up in SCCM, then if you haven't changed the computer names they will all probably start with VIRTUALXP- and end with the name of the physical computer they run on. If you haven't renamed them and they are domain joined then you can create a collection with a query, looking for anything named like VIRTUALXP-% This will at least let you keep tabs on how many's out there, easier for reporting on patch state etc. If you haven't domain joined them....... Good luck! Cheers, SB My System Center Blog

Thank you all all for your suggestions. The other problem I am facing is that...70% of XP Mode VMs are not getting populated in SCCM via AD system Discovery as they dont have the proper DNS record. If the Virtual Machines have been using Shared NAT for the interface rather than using the machines network card then they will get a local ip address given by the Virtual PC Software therefore it will not be talk to the local DNS server to register its hosts name. Think of it as having your home machine connected to a router to get to the internet. your router will give the machine an ip address to get the outside world but because it is a private ip address the world does not see you computer. In such a scenerio, how these XP mode machines can be tackled to get registered in SCCM via discovery etc..for Patch Management and Software Distribution Please note that all the XP machines VM have the SCCM client installed and joined to the Domain.

I have not tested this within XPMode but this is from the MED-V v2 beta documents and may apply to your situation. I would recommend you try to see if this resolves your NAT issue. Though if you have SA with Microsoft you would be better off cosidering checking out the MED-V v2 beta, tracking down the clients using a query for "Virtual PC" and confirm if it is the one installed with XP Mode, remove it and manage the session with MED-V... NOTE : If you are using SCCM and workspaces configured for NAT, you must install an SCCM client QFE. This QFE update is available for SCCM 2007 R2 SP2 client. QFE can be downloaded at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=201088 For more information see https://connect.microsoft.com/medv/content/content.aspx?ContentID=22300