Frequently asked questions
This page gives short, direct answers to the questions people ask most often about how Overseer behaves. Questions are grouped by topic, and an answer names the fuller article where there is one.
Deployments and maintenance
Does saving a deployment change anything straight away?
No. A deployment is a standing declaration of what should be true. It is safe to save. Nothing happens on a computer until a maintenance session runs for it, because a schedule starts one, a computer is onboarded, or a person presses Run maintenance.
How do deployments get applied without anyone pressing a button?
Create a schedule. A schedule runs recurring detection and maintenance for the computers it targets, inside the maintenance windows you set.
Does Overseer touch a computer before any maintenance runs?
It reads it. Overseer collects inventory from the computers it manages at regular intervals. These reads change nothing, although strict security software may notice the scripts.
Does Run maintenance wait for the maintenance window?
No. Run maintenance pressed by a person runs immediately. Maintenance windows govern scheduled work only.
What happens to a session if the computer is switched off?
The session waits, shown as pending, and resumes when the computer reconnects. It does not fail, and Overseer does not grade the computer from old data.
Can the person using the computer be told about maintenance?
Yes. Overseer can email the user before and after scheduled maintenance, and you decide whether they may postpone it. See Email notifications.
Targeting and exceptions
Can I group computers and deploy to the group?
Yes. Put a tag on the computers and make the tag the target of the deployment.
Can a deployment follow a person instead of a computer?
Yes. Overseer keeps track of who uses each computer and treats that person as its primary user. A deployment that targets a person, or a group of people, applies to the computers they use.
What if I do not know who is going to use a computer?
Target by client or by tag. Settings that belong to one person need a primary user, so assign one when you can. For shared computers, a deployment for the whole client gives every computer the same set.
How do I leave one computer out of a rule?
Add a second deployment for the same item, targeted at that computer, with the desired state Ignored. For example, software that is Installed for a whole client can be Ignored on the one computer that drives a label printer. See Deployment resolution.
Can two deployments manage the same software on one computer?
Only one applies. To run one task several times with different settings, copy the task and deploy each copy.
Onboarding and new computers
Does Overseer image a computer?
No. Overseer does not replace the copy of Windows on a new computer. It brings the factory installation into line with your deployments. Windows feature updates can be installed during onboarding and afterwards.
Do I need a separate agent installer for each client?
No. You can install the agent without choosing the final client, then assign the computer to its client when you onboard it.
How does Overseer recognise a computer it has seen before?
By a hardware identifier that survives a reinstall of Windows, and not by a network address. For manufacturers that give every computer a unique serial number, a matching manufacturer and serial number also ties a new agent to the existing record. A computer that has been wiped shows as needing onboarding again.
Can settings for a person be applied before they first use the computer?
Yes. During onboarding Overseer can create the Windows profile for the computer's primary user, so later tasks have a profile to configure.
Why did joining the domain fail?
Overseer needs to reach a domain controller for that domain, so one must be a managed computer in the same client and online. Read the action's output: it reports name clashes, and security software that stops scripts on the domain controller. Computers join one at a time, so a large batch takes a while.
The agent and compatibility
Which operating systems does Overseer manage?
Windows computers only. Supported operating systems lists the versions.
Does Overseer replace my remote management tool?
It does not need to. Overseer installs its own agent and runs alongside the tool you already have.
How do I remove the agent?
Create a deployment for the Overseer agent with the desired state Uninstalled, or uninstall it on the computer as you would any Windows program.
Where does a BitLocker recovery key go?
For a computer joined to a domain, the recovery key is written to your directory. This needs a domain controller for that domain among the client's managed computers.
When something does not work
Why is a computer stuck waiting to be identified?
Most often, security software is stopping Overseer's scripts. Add the exclusions described in Security software exclusions. On older computers, a damaged Windows Management Instrumentation service has the same effect.
Why does the agent report an expired token?
The computer's clock is wrong. Correct the date and time, then restart the agent service.
Where do I look first when a session fails?
Open the session, find the first action that failed and read its log. The Troubleshooting guide sets out the full method.