Acronis

Handle pop-up notifications to users when a reboot is required (and ask for approval)

Grégory Laroche

29 May 2024 — 4 min read

As an MSP, Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud can apply patch management to all devices of all your customers? that's great feature, but for now, the reboot isn't managed with the end-user consent.
That's a bit annoying... 😶
Fortunately, we’ve got another ace up our sleeve : CyberScripting !
It’s a fantastic feature that’s going to make things a whole lot easier.

Let's build a PowerShell script, managed by Acronis CyberScripting, to check if a reboot is needed and then ask to the user to acknowledge the reboot or postpone ? 💡
Even better, it could shoot an email to the admin when the device reboots.
And since execution is handled by CyberScripting, it seamlessly integrates into a protection plan that admins can easily manage. Easy peasy!

Ok fellows, let do the job !

First, let's get a high view of the process flow diagram :

Fire-up PowerShell and let's start by checking for several registry record to check if a reboot is needed :

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms

# is reboot is pending ?
function Check-RebootPending {
    $keys = @(
        "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\RebootRequired",
        "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\RebootPending",
        "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\RebootInProgress",
        "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\PackagesPending"
    )

    foreach ($key in $keys) {
        if (Test-Path $key) {
            return $true
        }
    }
    return $false
}

# should we continue ?
if (-not (Check-RebootPending)) {
    Write-Host "No pending reboot. Exiting script."
    exit
}

if yes, shoot a pop-up message to user's session about request to restart the device :

# First Popup
$result = [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show("Hello, a reboot is pending on your device for patch update`nWe will reboot it in 30mn, does it suit you?", "Alert", [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons]::OKCancel)
if ($result -eq [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::OK) {
    # Wait for 30mn
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 1800

then, if user approved, remind him 1mn before the reboot :

# Second Popup
    $result2 = [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show("Reboot will start in 1mn, does it suit you?", "Alert", [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons]::OKCancel)
    if ($result2 -eq [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::OK) {
        # If 'OK' clicked, wait for 1mn
        Start-Sleep -Seconds 60

Before restarting we need to send an email to the admins.
Let build the email function we gonna use :

function Send-EmailNotification {
    $hostname = [System.Net.Dns]::GetHostName()
    $smtpClient = New-Object Net.Mail.SmtpClient("my.smtp.server", 587)
    $smtpClient.EnableSsl = $true
    $smtpClient.Credentials = New-Object Net.NetworkCredential("sender@email.adresse", "Your_P@ssw0rd")

    $fromAddress = New-Object Net.Mail.MailAddress("sender@email.adresse", "Reboot Notification Service")
    $mailMessage = New-Object Net.Mail.MailMessage
    $mailMessage.From = $fromAddress
    $mailMessage.To.Add("admin-team@msp.fr")
    $mailMessage.Subject = "Redémarrage du device - $hostname"
    $mailMessage.Body = "Hostname: $hostname`r`nDate and Time: $(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss')"

    $smtpClient.Send($mailMessage)
}

So, the user has approved, we send the mail and reboot the device :

# Send an email
Send-EmailNotification
        
# Force reboot the computer
Restart-Computer -Force

and finally, here is the full script :

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms

# is reboot is pending ?
function Check-RebootPending {
    $keys = @(
        "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\RebootRequired",
        "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\RebootPending",
        "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\RebootInProgress",
        "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\PackagesPending"
    )

    foreach ($key in $keys) {
        if (Test-Path $key) {
            return $true
        }
    }
    return $false
}

# should we continue ?
if (-not (Check-RebootPending)) {
    Write-Host "No pending reboot. Exiting script."
    exit
}

# send mail
function Send-EmailNotification {
    $hostname = [System.Net.Dns]::GetHostName()
    $smtpClient = New-Object Net.Mail.SmtpClient("my.smtp.adresse", 587)
    $smtpClient.EnableSsl = $true
    $smtpClient.Credentials = New-Object Net.NetworkCredential("sender@mail.net", "Your_P@ssw0rd")

    $fromAddress = New-Object Net.Mail.MailAddress("sender@mail.net", "Reboot Notification Service")
    $mailMessage = New-Object Net.Mail.MailMessage
    $mailMessage.From = $fromAddress
    $mailMessage.To.Add("admins-team@mail.fr")
    $mailMessage.Subject = "Redémarrage du device - $hostname"
    $mailMessage.Body = "Hostname: $hostname`r`nDate and Time: $(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss')"

    $smtpClient.Send($mailMessage)
}

# First Popup
$result = [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show("Hello, a reboot is pending on your device for patch update`nWe will reboot it in 30mn, does it suit you?", "Alert", [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons]::OKCancel)
if ($result -eq [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::OK) {
    # Wait for 30 mn
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 1800

    # Second Popup
    $result2 = [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show("Reboot will start in 1mn, does it suit you?", "Alert", [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons]::OKCancel)
    if ($result2 -eq [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::OK) {
        # If 'OK' clicked, wait for 1 mn
        Start-Sleep -Seconds 60
        
        # Send an email
        Send-EmailNotification
        
        # Force reboot the computer
        Restart-Computer -Force
    }
    elseif ($result2 -eq [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::Cancel) {
        # If 'Cancel' clicked, exit the script
        exit
    }
}
elseif ($result -eq [System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult]::Cancel) {
    # Exit the script if 'Cancel' is clicked in the first popup
    exit
}

Now, let automate the process thru CyberScripting plans

First, let's add the script in the Acronis script repository

Then create a scripting plan.
The scripting plan will run every 6 hours during working hours under the currently logged-in user’s account, making sure any reboot requests are timely and relevant.

Here’s the deal: The script will run every 6 hours on the user’s device, and only ask for a reboot if one’s pending.
Admins get the heads-up when the reboot happens, complete with the device name, date, and time.