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Coordinate Deep Freeze Maintenance with FileWave

What this workflow does

Faronics Deep Freeze restores protected volumes to their Frozen state after a restart. Software installed while a device is Frozen may disappear at the next boot. Use this workflow to thaw devices, deploy and verify changes with FileWave, and return the devices to a confirmed Frozen state.

Third-party software
Deep Freeze is a Faronics product. Confirm commands and supported operating-system versions against the documentation for your installed Deep Freeze edition before deploying this workflow. FileWave Support does not support Deep Freeze itself.

Plan the restart and thawed interval. A thaw exposes the device to persistent changes, and Windows state changes require a restart. Schedule maintenance outside normal use, warn users, and do not refreeze until the intended software changes have completed and passed verification.

Before you begin

  • FileWave Central and a representative test group
  • A supported Deep Freeze release and its command-line utility on each target device
  • The current Deep Freeze command password, if command-line password protection is enabled
  • Defined thaw, change, verification, refreeze, and restart windows

Do not store a real Deep Freeze password in a Fileset script. The placeholders below are not runnable secrets. Supply the password at runtime through your organization's approved secret-delivery method, or use a Faronics maintenance task that does not expose it in FileWave content. See Script Best Practices.

Confirm the current commands

macOS with APFS

Current Deep Freeze Mac releases use /usr/local/bin/deepfreeze. Check state before and after each change:

/usr/local/bin/deepfreeze status

When Deep Freeze password protection is enabled, Faronics documents passing the password with the DFXPSWD environment variable and --env. These templates show the current command shape:

DFXPSWD='<runtime-secret>' /usr/local/bin/deepfreeze thaw --computer --env
DFXPSWD='<runtime-secret>' /usr/local/bin/deepfreeze freeze --computer --env

Do not paste the real secret into the Fileset. Current Deep Freeze Mac can change the computer to Frozen without an additional restart, but thawing the startup volume takes effect through a restart. Verify the installed product's behavior during the pilot.

Windows

Use the actual path to the Faronics DFC.exe installed in your environment. Do not copy an assumed Program Files path. The vendor's current command forms are:

"C:\path\to\DFC.exe" get /ISFROZEN
"C:\path\to\DFC.exe" "<runtime-secret>" /THAWNEXTBOOT
"C:\path\to\DFC.exe" "<runtime-secret>" /FREEZENEXTBOOT

/THAWNEXTBOOT and /FREEZENEXTBOOT set the state for the next restart without restarting immediately. The status command returns exit code 0 when Thawed and 1 when Frozen. Account for those documented values in a FileWave Verification or Requirement Script instead of treating every nonzero status as a generic failure.

Build the FileWave maintenance sequence

  1. Create a small control Fileset for each platform in FileWave Central. Put only the reviewed thaw command in its Activation Script.
  2. Create a separate refreeze control Fileset. Keeping thaw and refreeze actions separate prevents removal timing from silently deciding when a device becomes Frozen.
  3. Deploy the thaw control Fileset to the pilot group. Schedule a controlled restart where the platform requires one.
  4. Verify that every pilot device reports Thawed before activating the application, operating-system update, or configuration Filesets.
  5. Let the change Filesets finish their normal verification. Confirm application versions, files, services, and restart requirements before continuing.
  6. Deploy the refreeze control Fileset. Restart Windows devices after /FREEZENEXTBOOT; follow the installed Faronics behavior for macOS.
  7. Run the status command again and confirm every device is Frozen. Investigate missing or failed devices before closing the maintenance window.

Use current FileWave Deployments for the control and change Filesets. Give each phase enough time to finish, and use separate Smart Groups or inventory criteria for Thawed, change verified, and Frozen states when you can report those values reliably.

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