Springboard Series - The Resource for Windows Desktop IT Professionals

We Have Moved!

Stephen L Rose — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:20:34 GMT

In order to better provide you all the latest information on what is going on with the various Windows teams, we have partnered with the Windows Team Blog (www.windowsteamblog.com ) and moved our blog to their site.

Same content, same writers, same great information, just a different url.

Please join us and bookmark http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/springboard/default.aspx

Don’t forget our VRT with Mark Russinovich on June 18th and please don’t forget that the Windows 7 Beta will start to reboot every two hours starting July 1st. If you have not downloaded the Release Candidate yet from the Springboard site. Please do.

Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable on June 18th

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:28:08 GMT

Windows 7 Application Compatibility: Your Questions Answered (Part 1)

Date: Thursday, June 18

Time: 11:00am Pacific Time

https://ms.istreamplanet.com/springboard

Windows 7, is approaching fast and from the application standpoint is very similar to Windows Vista. We’re going to examine Windows 7 application compatibility not only from the perspective of moving from Windows Vista, but also for those coming from Windows XP. Join us to discuss the most common challenges around application compatibility when coming from a legacy operating system, why changes were made along the way, compatibility technologies inside the OS and methods for getting incompatible applications to run on Windows 7. Along the way we share tips and tricks, demonstrate free tools to analyze and fix applications and answer your specific questions about application compatibility live.

In Part 2 of this Virtual Round Table discussion (planned for later this Summer/Fall), we’ll discuss the options and approaches for using virtualization tools In depth to address application incompatibilities – including presentation virtualization, desktop virtualization and application virtualization. We’ll be sending out more details and posting information to www.microsoft.com/springboard for part 2 as the dates are finalized.

As part of the “virtual” experience, you may submit your questions about Windows 7 Application Compatibility to the panel live during the event—or submit questions in advance to vrtable@microsoft.com.

Are Your PCs Ready For Windows 7?

Stephen L Rose — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:42:15 GMT

When planning for migration to Windows 7, specific knowledge about each computer on the network and its readiness for migration is essential. Manually conducting a detailed network inventory is time consuming and costly; and existing assessment management tools typically require software agent installation on each machine, creating a security risk. How do you gather comprehensive knowledge about your existing IT environment quickly and cost effectively? The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 4.0 Beta gathers essential infrastructure information to answer the question “are your PCs ready for Windows 7?” This tool also assists you with Windows Server 2008 R2 readiness assessment.

What is the MAP Toolkit?

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit is a powerful inventory, assessment and reporting tool that securely assesses IT environments for various platform migrations and virtualization without the use of any software agents. This versatile toolkit:

· Quickly discovers clients, servers, and applications across your IT environment

· Conducts migration and virtualization assessment for your IT projects

· Auto-generates reports and proposals

· Scales well to small businesses and large enterprises

Accelerate Your Migration to Windows 7

Quickly and effectively collect the detailed infrastructure information you need for planning your migration to Windows 7. Create a client inventory report, and let MAP 4.0 analyze the data to assess Windows 7 readiness for your unique IT environment.

With MAP 4.0, you get the following reports and proposals for migration to Windows 7:

· Hardware Inventory Proposal. Identify currently installed Windows Client operating systems, detailed analysis of hardware and device compatibility, and recommendations for migration to Windows 7.

· PC Security Report. Identify desktops with anti-virus and anti-malware programs installed and Windows Firewall status.

REMINDER: Windows 7 Beta expires Aug 1st. Reboots every two hours start July 1st. Upgrade to the Windows 7 Release Candidate today! Click here to download the RC

Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 Release to Web

Stephen L Rose — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:36:29 GMT

Today we are pleased to pre-announce the Release to Web (RTW) of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. SP2, a combined service pack for both operating systems encapsulated in a single installer, will simplify deployment, management, and support for IT Pros. It includes support for new types of hardware and emerging hardware standards, as well as updates since SP1. For specific information on what’s included in SP2, visit the notable changes document.

We have posted SP2 for download on our Download Center and Windows Update. Consumers with Windows Vista SP1 can visit the Download Center or Windows Update (WU) to install SP2, but our best advice is to turn on Automatic Update (AU) and sometime during the coming months your computer will download and install SP2. Similar to previous releases, SP2 delivery over AU is a throttled release which will begin in June. Business customers who require additional time to prepare for the download and deployment of SP2 can use the same blocker tool kit provided for Windows Vista SP1 to delay deployment.

If you are a Windows Server 2008 customer that needs increased management of SP2, we recommend using Automatic Updates/Group Policy and Windows Software Update Services (WSUS). Customers who require additional time to prepare for the download and deployment of SP2 can download the blocker tool kit to prevent SP2 from installing for up to 12 months. We hope these tools will help streamline your testing and deployment of SP2.

Business customers with Windows Vista will find the transition to Windows 7 will be significantly more straightforward due to the high degree of compatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7. If your Windows Vista SP1 deployment is already underway we recommend you continue with SP1 as planned. Then you can deploy SP2 using your systems management infrastructure. If you are in the early stages of deployment or still planning Windows Vista deployment our best advice is that you plan on testing and deploying Windows Vista SP2.

Download the Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 here.

Understanding XP Mode

Stephen L Rose — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:01:55 GMT

After we announced Windows XP Mode, I sat down again with Jeremy Chapman at the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas to find out what he thought about Windows XP Mode as a solution for solving application compatibility issues.

Stephen Rose: Hi Jeremy, seems like I’m interviewing you a lot lately. So we’re at MMS here in Las Vegas and we just announced the Windows 7 Release Candidate and Windows XP Mode as a solution for allowing applications to run within a Windows XP session on a Windows 7 machine. What do you think about this technology? Will this solve everything for people having problems moving off Windows XP or Internet Explorer 6?

Jeremy Chapman: Windows XP Mode adds the seamless virtual desktop integration like we saw in Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MEDV), so you can see applications within the virtual operating system in the start menu:

And you can view applications within the physical operating system’s desktop without showing the entire virtual machine desktop.

It definitely makes the use of Virtual PC technologies much easier for the average user. As we’ve seen for the last decade or so, you can run legacy applications under the context of the legacy operating system. Initially that sounds like a good thing, as Virtual PC always has.

Stephen Rose: Explain what you mean by initially.

Jeremy Chapman: To the undiscerning eye, this looks like an easy fix and for many in sales and marketing roles, it might sound like a silver bullet for application compatibility. Despite the more intuitive user experience, the IT management issues with that are essentially the same as they have been for the last ten years or so with Virtual PC.

Stephen Rose: What do you see as the challenges with this technology then?

Jeremy Chapman: First, there are two operating systems to manage per userSecond, while we can automate and customize full operating system provisioning, it isn’t so easy to custom provision the virtual machine according to user roles and needs. Third, by default the virtual PC user account is a local administrator.

Stephen Rose: Ok, so is there anything that helps IT pros with any of these areas?

Jeremy Chapman: Definitely, MED-V (Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization) adds the control so you can sandbox the virtual PC environment from the physical environment. It also provides the administrative tools to provision within the virtual environment. There is granular control over how the two operating systems behave with one another and you can even pre-define which websites or web-based Line-of-Business applications need to be automatically invoked in the virtual machine’s web browser (Internet Explorer 6 by default). MED-V is also self adjusting as the virtual PC memory allocation based on available RAM on host, so that the virtual PC does not take significant resources from the user. Features like TrimTransfer update a master Virtual PC image, and MED-V will automatically distribute and apply the changes to all endpoints. Finally, MED-V will work on both Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and will not require processor-based virtualization support

Stephen Rose: That definitely sounds like the more manageable solution, but is running Virtual PC and MED-V the only recommended solution for Windows 7?

Jeremy Chapman: From the application compatibility perspective, the best thing to do is to get applications that run natively without any virtualization aids, recoding, compatibility fixes or compatibility modes needed. If you own the code and can recode the application, then do that. If you can’t recode a line-of-business application or are not dependent on support for a third party application, you can try compatibility fixes – or “shims” – to remediate the application. Finally, when all these options aren’t possible, then look into legacy operating system virtualization. If you have exhausted all other options for application remediation and intend on using Windows XP Mode, then I’d recommend following all the best practices in the Windows XP Security Compliance Management Toolkit to secure the virtual environment and manage configuration with Group Policy and desired configuration management in System Center Configuration Manager.

Stephen Rose: So who should be using Windows XP Mode then?

Jeremy Chapman: For individual users or smaller organizations where desktops are not managed, Windows XP Mode is a relatively easy solution to get working. You’ll need to find installation media for those older applications and manually install them, but it can get them working until you port everything over to the physical operating system.

Stephen Rose: So for a transitional period to the new OS, these legacy client virtualization tools can help people run their incompatible legacy applications. Is there anything else to remember with Virtual Windows XP?

Jeremy Chapman: We haven’t talked about hardware yet. So hardware needs to have hardware virtualization – Intel VT or AMDV – and have it enabled in the BIOS. Most business grade hardware produced in the last 2-3 years has that, but netbooks and older PCs often do not meet this requirement. The virtual machine also uses memory, so you’ll probably want to use PCs with 2 GB or more RAM.

Stephen Rose: Good advice. So where can people find more information on Windows XP Mode?

Jeremy Chapman: Check out Scott Woodgate’s blog post on the Windows Team Blog and Scott’s Q&A on PressPass. There is also a Virtual PC Tips and Tricks FAQ on Springboard located here

Stephen Rose: Thanks again for your time Jeremy and I’ll see you back in Redmond next week.

Windows 7 Beta Expiration Correction

Stephen L Rose — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:49:00 GMT

Over the weekend, some of you may have received an email from us reminding you that “the Windows 7 Beta expires on August 1st, 2009. In that email, we ask that if you are still on the Windows 7 Beta that you should consider moving to a “non-expired” copy of Windows such as the Windows 7 RC or Windows Vista because bi-hourly shutdowns will begin June 1st”.

The Windows 7 Beta does expire on August 1st, 2009; unfortunately the date for when bi-hourly shutdowns will begin for the Windows 7 Beta was incorrect: Bi-hourly shutdowns for the Windows 7 Beta will begin July 1st, 2009 as stated in the Windows 7 RC FAQ.

We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

In the meantime, if you’re still on the Windows 7 Beta, you should consider installing the Windows 7 RC in its place. You can register to download the Windows 7 RC here.

Windows 7 Release Candidate Available for Immediate Download

Stephen L Rose — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:30:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce that Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) is available for immediate download to the general public here. Windows 7 Ultimate is the Release Candidate edition; it is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions in English, French, Japanese, German, and Spanish.

To learn more about Windows 7 from an IT professional perspective, check out our screencasts including our “What’s New in the RC” as well as our resources on Deployment, Application Compatibility, Security, Imaging, and more—all of which are available through the Springboard Series on TechNet.

Test drive Windows 7 RC today to see for yourself—and to show your colleagues, users, and customers—how Windows 7 delivers improved management, security, reliability, productivity and performance.

Windows 7 RC is available for TechNet and MSDN subscribers to download

Stephen L Rose — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:00:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce that the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) is available for immediate download to our TechNet and MSDN subscribers. If you’re not a TechNet Plus subscriber, please click here to learn about the benefits of becoming one.

Windows 7 RC will be made available to the general public on May 5, 2009. You will then be able to download Windows 7 RC here, through the Springboard Series on TechNet. Windows 7 Ultimate is the Release Candidate edition; it will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions in English, French, Japanese, German, and Spanish.

Windows 7 RC offers many improvements over the beta release, including:

DirectAccess User Experience — Corporate Connectivity Notification has been removed to simplify the user experience; only Internet Access is displayed.
User Account Control (UAC) — In the beta release, a user could change the notification level in the UAC control panel without receiving a prompt for administrative credentials. The UAC control panel now runs in a high integrity process; changing the level of the UAC will prompt for confirmation. When a user is logged on with a standard user account, that user must provide administrative credentials to change the default UAC notification level.
AppLocker — The AppLocker UI includes a new Group Policy administrative template, which can be configured by an administrator to display a customized URL when AppLocker blocks an application from starting. The message can be used to reduce help desk calls by directing users to a helpdesk intranet site.
System Partition Size — The Windows 7 partition drive size (required for Bit Locker and Windows Recovery Environment) has been reduced from 200MB to 100MB.
Network Troubleshooting — Support for diagnostics is greatly enhanced, including a new Windows Troubleshooting Pack for DirectAccess within Control Panel. If a resource is not reachable (for example, a Web site fails to load), use 'Diagnose Connection' in Internet Explorer or 'Troubleshoot problems' diagnostic entry points to help determine the cause of the issue.

To learn more about Windows 7 from an IT professional perspective, check out our screencasts as well as our resources on Deployment, Application Compatibility, Security, Imaging, and more—all of which are available through the Springboard Series on TechNet.

Test drive Windows 7 RC today to see for yourself—and to show your colleagues, users, and customers—how Windows 7 delivers improved management, security, reliability, productivity, and performance.

Some things to be aware of with the Windows 7 Release Candidate:

Please plan ahead for Windows 7 Beta and Windows 7 RC expiration dates. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to rebuild your test machine using a genuine version of Windows 7 before the software expires. Windows will remind you when the expiration process is beginning; two weeks after this notification your PC will begin shutting down every two hours.
- Windows 7 Beta expires on August 1, 2009, and bi-hourly shutdowns will begin July 1, 2009.
- Windows 7 RC will expire June 1, 2010, and the bi-hourly shutdowns will begin on March 1, 2010.
In both cases, you’ll need to rebuild your test PC to replace the operating system and reinstall all your programs and data.
Since Windows 7 RC is not the final release, your PC will gather and send information to Microsoft engineers to help them check the fixes and changes made based on testing of Windows 7 Beta.
Windows 7 RC requires that you do a clean install. Before installing Windows 7 RC, please read the Release Notes and Things to Know for important information.*
Keep your PC updated. Be sure turn on automatic updates in Windows Update in case we publish updates for Windows 7 RC.
Microsoft doesn’t offer technical support for prerelease software, including Windows 7 RC. If you have problems or questions, we encourage you to visit our online forums, where you can get answers from our Windows Community and Support Professionals.

*These documents will be updated on May 5, 2009.

Plan Ahead for Windows 7 Beta and RC Expiration Dates

Celine Allee — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:38:00 GMT

Attention Windows 7 Beta and Release Candidate (RC) testers! To avoid interruption, you’ll need to start planning now to rebuild your test machines using a valid version of Windows before the software expires.

Windows will notify you that the expiration process is beginning and two weeks later your PC will begin shutting down every two hours.

The Beta expires on August 1, 2009, and bi-hourly shutdowns will begin July 1, 2009. The RC will expire June 1, 2010, and the bi-hourly shutdowns will begin on March 1, 2010. In both cases, you’ll need to rebuild your test PCs with another valid version of the OS, and reinstall your programs and data.

The Windows 7 RC is available now to TechNet and MSDN subscribers and on www.microsoft.com/springboard starting May 5th.

Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 is Released to Manufacturing

Celine Allee — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:55:00 GMT

Today we are proud to announce the Release to Manufacturing of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Service Pack 2 (SP2) represents the latest step in Microsoft’s commitment to continuous improvement. It includes all of the updates that have been delivered since SP1, as well as support for new types of hardware and emerging hardware standards. And since it comes with a single installer for both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, SP2 will be easy for IT Pros to manage, deploy, and support. For an overview of the changes introduced in SP2, check out the notable changes document.

Business customers with Windows Vista will find that the transition to Windows 7 will be significantly more straightforward due to the high degree of compatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7. If your Windows Vista SP1 deployment is already underway we recommend you continue with SP1 as planned. Then you can deploy SP2 using your systems management infrastructure. If you are in the early stages of deployment or still planning Windows Vista deployment our best advice is that you plan on testing and deploying Windows Vista SP2.

The Infrastructure Planning and Design team has released a new guide: Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization.

Celine Allee — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:13:00 GMT

This guide outlines the critical infrastructure design elements that will help ensure a successful implementation of Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V). This guide walks you through the four-step process of designing components, layout, and connectivity in a logical, sequential order. Identification of the MED-V server instances needed is presented in simple, easy-to-follow steps, with the result being the delivery of managed virtual machines to end users. This guide will help you create a design that is sized, configured, and appropriately placed, while also considering the performance, capacity, and fault tolerance of the system.

Infrastructure Planning and Design specifically helps you by:

Enabling you to quickly select the end users, locations, and virtual machines (VMs) that will be included in the project scope.
Assisting you in determining how many MED-V server instances will be required in order to deliver managed virtual machines to end users.
Defining the technical decision flow through the planning process.
Listing the decisions to be made and the commonly available options and considerations.
Relating the decisions and options to the business in terms of cost, complexity, and other characteristics.
Stepping you through MED-V infrastructure design in a logical, sequential order.

Get Download Here:
Infrastructure Planning and Design (IPD) guides download

Read More:
http://www.microsoft.com/IPD

Windows 7 Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.5: Interview with Jeremy Chapman

Celine Allee — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:15:00 GMT

Hello again from Redmond. Let’s talk compatibility – a big component of any operating system deployment project is knowing what applications, hardware and devices your users have and whether they will work on the new OS. With Windows 7 approaching fast, Windows Senior Community Manager Stephen Rose sat down with Jeremy again and discussed the latest with the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.5.

Stephen: Hi Jeremy, what have you been up to lately?

Jeremy: I’ve been traveling quite a bit over the last few weeks. We met with top industry bloggers and journalists in New York and San Francisco a few weeks back, then we had the MVP Summit in Redmond, and then it was off to Belgium for TechDays. I’m just catching up now.

Stephen: Wow, welcome back. So tell me about the Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.5. What’s new?

Jeremy: The Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.5 is a tremendous resource to inventory your applications, hardware, and devices; evaluate compatibility of applications and Websites; and even fix applications using Compatibility Fixes or “shims.” What’s new is that we now support pre-RTM versions of Windows 7 with ACT.

Stephen: How much different are Windows 7 compatibility evaluators compared to ACT 5.0 for Windows Vista?

Jeremy: Well, the good news is that they are nearly identical. ACT 5.5 uses the exact same compatibility evaluation checks as the Windows Vista evaluators, but now we detect for calls to Windows Mail aka Outlook Express. Windows Mail was deprecated from Windows 7, but on the organization/business side, we don’t see many customers using Windows Mail and the CoStartOutlookExpress API fails gracefully, so the impact of that removal should be very low. If you do encounter any issues, the fix is to get Windows Live Mail or another e-mail client.

Stephen: That’s it? It is Windows Vista evaluation plus the check for the CoStartOutlookExpress API?

Jeremy: Yes. To be fair, there are other things that can lead to compatibility issues for applications and drivers, like the change to the minor OS version numbers and the version of Internet Explorer. As pointed out on the Engineering 7 Blog, every effort was made to fulfill the goal that applications written for Windows Vista continue to work on Windows 7. If you want the deep details about Windows 7 application compatibility, check out the Application Quality Cookbook on MSDN.

Stephen: Yes, the Windows 7 resources keep growing. So what else is new in ACT 5.5?

Jeremy: We made the process of sending and receiving files to the application compatibility web service much more transparent in ACT 5.5. Now you can tell exactly what are sending through to the web service from your application inventory. This is the fastest way to sync application data with the same data used in the Windows Compatibility Center. This is what you see now when using the “Send and Receive” function of ACT 5.5:

And you can review all data before sending within an ACT-populated TXT audit file:

Stephen: So if you see something you don’t want to send, you can cancel out of the process. Nice.

Jeremy: You can also remove applications from the list by clicking on your application in Application Compatibility Manager and using the Action : Set Send and Receive Status control:

Stephen: So I know ACT as the tool that uses an agent to collect application information and report that up to a central database. Does it do anything else?

Jeremy: Now in ACT 5.5 you can label your Data Collection Packages (DCP), so if you inventory the finance department one day and sales department the next with different DCPs, then you can sort your database by the DCP label you assigned. Beyond applications, ACT also reports back detailed hardware and device information. In many cases, you can find out if a driver is in-box with Windows or available via Windows Update. ACT also finds all of your attached devices, printers, displays and so on and reports back against those.

Stephen: So it goes beyond straight applications. What about web apps?

Jeremy: The Internet Explorer Compatibility Test Tool in ACT will also detect potential Website issues with Internet Explorer 8 for your Line-of-Business applications and recommend ways to fix the web applications as well:

Stephen: That’s pretty powerful. So it scans the applications, hardware, devices and even the Websites users are hitting and reports back compatibility findings wherever it can. Hey, thanks for taking the time to introduce ACT and everything it can do. It’s available for anyone to download from the Microsoft Download Center.

Jeremy: One last thing… We will have a version 6.0 of the tool coinciding with Windows 7’s release. ACT 5.5 is a point release, but expect to see more enhancements and coverage in ACT 6.0.

Stephen: Looking forward to it. As always, for the latest on compatibility, visit Microsoft.com/springboard and check out the Application Compatibility and UAC zone. Thanks again, Jeremy.

Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 is Now Available

Celine Allee — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:55:00 GMT

MDOP 2009 includes MED-V 1.0, App-V 4.5 CU1 and AIS 1.5 Updates

I wanted to let you know that Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 is now available for purchase to Software Assurance customers. MDOP 2009 includes the first release of Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V 1.0), a Cumulative Update to Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V 4.5 CU1), and an update to the Asset Inventory Service (AIS). Alongside these updated releases, MDOP 2009 also includes the other standard MDOP tools: Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management, and Microsoft System Center Desktop Error Monitoring.

MED-V 1.0 helps enterprises upgrade to the latest version of Windows even when some applications are not yet compatible. MED-V builds on top of Microsoft Virtual PC to run two operating systems on one device, adding virtual image delivery, policy-based provisioning and centralized management.

In addition, App-V 4.5 CU1 is now available as part of MDOP 2009. App-V 4.5 CU1 adds support for Windows 7 Beta, so customers can move ahead with application testing in preparation for enterprise deployments. It also contains a few improvements such as instant access or removal of applications assigned to end users. When Windows 7 releases, we are committed to supporting the final product within 90 days of general availability.

AIS 1.5 update, now available to all MDOP end users through Windows Update, enhances the license reconciliation feature and the task scheduler. It now provides a detailed report for each application (e.g. whether license type is retail or volume license) to simplify license inventory tasks and to improve licensing compliance. The inventory scan scheduling has been improved to ensure data is collected even from devices that are turned off regularly.

MDOP 2009 is available for MDOP subscribers at the Microsoft Volume Licensing Site (MVLS).

Windows 7 Virtual Roundtable Q&A: Part Two

Celine Allee — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:28:00 GMT

As noted in our previous post, our recent Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable—Windows 7: To the Beta and Beyond—with Mark Russinovich resulted in numerous viewer-generated questions on the Windows 7 Beta release that the panel was unable to address, given time limitations. Here is the second batch of questions and answers, along with links to more detailed information:

Q: Will the User State Migration Tool (USMT) support migration of settings from Windows 2000 and Windows XP to Windows 7?

A: The USMT supports the gather process (scanstate.exe) on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. It supports the restore process (loadstate.exe) on Windows Vista and Windows 7. Windows 2000 is not supported with USMT 4.0, but earlier versions of USMT will be available for Windows 2000 migration support. For more information on USMT, click here.

Q: Can we query this performance information (battery lifecycle, etc) remotely through Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)?

A: Windows 7 does include a utility called PowerCfg.exe that allows individuals to easily query common issues affecting power efficiency on a system, as well as determine the last full charge compared to full battery capacity to determine whether a battery needs to be replaced.

Q: Is Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) together with BitLocker Drive Encryption supported?

A: No. Windows 7 Native Boot VHD does not support use with BitLocker full volume encryption.

Q: Are there any special requirements for deploying Windows 7 via Operating System Deployment (OSD)/System Center Configuration Manager?

A: System Center Configuration Manager 2007 will support Windows 7 deployment with Service Pack 2, scheduled to be released around time of Windows 7 release to manufacturing (RTM).

Q: Is Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 backward compatible with Windows Vista and Windows XP?

A: Yes, MDT 2010 will support Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 client operating system deployments.

Q: Is there an alternative for DirectAccess to use a full IPv6 vs 2 IPv4 addresses?

A: DirectAccess supports native IPv6 addresses.

Q: Does/will DirectAccess support SecurID authentication?

A: DirectAccess supports two factor authentication with smartcards.

Q: What happens if more than one user tries to modify the same file from the branch cache?

A: BranchCache works on the read path for Server Message Block content. Write path is not supported in Windows 7.

Q: In hosted cache mode, can BranchCache work with server core or do you need the full server installed?

A: Hosted Cache will work with server core.

Q: BranchCache in Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta seems to be broken. I can't create a shared folder that has BC enabled.

A: Please direct your question to the beta newsgroups for help. You can also download the BranchCache Early Adopter's Guide for more help..

Q: Is the Problem Steps Recorder feature available on Windows Vista and Windows XP so I can show steps that work on an older operating system vs. Windows 7?

A: No. Problem Steps Recorder is only available on Windows 7.

Q: What happens when I take a BitLocker-encrypted USB stick to a non-Windows system like OSX or Linux?

A: The USB stick will not be accessible on OSX or Linux. You will be able to unlock the USB stick in read-only mode on Windows XP or Windows Vista, however.

Q: Is there documentation on the improvement on Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) performance in Windows 7?

A: We have not released performance benchmarks at this time.

Q: Will Windows 7 run on a machine designed for Windows XP?

A: We have not yet determined final system requirements as the product is still in development. That said, one of our design principles is that Windows 7 will run well on any machine certified to run Windows Vista.

Q: When is Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) planned to be released?

A: The feedback we get in the early stages of Beta will help enable us to discuss the next Windows 7 milestone. Our goal with the Beta is to collect feedback and refine the features so we can deliver a great product that meets our customers’ needs.

We also received several questions around the smaller Windows 7 install footprint. The reason for the smaller footprint is the omission of several features now part of Windows Live. Here is a list of this features and where they can now be found:

Photo Gallery is part of the Windows Live package. Download it here: http://windowslive.com/Desktop/PhotoGallery.
Parental Control is available as a download from Windows Live. Find more information here: http://windowslive.com/Desktop/FamilySafety.
Windows Mail is available as part of the Windows Live package. Find more information here: http://windowslive.com/Desktop/Mail.

For more information on Windows 7 evaluation, testing and adoption, please visit the Windows 7 tab on the Springboard Series on TechNet.

Windows 7 Virtual Roundtable Q&A: Part One

Celine Allee — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:49:00 GMT

In our recent Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable—Windows 7: To the Beta and Beyond—with Mark Russinovich, we fielded numerous questions on the Windows 7 Beta release that the panel was unable to address, given time limitations. As promised, we have collected these questions and will be providing these answers in this and subsequent blog postings. Here is the first set of questions and answers, along with the destinations to find more detail:

Q: When will the Automated Installation Kit (AIK) fully support Windows 7?

A: There is a beta of the Windows AIK for Windows 7 that you can download today from http://technet.microsoft.com/library/dd349343.aspx.

Q: Will any other version of Windows be able to read BitLocker To Go "with an add-on or additional software"?

A: Yes, you will be able to unlock and read from BitLocker files on Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Q: When can we expect Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 to be released, or release candidate 1 (RC1) for deploying Windows 7?

A: MDT 2010 is currently in beta, and can be downloaded from https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=14.

Q: Is the kernel the same for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Windows 7?

A: The kernel consists of many different files; it is updated with Windows 7, but is based on the same underlying architecture.

Q: Has ReadyBoost changed from Windows Vista?

A: ReadyBoost in Windows 7 adds support for concurrently using multiple flash devices (such as USB keys, Secure Digital cards, and internal flash devices) and for caches larger than 4 GB. ReadyBoost supports exFAT, FAT32, and NTFS file systems.

Q: In Windows 7 can you toggle or set all local policy settings individually as a preference instead of having to enforce for flexibility/versatility?

A: No. Group Policy settings are independent of Group Policy Preferences. There is no 1:1 relationship between them in Windows 7.

Q: Will the Applocker Group Policy Object (GPO) will be available on Windows Server 2008?... or is just on Windows Server 2008 R2?

A: AppLocker is not dependent on a specific version of Windows Server. You can manage AppLocker from a Windows 7 client using the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) that ships in the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows 7, which is currently in Bet. You can download the beta here.

Q: You say any app that runs on Windows Vista should run on Windows 7, does that hold true for any app that runs on Windows XP? Should it run on Windows 7 as well?

A: Since Windows Vista and Windows 7 share similar design frameworks, there is a foundation for application compatibly. Since Windows XP has a different framework, the levels of application compatibility are not the same.

Q: Will there now be a possibility to burn an .iso image file without burning software?

A: Yes. Double-click an ISO, and Windows 7 opens a minimalistic dialog. Choose a burner, select whether or not to verify your burn, and burn/cancel.

Q: Will Microsoft support the RC [of Windows 7]?

A: The Beta and RC are, and will be, supported via the Windows 7 Forums at http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/category/w7itpro.

Q: Will there be an Application Compatibility Toolkit available for Windows 7 like there was for Windows Vista? When might that be available?

A: Yes. We plan on releasing an update to the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) in April to support Windows 7 pre-releases. There will also be a version corresponding with Windows 7 release to manufacturing (RTM).

Q: What kinds of improvements are being made in the area of application compatibility testing and migration?

A: There will be a version of the Application Compatibility Toolkit to support Windows 7 available in the April 2009 timeframe. Additionally, the Windows system application compatibility fix (shim) database is constantly extended with each Windows release milestone.

Q: What is the migration process to get my stuff off of a Windows 7 box before I have to flatten it to install the final version?

A: For individual use, Windows Easy Transfer can be used to gather files and settings from your computer and save to an external location. For organizational use, the User State Migration Tool (part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit) can also perform in-place user profile migration using Hard-link Migration along with a clean operating system install.

Q: Will Deployment Image and Servicing Management be supported for existing Windows Server 2008?

A: Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) supports Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2008 R2. DISM also leverages an included shim for Package Manager (pkgmgr.exe) to enable DISM to perform Package Manager commands against Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 images.

Q: Why is Windows 7 more quick to start up compared to Windows Vista?

A: In working to improve performance for startup we have focused on making improvements in the following areas:
- The efficiency of core Windows code
- Only starting certain services when they are needed (demand-start services)
- The way device drivers are initialized
- Allowing multiple device drivers to start at the same time (parallelization)
- An overall reduction in the memory and CPU required to start and run the graphics system

Q: Windows 7 performance out of the box experience does seem much better than Windows Vista, but is there anything that addresses the overall issue of performance degradation over time that plagues devices over time without having to configure or buy and configure additional third party software?

A: Microsoft has invested in PerfTrack, an automated reporting feature in Windows that tracks the performance of over 400 experiences on the PC. Windows 7 also includes troubleshooters such as IE Performance as well as a Check for Performance Issues to help users check for performance issues over time.

Q: Where can I find detailed step-by-step process for building a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) that can be selected as the boot disk on a Windows 7 system?

A: Detailed guidance for creating Boot from VHD files is currently being created. The basic process is to create a virtual disk using diskpart.exe, attach the virtual disk using diskpart.exe, use ImageX to apply a System-Prepared Generalized Windows Imaging (WIM) file to the attached virtual disk, then detach the virtual disk using diskpart.exe. After the VHD file is created, add an entry into the boot loader using bcdedit.exe to point to the file location of the VHD file. This only works with Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate editions and Windows Server 2008 R2 VHD files.

Q: Will deployment of Windows 7 use the same tools as Windows Vista (WIM files, ImageX, etc...)?

A: Most tools are retained from Windows Vista. Deployment Image Servicing and Management consolidates functions of IntlConfig, PEImg and PkgMgr in the Windows AIK for Windows 7. DISM supports PkgMgr functions against Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 images. Integrated tools like the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit and System Center Configuration Manager 2007 will also support Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 deployment.

Q: Are there any improvements in the Windows 7 imaging technology such as WAIK, SIM, MDT, ImageX compared with Windows Vista?

A: Yes. There is a two-part blog post on this subject on the Springboard Series Blog (Part 1 | Part 2) and a deployment overview guide available at http://technet.microsoft.com/library/dd367841.aspx.

Q: How can you deploy BitLocker with a custom image?

A: There are two common approaches. You can pre-partition the drive for BitLocker, install the operating system, and enable BitLocker via deployment task sequence. Or, you can run the BitLocker Drive Preparation tool post-install and enable BitLocker via deployment task sequence. The default installation of Windows 7 will automatically create the BitLocker partition at install time.

The Springboard Series team will be posting the next round of questions shortly; please check back for more Windows 7 questions answered!