Springboard Series - The Resource for Windows Desktop IT Professionals : Windows 7

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 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.

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.

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!

Windows 7 Beta Update Tests Begin February 24, 2009

Celine Allee — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:13:00 GMT

As part of the regular beta testing cycle, the Windows 7 Engineering team will be releasing “test updates” to Windows Update. Users of beta build 7000 will receive notification of the “test update,” but it will not install automatically.

While these test updates will not contain any fixes or features, we encourage you to install the updates to help us test the serviceability of Windows 7.

Additional information can be found on the Microsoft Update Team Blog.

Windows 7 Deployment Tools Interview with Jeremy Chapman, Part 2

Celine Allee — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:50:00 GMT

Before we dive into part two of our interview with Jeremy Chapman, Windows Senior Product Manager, on new image management and deployment technologies in Windows 7, we want to remind you to join Mark Russinovich for a Virtual Roundtable discussion on Windows 7, airing live on February 12, 2009 at 11:00 am PST.

Stephen: In our previous post, we’ve covered the building of images and the delivery of these images. Let’s talk about migration of user data. Migration of user data is a place where deployment projects seem to slow down. With some users having upwards of 50GB of data on their system can make it hard enough, but needing to ensure end-users are not accessing the data during migration means you can only move people outside working hours. This drives up project cost and can impact the relationship with the end users. How will Windows 7 help change this?

Jeremy: You’ve hit on one of my favorite new features. For these types of upgrades we’re introducing Hard-link migration in Windows. In the past we would detect, then migrate files either off the PC or to a protected location locally on the disk, wipe everything except the protected location, then remap or re-migrate those files back into the appropriate locations in the new OS. This would typically be a 30-60 minute time hit up front and then on the backend, even longer if moving to/from a network share. With Hard-link migration, we catalog where the user files are on the disk and create a catalog of hard-links to each file. When an OS is deployed, everything on the disk except those files is wiped and the link catalog protects them wherever they reside on the disk. The new OS is laid down and the files are remapped into the new folder structure and its completely seamless to the user. We can also migrate from a Windows.old folder for people using that option in WDS. In the end, nothing actually gets moved, so it is much faster.

Stephen: So how fast can the deployment of a desktop go with Windows 7?

Jeremy: I’ve tested this quite a bit on my personal PCs and I am typically moving 20-30GB between Windows Vista and Windows 7 in about 5-6 minutes. If I don’t use hard links and move the files to a protected location on the local disk, the same migration takes about an hour and for both gather and restore phases combined. Times will vary based on hardware and the sheer number of files, but it is much faster than the physics of moving the files has been.

Stephen: This will really help streamline a deployment project and limit the impact on users. Windows 7 makes it easier to build images, deliver these images and now migrate users. Before we wrap up, can you give us a brief overview of how tools like Microsoft Assessment Planning, the Application Compatibility Toolkit and the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit will work with Windows 7?

Jeremy: All of these tools will be updated for Windows 7. MAP will be updated to provide detailed hardware assessment for Windows 7. With ACT, we are looking to provide more support for 64 bit and compatibility testing against Windows Server. Microsoft Deployment Toolkit will integrate all of the foundational elements from Windows AIK tools, hard links, etc. If you know these tools now it will be very easy to get up to speed quickly with Windows 7-supporting versions.

Stephen: It sounds like everything IT pros have learned about Windows Vista deployment will carry forward, and that Windows 7 will make it easier, faster and more flexible. If you were still in your old IT Pro capacity outside of Microsoft, what would you be doing right now to prepare for Windows 7?

Jeremy: I’d download the Beta and start combing the CHM files corresponding with the tools we just discussed. The Windows AIK is now available on the Microsoft Download Center and the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 Beta is an open Beta program on Microsoft Connect. You can start building Windows 7 images and testing the deployment tools now.

Stephen: Good advice. Thank you, Jeremy, for taking the time to sit down with me and help get our IT Pro community up-to-date on Windows 7 deployment, and for folks looking for more Windows 7 information and resources, be sure to visit the Windows 7 tab on www.microsoft.com/springboard.

Windows 7 Beta Program Updates

Celine Allee — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:33:00 GMT

Response to the beta has been fantastic, and we now have more than enough customers enrolled in the Beta to provide the feedback that Engineering needs to finish the product.

Because interest in the beta is so high, we have decided to extend availability of the beta through the Customer Preview Program (CPP) until 2/12.

Note that MSDN and TechNet subscribers will continue to have access to the beta after the public program closes.

Also, even after we shut off downloads from the CPP, you will still be able to register and get a key; just not be able to download the product.

No new downloads (2/10)
You will no longer be able to initiate new downloads of the beta in this phase, but you will be able to complete a download that you had previously initiated. You will still be able to obtain product keys to use with a DVD or bits you have previously downloaded.

No downloads (2/12)
The beta will no longer be available for download, but you can still obtain product keys to use with a DVD or bits you have previously downloaded.

Thank you again and if you need any help or support for the beta, please visit our Windows 7 Support Forum here.

Got questions for our Windows 7 Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable? Here’s your chance.

Celine Allee — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:59:00 GMT

I wanted to take a moment to offer our blog readers a direct invitation to submit questions for our upcoming Virtual Roundtable Windows 7: To the Beta and Beyond, airing live February 12, 2009 at 11:00am Pacific Standard time. The panel will be answering questions live during the show; any questions we are unable to answer during the show will be posted in a Q&A on our blog following the broadcast.

The Virtual Roundtable panel includes:
Mark Russinovich -- Microsoft Technical Fellow
Mark Minasi -- Technical Writer/Speaker
Erik Lustig -- Microsoft Sr. Product Manager
Jason Leznik -- Windows Product Management Group
Jeremy Chapman -- Windows Product Management Group
Rhonda Layfield -- Enterprise Deployment Expert
Sandeep Singhal -- Microsoft Director/Program Manager

Please submit your questions to vrtable@microsoft.com

Want to know what our virtual roundtables are all about? Check out our September roundtable on Windows Vista performance.

Windows 7 Deployment Tools Interview with Jeremy Chapman, Part 1

Celine Allee — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 21:44:00 GMT

We see the Springboard Series blog as a place to communicate important information and updates for desktop and laptop-focused IT professionals—what you need to know to effectively perform your job.

Now on to a discussion on Windows 7, and what you’ll want to know as you begin looking at your application portfolio and deployment tools.

We recently sat down with Jeremy Chapman, Senior Product Manager responsible for deployment and application compatibility tools for the IT Pro, to get a sense of how these tools change with Windows 7.

--Stephen Rose, Senior Community Manager, Windows Client Division

Stephen: Jeremy, can you tell us a little about your job here at Microsoft?

Jeremy: I look after the tools that customers use to deploy operating systems, spanning everything from assessing their current hardware and applications – with tools like the Application Compatibility Toolkit – to building system images, migration user data and automating operating system and application installations.

Stephen: Now that Windows 7 beta is out and lots of people are starting to download and test the software the big Stephen people are asking is, “How different will Windows 7 deployment be from Windows Vista?”

Jeremy: The good news is that all the big architectural changes we made in Windows Vista continue to live on—such as componentizing the OS for offline serviceability, releasing what used to be the OEM-specific tools in the OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK) to customers in the form of the Windows Automated Installation (AIK), and with things like Windows PE and ImageX, and all the tools we built to augment deployments. For people who know Windows Vista deployment, the changes moving to Windows 7 will be incremental and easy to get ramped-up on, with improvements made across the deployment spectrum.

Stephen: What about Hardware? Will customers need new hardware to run Windows 7?

Jeremy: We are taking our engineering tenet seriously that hardware running Windows Vista well will run also Windows 7 as well.

Stephen: Great. I use Windows 7 on my old Windows Vista hardware and love it. It sounds like most of what people have done to prepare for or deploy Windows Vista will carry forward. So what about additional features and functionally … Are there enhancements to the deployment process that IT pros will want to know about?

Jeremy: Everything from imaging, to image delivery, to migration improves with Windows 7, as do the toolkits like the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, Application Compatibility Toolkit, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit and Volume Activation tools.

Stephen: Tell us more about Imaging. Most customers manage a lot of OS images. How will Windows 7 change this?

Jeremy: Let’s take a step back here. People on Windows XP or people using sector-based imaging may be managing a lot of images, but we built Windows Vista in a way that allows companies to use file-based, non-destructive WIM images. Windows 7 builds on this, and the new Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) command line tool lets IT Pros enumerate the features, packages, updates and drivers on an image offline, and also service these areas. With Windows 7, we now have the ability to add and remove drivers in a mounted or applied image – that was something you had to do using deploy-time driver injection in Windows Vista. We can also service Windows 7 VHD images built for native VHD boot just like WIMs. The tools for imaging and unattended installation are still there, like ImageX and Windows System Image Manager. All of that carries forward from Windows Vista.

Stephen: So we’ve made it easier to create and manage images. Let’s talk more about the delivery of these images. We’ve seen images sizes continue to grow with every release of Windows – from typically 1-2GB in the Windows XP timeframe to typically 3-4GB for Vista. This makes delivering images complex and uses a lot of network bandwidth. Does this change in Windows 7?

Jeremy: Good point. Yes, images have grown in size both due to OS footprint and in many cases, software footprint. In Windows Server 2008, we introduced Multicast to break the paradigm of one image transferred per target PC. Of course, if you are deploying 100 PCs with 5GB images, that means 500GB goes over the wire. With Multicast we can transmit that 5GB image once or twice, and hit ‘deploy’ to the same 100 PCs, using only 5-10GB of network bandwidth. The one remaining problem was that the slowest connected client in the pool would throttle the transfer rate for all PCs. We address this in Windows 7 by adding a Multiple Stream Transfer option in Multicast. Think of it like a highway, the left lane or faster clients get to their destination quicker, while the slower ones in the middle and right lanes move at their own pace. That means huge speed advantages in many cases for the faster clients.

Stephen: What about deployment for people without persistent network connections or without Windows Deployment Services? Will Windows 7 have something to help them?

Jeremy: We continue to provide more flexibility in the cases where network deployments either are not ideal, due to speed or latency, or in some cases non-existent or non-accessible. We have media-based deployment using Lite Touch Installation from the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit – this is still very automated and just takes a minute or so per machine to kick off a standard image deployment. Likewise, we introduce OEM pre-staging of Lite Touch deployment back in July, allowing customers to hand off a full LTI-based build to their preferred OEMs. When powering on the system for the first time, users can configure the PC to meet their needs (with the right applications, drivers, etc.) using LTI, within about a minute. Those are the more elegant ways for disconnected/low-bandwidth users, and you can still use custom thick images as well, but you’ll forgo some flexibility.

New deployment tools available for Windows 7 Beta!

Celine Allee — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 04:00:00 GMT

We know many of you have downloaded the Windows 7 Beta (enough to overwhelm our servers!), and are likely putting the new operating system through its paces. Now that you’ve had a chance to explore the new UI and some of the advanced end-user features, it might be time to begin working with the management and deployment capabilities.

Microsoft has just released two complementary deployment tools you will want to take a look at:

The Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) is a tool to help IT pros create and deploy Windows images to new hardware. The Windows AIK is a collection of tools and documentation that help you automate Windows OS deployments with a high degree of flexibility—allowing you to configure many deployment options, which is helpful in highly customized environments. Tools such as the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT—discussed below) and products like System Center Configuration Manager use components of Windows AIK to create system images and automate their installation. This latest release of Windows AIK is designed to work with Windows 7 images, and supports the new Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool that is part of Windows 7. The User State Migration Tool (USMT 4.0) is now installed as part of Windows AIK, to help streamline and simplify the migration of user accounts, files, OS settings and application settings. You can download the latest Windows AIK here.

The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 Beta is also now available as an open beta on Connect. MDT 2010 is the fourth generation deployment Solution Accelerator from Microsoft. Along with detailed guidance, MDT 2010 provides unified tools and processes for desktop and server deployments from a common deployment console, delivering standardized images across both your server and client infrastructure. MDT 2010 also supports Hard Link Migrations using USMT 4.0 for refresh scenarios, which will reduce your user state back-up and restore time. MDT 2010 supports deployment of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, in addition to supporting Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3 and Windows Server 2003.

Check out other Solution Accelerators at www.microsoft.com/solutionaccelerators, and visit the Springboard Series on TechNet for more information and guidance on Windows technology adoption!