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

Announcing the Release Candidate of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

Celine Allee — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:55:00 GMT

As you probably know, the Windows Client team has been developing Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, representing our commitment to continuous improvement. Last week, on February 25, the Release Candidate (RC) was made available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers; this week we’re pleased to announce broad availability under the Customer Preview Program as of today, March 4. Your automated feedback will help us deliver the highest quality final release possible.

SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 builds on the advancements delivered in SP1, and simplifies administration by enabling the deployment and support of a single service pack for client and servers. SP2 includes all of the updates that have been delivered since the release of SP1, along with support for new types of hardware and emerging standards that will grow in importance in the coming months.

A few of the highlights are:

Hardware and Standards support

Bluetooth 2.1 feature pack to support the most recent Bluetooth device specifications
Windows Connect Now (WCN) WiFi configuration
Enhanced exFAT file system to support correct file synchronization across time zones

Performance, Reliability and Security improvements

All previously released updates since SP1
Improved wireless reconnection performance for mobile PCs resuming from hibernation
Reduced audio and video streaming performance for specific hardware configurations
Windows Search 4, with improved indexing performance, extended file types, and improved Group Policy integration

Deployment and Support enhancements

A single installer covers both client PC and servers
Driver detection that will either block SP2 installation or warn users of functionality loss, whichever is more appropriate
Improved error handling and more descriptive error messages
Event logging support for administrators who use quiet-mode installations
Includes the Service Pack Clean-Up tool to restore hard disk space by removing redundant files from RTM and SP1

Many of you also manage server infrastructure. If you are testing out Windows Server 2008 R2, here are a few other things you’ll see in this Release Candidate:

Easier virtualization—Hyper-V RTM is included in the Service Pack
Reduced power consumption—Windows Server 2008 R2 is up to 10% more power efficient than Windows Server 2008 RTM
Unified—there is one package for 32 bit and one package for 64 bit that covers both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

For more detail on these and other changes in SP2, please check the Windows Team Blog.

Springboard Series - The Resource for Windows Desktop IT Professionals : Windows Server 2008 R2

Are Your PCs Ready For Windows 7?

Announcing the Release Candidate of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008