Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Prepare to Install Windows 7

Editions
Windows 7 Starter – System Builders Only, 32bit only, 2GB only

Windows 7 Home Basic/Value Edition - Emerging Markets, 32-bit, 64-bit, 4GB, 8GB


Windows 7 Home Premium (Aero) multi-media - Retail, System Builders, 32-bit, 64-bit, 4GB, 8GB


Windows 7 Professional – Business edition for small, lower mid-market, 32-bit, 64-bit, 4GB, 192 GB

Windows 7 Enterprise – Business edition for large enterprises, volume licensing, 32-bit, 64-bit, 4GB, 192 GB

Windows 7 Ultimate – Retail + System Builders, All features, 32-bit, 64-bit, 4GB, 192 GB 

Windows 7 N Editions* (as above but without Media Player) - European Union Only, 32-bit, 64-bit, 4GB, 16GB, 192 GB
*Windows N Editions include Windows 7 Home Premium N, Professional N, and Ultimate N


Minimum Hardware Requirements
Hardware
Starter
Home Basic
Home Premium/
Professional/
Enterprise/
Ultimate
RAM
512 MB
512 MB
1 GB (2 GB for 64 bit)
CPU
800 MHz
1 GHz
1 GHz 
GPU
SVGA
Directx 9 (WDDM 1.0)
Aero
HDD Free
15 GB
15 GB
15 GB 
Optical Drive
CD
DVD
DVD

Advantages of Using 64-bit
Improved performance
More Memory
Improved device support
Improved security

Limitations
No support for 16bit Windows on windows WOW environment (virtual machine to have DOS pgm running on top of Windows), so install Windows virtualization.
WIM files can only contain either 32 or 64bit images, not both.

  • Clean installation 
  • Upgrade
  • Migration
Options for Clean Install
  • CD/DVD
  • Network Share
  • Image
Common Install Errors
  • Minimum Hardware Requirements
  • BIOS should be updated for Windows 7
  • Hardware failures
How to configure Computer Name and Domain/Workgroup Settings
Control Panel|System and Security|System|Computer Name-Domain|Change Settings

Upgrade or Migrate? Windows 7 Upgrade and Migration Guide
 Upgrade Paths:
  • Clean Install
    • Win95,Win98,WinME,WinNT,Win2000
  • Clean Install + Migration (first do a clean install and then migrate settings from other machine)
    • Use this if you wish to achieve a standardized environment
    • WinXP, WinVista RTM (Release To Manufacturing, refers to a version of Vista ready to be  pressed into CD-ROMS for general distribution)
  • In Place Migration (all user state is maintained on the computer while the old OS is removed and the new OS is installed)
    • WinVista SP1, WinVista SP2

Upgrade Process
  • Evaluate requirements for your computer
  • Backup
  • Upgrade
  • Verify
  • Update
Migrating Tools
  • Windows Easy Transfer (WET) Transfer files and settings from another computer
    • Use WET to perform a side-by-side migration for a single computer, or small number of computers
    • Have to use Windows Easy Transfer cable or removable share
  • User State Migration Tool USMT User State Migration Tool 4.0 User's Guide
    • Use USMT to perform a side-by-side migration for many computers and to automate the process as much as possible, or to perform a wipe-and-load migration on the same computer
WIM Windows Image File Format is a file-based disk image format introduced in Vista.
  • A single WIM file can address many different hardware configurations
  • WIM can store multiple images within a single file
  • WIM enables compression and single instancing, which reduces the size of image files
  • WIM enables you to service an image offline
  • Win7 provides an API for the WIM image format called WIMGAPI that developers can use to work with WIM image files
Tools for Performing Image-based Install
Deployment Services (2008 Server) Windows Deployment Services Getting Started Guide

Image-base Install Process
  • Build answer file
  • Build reference installation and verify (a good copy of windows 7 from which your image is based)
  • Create bootable Windows PE Media (kernel bare minimum Win7 option with network capability)
  • Capture the install image (the reference image)
  • Deploy image
Prepares an install of Windows OS for duplication, auditing, and end-user delivery
Can be used to perform:
  • Remove system-specific data from the OS (like computer name because it can’t be duplicated)
  • Configure Windows to start in audit mode (you can change the install for customization like icons, etc., the user thinks this is the way it came in the box and was the first time it was run)
  • Configure the Windows OS to start out-of-Box Experience (OOBE)
  • Resets Windows Product Activation
Capture and Applying the Install Image by Using ImageX
  • A command line tool that enables you to capture, modify, and apply file-based WIM images
  • What is ImageX?

ImageX can be used for:
  • View contents of a WIM file
  • Capture and apply images
  • Mount images for offline image editing
  • Compress the image files
  • Implement scripts for image creation
Migrate User Settings and Data Using USMT 4.0
Will create XML file What's New in USMT 4.0

Configuring VHDs
Configuring APP Compatibility Understanding Application Compatibility
Common Compatibility problems may relate to the following:
  • Setup and install of apps
  • UAC (User Account Control)
  • Win Resource Protection WRP (read-only state)
  • Windows Explorer Protected Mode (can only write in the temp file location)
  • 64bit architecture (if you have a DOS app 16-bit, it will not work)
  • Windows Filtering Platform WFP (an older API might not work)
  • OS version changes
  • Kernel-mode drivers
  • Deprecated components
  • Upgrade the app
  • Modify the security to install  (then put back the way it was)
  • Use a virtual machine
  • A program added to provide enhancements and compatibility.
  • Compatibility Admin Tool|Create new app Fix Wizard|Type in the name of the app, vendor (hopefully, this will bring in the shim for you to make your app work) Using the Compatibility Administrator

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