Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Chapter 1 RI AL Topics covered in this chapter include TE ÛÛ Choosing a Windows 7 edition ÛÛ Performing a local installation of Windows 7 MA ÛÛ Designing User State Migration ÛÛ Considering virtualization CO PY RI GH TE D ÛÛ Planning and managing client licensing and activation
One of the first steps you need to take when planning a migration to Windows 7 is choosing which edition of Windows 7 to deploy. For an enterprise, your choice is limited to Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate. To make the right choice, you’ll need to know what features are available in each edition. Once you identify the edition you’ll use, you need to come up with a migration plan.
Choosing a Windows 7 Edition 3 Windows 7 Home Basic This is available only in certain countries referred to as emerging markets, and it includes very limited capabilities. It will not be available in the United States. Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Home Premium is designed for home users. It includes the Windows Media Center, which can be used to record and play back TV shows or other media. It can also easily integrate on a home network with other devices such as Xbox gaming systems.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Ta b l e 1 .
Choosing a Windows 7 Edition 5 However, Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate all support as much as 192 GB of RAM on 64-bit systems. This gives you enough RAM to support multiple virtual environments hosted on a single system and also to support even the most demanding applications. Years ago, many applications didn’t run effectively on 64-bit editions of Windows because of various compatibility issues. However, the era of 64-bit systems has arrived.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 As an example, consider several users connected in a remote office over a very slow 56KB wide area network (WAN) link to the corporate office. Sally and Joe are users in the remote office, and their computers are connected to each other using 100MB network interface cards (NICs). Sally downloads an 8MB file from a Windows Server 2008 R2 server. Later, Joe wants to view the file and tries to access it from the same Windows Server 2008 R2 server.
Local Installation 7 Local Installation It’s possible that you’ll need to install Windows 7 from the installation media at some point. You’ll learn about Lite Touch Installation (LTI) and Zero Touch Installation (ZTI) in Chapter 2, “Automating the Deployment of Windows 7,” but you may occasionally need to do a “heavy touch” installation. No, there’s no acronym for heavy touch installation, mostly because you don’t want to be doing it that often.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 E x e r c i s e 1 . 1 ( c o n t i n u e d ) 2. Select the appropriate Language To Install, Time And Currency Format, and Keyboard Or Input Method, and click Next. 3. Click Install Now. 4. Review the license terms, and select I Accept The License Terms. Click Next. 5. Select Custom (Advanced) to install a new copy of Windows. If an existing version exists that can be upgraded to Windows 7, you can select Upgrade. 6.
Local Installation E x e r c i s e 1 . 1 ( c o n t i n u e d ) in the Windows.old folder after the installation. Once you have selected the partition, click Next. 7. The installation will take several minutes to complete, but it will be automated from this point. 8. When the installation completes and reboots, you will be prompted to type a user name, as shown in the following graphic. As you enter the user name, the computer name will be created by appending the user name with -PC.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 E x e r c i s e 1 . 1 ( c o n t i n u e d ) 12. Choose your time zone on the time zone and clock screen. Make sure the time and date are accurate, and click Next. 13. Select Work Network as the computer’s current location. 14. The Windows 7 desktop will appear. The installation is complete. Designing User State Migration The majority of Microsoft installed clients are Windows XP.
Designing User State Migration 11 Wipe-and-load migration A wipe-and-load migration uses the same hardware. However, partitions on the hard drive holding the original operating system need to be modified, which will prevent the Windows.old folder from being created during the new installation. Instead, you must use USMT before the installation to save the files and settings to a migration store from the previous installation.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 E x e r c i s e 1. 2 Installing Windows AIK Including the USMT 1. If prompted after inserting the DVD, select Run The StartCD.exe. If not prompted, browse to the StartCD.exe file using Windows Explorer and double-click it to start Windows AIK. The installation screen appears, as shown in the following graphic. 2. Select the Windows AIK Setup link on the left. 3. On the Welcome screen, click Next. 4.
Designing User State Migration 13 Windows System Image Manager This is used to create an unattend.txt text file that can be used to automate an installation and to open images. Documentation This provides links to several help files including the Unattended Windows Setup Reference, the Windows Automated Installation Kit, and the Windows PE User’s Guide. Not all help files are available here. Notably for this chapter, the help file for the USMT isn’t accessible here even though it was installed.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Running ScanState and LoadState Two important files that are added to your system with USMT are ScanState and LoadState. You can use these two files from the command prompt or in batch files to automatically examine your system and restore user accounts, files, and settings in a very short time. ScanState ScanState will collect files and settings from a previous installation or from the Windows.old folder.
Designing User State Migration 15 I realize it’s long, but the good news is that you don’t need to modify it at all. Just copy it from the book, and it’ll work for many common migrations. The following bullets break down the command: NN ScanState is the name of the command. NN c:\store is the location where the migration data will be stored. NN /v:13 indicates the highest level of verbosity. It will provide a significant amount of output to the log that can be viewed later.
NN NN NN NN NN NN NN Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 /lac:P@ssw0rd specifies that local accounts should be created if they don’t already exist. If the /lac switch is not used, local accounts will not be migrated. The same password will be used for all migrated accounts, and if a password is not specified, the password will be empty.
Designing User State Migration E x e r c i s e 1 . 3 ( c o n t i n u e d ) 3. Type the following lines in the text document. Note that the ScanState and LoadState commands span two lines in this book, but they should be entered as a single command in the document. Cd “c:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\USMT\x86” rem ScanState.exe c:\store /v:13 /o /c /hardlink /nocompress /efs:hardlink /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml /offlineWinDir:c:\windows.old\windows rem LoadState.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 While the previous exercise had you create a batch file with the ScanState and LoadState commands, it is possible just to execute the commands at the command prompt. However, if you have created the batch file, you can create your own portable tool that can be easily executed on any system to perform an in-place migration. Creating a Portable USMT Batch File If desired, you can make your batch file a little more portable.
Designing User State Migration 19 The /e switch specifies that all directories should be copied—even empty ones. The /v switch is used to verify the files, and the /y switch is used to suppress prompting if any files are overwritten. Chapter 3 covers the XCopy command and other elements of the command prompt in more depth. Unfortunately, this works only if the USB flash drive is assigned the letter D:. It could be assigned other letters such as E:, F:, and so on.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Wipe-and-Load Migration vs. Side-by-Side Migration The majority of this section has covered an in-place migration. A common scenario is where a Windows XP system has the hardware to support Windows 7. Windows 7 is installed, and the user’s data and settings are then migrated from the Windows.old folder. However, there are some scenarios where the existing system needs to be wiped clean or completely replaced.
Designing User State Migration 21 In both scenarios, the process is similar: 1. Run ScanState on the original computer, and store the files and settings externally, such as on a network share or an external USB drive. The ScanState version that comes with the Windows AIK for Windows 7 can be run on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 operating systems. 2. Install Windows 7.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 MigApps.xml T his file includes the rules used to migrate application settings. It will migrate many common applications published by Apple, Google, IBM, Intuit, Microsoft, and others. MigUser.xml T his file includes rules that can be used to identify different elements of user profiles to include or exclude from the migration. By default, all users are migrated. This file is not used to specify which users to migrate. Config.
Designing User State Migration 23 Securing Migrated Data The amount of data included in a migration store can be considerable and, depending on the user’s job responsibilities, the data can be sensitive. Any migration stores with sensitive data should be protected until they are used to restore the user’s files and settings. They should be destroyed after the user’s files and settings have been restored.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Virtualization Considerations Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) has come a long way in the past few years. In short, VDI is the practice of hosting one or more virtual desktop operating systems on a desktop operating system. The desktop operating system is referred to as the host, and the virtual systems are referred to as virtual machines, virtual images, and sometimes just virtual applications.
Virtualization Considerations 25 Second, if the processor doesn’t support virtualization, or the BIOS doesn’t support virtualization, you won’t be able to use Windows XP Mode. However, you can still use virtual machines. Tradeoffs between physical and VDI environments VDI environments require more resources. These include newer processors and more RAM. However, if the PC supports it, the environment may allow you to remove another PC.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Direct Connection vs. Brokered Connection In the context of VDI, connections can either be direct or brokered. Direct would be directly within a virtual machine, and brokered would be indirectly through the virtual machine. Direct connection The user launches the virtual machine from within the host system, logs on to the virtual machine, and starts the application within the virtual machine.
Virtualization Considerations E x e r c i s e 1. 4 Creating a Bootable VHD 1. Turn on the Windows Vista system and place the Windows 7 installation DVD in the system. When the system starts, select the option to boot from the DVD. 2. When the initial installation screen appears prompting you to select a language, time and currency format, and keyboard or input method, press Shift+F10.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 E x e r c i s e 1 . 4 ( c o n t i n u e d ) 5. Type the following command and press Enter. Select vdisk file=c:\Windows7.vhd Diskpart will indicate it has successfully selected the virtual disk file. 6. Type the following command and press Enter: Attach vdisk Diskpart will indicate it has successfully attached the virtual disk file. 7. Type Exit and press Enter to exit Diskpart. 8.
Virtualization Considerations 29 Windows XP Mode Windows XP Mode is a virtualization technology that addresses a specific problem that prevented many people from moving from Windows XP to Windows Vista. Many applications worked well in Windows XP but would not work in Windows Vista. Interestingly, this problem prevented people from moving to Windows XP from Windows 2000 in the early XP days. It seems to be a common problem, but Windows XP Mode may be a definitive solution for those considering Windows 7.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Figure 1.4 shows the Intel® Processor Identification Utility with the middle tab selected. Notice that the Intel(R) Virtualization Technology is listed as Yes, verifying that Windows XP Mode can be used on this system. This utility can be downloaded from Intel’s website here: http://www.intel.com/support/processors/tools/piu/ F i g u r e 1 .
Virtualization Considerations 31 Next you’ll need to enable the virtualization option in the BIOS. My experience is that this is not enabled by default, so you’ll need to reboot your system, read the screen to see what key to use to enter BIOS, and then search for the virtualization option. Many versions of BIOS are available, and there’s no standard of how to access BIOS.
Chapter 1 32 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Exercise 1.5 will walk you through the steps to install Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode. E x e r c i s e 1. 5 Installing Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode 1. 2. Install Windows Virtual PC with the following steps: a. Launch Windows Explorer. Browse to where you downloaded Windows Virtual PC and double-click the executable. This actually installs update KB958559.
Virtualization Considerations 33 E x e r c i s e 1 . 5 ( c o n t i n u e d ) With Remember Credentials checked, users won’t be prompted to enter credentials when using Windows XP Mode. i. Enable automatic updates by selecting Help Protect My Computer By Turning On Automatic Updates Now, and click Start Setup. It will take several minutes for the setup to complete. Once it completes, a window will open with the Windows XP Mode desktop. Windows XP Mode is now installed on your system.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Exercise 1.6 will lead you through the steps to make an application available to end users. As preparation for this exercise, I downloaded IrfanView (a freeware image viewer) created by Irfan Skiljan. However, you can use any program and, if you want to install another program, substitute your program where I refer to IrfanView in the exercise. E x e r c i s e 1.6 Publishing Applications from Windows XP Mode 1.
Virtualization Considerations E x e r c i s e 1 . 6 ( c o n t i n u e d ) 8. Click Windows 7 and select Start All Programs Windows Virtual PC Windows XP Mode Applications. You’ll see that the program that you installed in Windows XP Mode is now available on the Windows 7 menu, as shown in the following graphic. While this shows how applications published from Windows XP Mode will appear, you can also publish applications from other Windows VPC programs.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 This exercise shows you how easily you can integrate virtual applications into a user’s desktop. Users don’t have to know all the details of how the virtual applications are installed or how they work, and many end users don’t want to know. They just want to be able to access an application when it’s needed.
Virtualization Considerations E x e r c i s e 1 . 7 ( c o n t i n u e d ) 4. Adjust the size of memory for the PC. For Windows XP, you can get away with 512 MB, but if you’re running more applications, add more RAM. Similarly, you can start with 1 GB of RAM for Windows 7 and add more depending on the applications you’re running. You can always adjust the RAM later when the virtual machine is turned off.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Installing Integration Components After installing an operating system using Virtual PC, you may notice that things aren’t running as smoothly as you’d like them to be. For one thing, every time you click within a Virtual PC environment, your mouse gets trapped there. You can press Ctrl+Alt+left arrow to get it out, but it’d be a lot easier if your mouse moved in and out of this window just as it can do with other windows.
Virtualization Considerations 39 E x e r c i s e 1 . 8 ( c o n t i n u e d ) 5. Select the Tools drop-down menu, and select Enable Integration Features. You’ll be prompted to provide credentials that will be used on your system. Enter the user name and password you used when creating the VPC image, and click OK. Windows Virtual PC Menu The Windows Virtual PC interface is different from the Microsoft Virtual PC interface. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t look like an interface at all.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 F i g u r e 1 . 7 Windows 7 launched within a Virtual PC machine Action The Action menu includes four choices: View Full Screen No surprise here. Selecting this option maximizes the VPC window to full screen. When set to full screen, a Title tab is pinned to the top of the window. This tab includes many of the same choices as the full menu.
Virtualization Considerations 41 USB The USB drop-down menu shows all the USB devices attached to your host system. As devices are added or removed from the host system, they will be added or removed from this menu. Devices aren’t automatically available in the VPC, though. If you want the device to be available, you need to select it from the menu, as shown in Figure 1.8. Devices that are attached to the VPC are removed from the host system. F i g u r e 1 .
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 As an example, the network adapters will start as being configured to use the network adapters on your system. In the figure, the VPC network adapter is currently configured to share the WiFi network adapter connected to my system. It will have access to my system on a simulated network and can access the Internet. However, if I select Not Connected, it will be completely isolated.
Planning and Managing Client Licensing and Activation 43 F i g u r e 1 .1 0 Entering the product key Some product keys are designed for a single product, and some product keys are designed for multiple products. A Multiple Activation Key (MAK) uses a single key purchased for many clients. In larger organizations, MAKs or Key Management Service (KMS) servers could be used for activation, or a combination of the two can be used.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 At this writing, it appears as though everything in Windows 7 still works in this reduced-functionality mode. The desktop background goes black with text indicating the copy of Windows is not genuine. You can change the background, but it will change back within about an hour.
Planning and Managing Client Licensing and Activation 45 Detecting Changes Periodically, Windows 7 will verify that the copy of Windows is valid and is operating on the same system where it was originally installed. If significant changes are detected, the activation will be reversed and the system will need to be reactivated. The most common scenario where this occurs is when imaging software such as Symantec’s Ghost is used.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 The Windows 7 activation limit can be extended to a total of 120 days. When the 30-day limit is reached, you can run slmgr -rearm from an administrator command prompt, which resets the activation limit for another 30 days. This command can be executed three times. Thus, if it is run at the end of each 30-day period, you’ll get a total of 120 days. Activate Windows You can use slmgr /ato command to cause the system to activate right away.
Planning and Managing Client Licensing and Activation 47 Expiration Data for Current License The command slmgr /xpr can be used to indicate the expiration date for the current license. If the system has not been activated, this will indicate the date and time when the 30-day grace period expires. If the license has been permanently activated, it will say, “The Machine is Permanently Activated.” If the system has been activated by KMS, it will indicate the expiration of the KMS activation.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Microsoft has published the Volume Activation Planning Guide for Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2. It includes some great explanations and a lot more detail on both the KMS and MAK processes. You can access it here: http://technet.microsoft.com/library/dd878528.aspx. Multiple Activation Key Large enterprises can purchase a Multiple Activation Key (MAK), which is a single key that can be used to activate many clients.
Planning and Managing Client Licensing and Activation 49 Figure 1.13 shows the VAMT with several computers added to a group named SecureNetwork. In the figure, one computer has already been activated with a retail (nonMAK) key. The other computers have not been activated yet. F i g u r e 1 .1 3 Using VAMT to manage activation Inventory and Licensing Compliance Audits The biggest benefit of using VAMT with MAK is the ability to inventory your licenses and help with licensing audits.
Chapter 1 50 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Microsoft licensing site, presents the data from the secure computers, and receives activation data. This activation data is then copied to the instance of VAMT in the secure environment. A MAK proxy is used to activate clients in a secure network when KMS is not being used. This would be common in secure networks with fewer than 5 servers or fewer than 25 clients. The following steps outline the process of using VAMT as a MAK proxy: 1.
Planning and Managing Client Licensing and Activation 51 Two important concepts are worth repeating with KMS: Activation is temporary. Clients are not permanently activated. Instead, they must periodically connect to the KMS server to be reactivated. Temporary activation will last for 180 days. KMS is used for a large number of clients. Specifically, KMS can be used only if there are five or more servers or 25 or more clients and servers that need to be activated by KMS.
Chapter 1 52 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Activation validity interval After activation by a KMS host, KMS clients will remain activated for 180 days. If the KMS client has not connected to a KMS server within 180 days, the activation will be invalidated. Clients attempt to connect every seven days, and when they connect, this 180-day counter is reset.
Planning and Managing Client Licensing and Activation 3. 4. 53 If the client succeeds in reaching the KMS host, the activation will be renewed. a. Once the client is activated, the seven-day counter will be reset on the KMS client. b. The 180-day counter for the KMS client activation is renewed. c. The KMS host creates a new record for this client for the activation count (which is kept for 30 days). The original record is deleted.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Virtualization Licensing If your company is considering a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution, you’ll need to understand the licensing requirements. It’s important to realize that licenses are needed for the virtual machines just as they are needed for a regular installation. Virtual computers can be activated using MAK keys or KMS servers.
Chapter Essentials 55 Windows 7 supports a rich virtual desktop infrastructure including Windows XP Mode. Windows XP Mode can be used to run applications transparently in a virtual isolated Windows XP environment. You can also run full-blown operating systems in a virtual environment using Windows Virtual PC Finally, you learned about the different tools used for activation and managing licensing. Windows 7 licenses can be purchased individually or in bulk using either MAK or KMS.
Chapter 1 n Planning for the Installation of Windows 7 Planning and managing client licensing and activation Be familiar with different licensing and activation methods used in an enterprise. Windows clients should be activated within 30 days of installation. If access to the Internet is available, activation can be configured to occur automatically and will normally occur three days after the install.
