Windows XP to Windows 7 Migration Guide

This guide walks you through the decisions you'll make when migrating from a Windows XP environment to Windows 7, and learn about the tools and resources available from Microsoft to help you each step along the way.
There are three major steps we need to consider while getting into XP to windows 7 migration.

1. Collect, Analyze, and Test
2. Remediate Applications – Fix
3. Remediate Applications – Virtualize (Optional)
4. Deploy Operating System

Collect, Analyze, and Test

This section walks you through how to collect information about running your hardware and applications. It then analyzes the list of applications in the environment, and then test those applications for compatibility.

Remediate Applications – Fix

After the collection and analysis of data, we must test and mitigate (fix) the application issues. This process can be accomplished by using the Standard User Analyzer (SUA), the Compatibility Administrator, and the Setup Analysis Tool. All tools are available with the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT).

Remediate Applications – Virtualize (Optional)

Virtualization may help to solve an incompatibility problem. There are several ways to virtualize applications. We can run virtual machines on centralized servers, distribute them to new physical desktops and/or combine the deployment of a new operating system with virtualized applications. In this section, we’ll find material that will help you to determine which option works best for us.

Deploy Operating System

Once we have determined our software is compatible, we can start the deployment process. Please be aware that there is no upgrade path from Windows XP to Windows 7, only from Windows XP to Windows Vista and then Windows Vista to Windows 7. We can, however, use the User State Migration Tool (USMT) to keep the data in place and re-deploy just the Operating System.

Here you will find complete Microsoft guide

 

 

Microsoft’s Virtualization Solutions

Virtualization is one of the most effective methods to save costs, increase the availability , and improve agility within an organization’s infrastructure. Microsoft Virtualization solutions provide you with the way to optimize your infrastructure by helping IT provide the services more rapidly and efficiently while allowing an organization to consume these services more effectively in a dynamically changing business climate. Click here to read more….

Resources

One point where in you have access to White Papers, Videos, Virtualization TechNet Resources, Virtualization Tools (ROI Calculator, Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit and HyperGreen Tool) and MS Virtual Labs. Click here to access the resources....

Microsoft Virtualization Demos

Learn more about the Microsoft Virtualization products and solutions, and see them in action by viewing this collection of demos.
Virtualization Introduction…..       
MAP Assessment Tool…  
Creating a Viable Virtualization Design 
Overview on MED-V

Microsoft Virtualization Community

To join the Virtualization conversation. Follow Microsoft experts to stay up-to-date on the latest industry and Microsoft Virtualization news and information. Click here to join community…

Internet Explorer 9 Product Guide and Group Policy Reference…

Windows Internet Explorer 9 (abbreviated as IE9) is the new version of the Internet Explorer web browser from Microsoft. It was released to the public on March 14, 2011.
System requirements for IE9:
Windows 7
Windows Server 2008 R2,
Windows Server 2008 (with Service Pack 2(SP2)
Windows Vista,
Windows Server 2008
Note: Both 32-bit, 64-bit builds are supported and Windows XP is not supported.
Overview for IT Professionals:
Internet Explorer 9 can also help IT pros standardize on the only web browser that provides nearly 1,500 Group Policy settings to help streamline desktop management and support. IT pros can have trouble gaining user acceptance for a web browser that end users do not like. Internet Explorer 9 can help alleviate this issue. The browser includes features that end users have specifically requested, such as tear-off tabs, the Download Manager, and better integration with the Windows 7 taskbar. Internet Explorer 9 is also considerably faster than Internet Explorer 8. End users who enjoy Internet Explorer 9 can drive adoption, helping you to reduce management and support costs by standardizing the desktop. Click here to read more.
FAQ for IT Professionals:
Find information about new features in Internet Explorer 9 that are important to IT Professionals. Click here for checking out for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Internet Explorer 9 Product Guide:
This product guide outlines new features in Internet Explorer 9, highlights the top features, and provides additional information on features specific for end users, developers, and IT professionals. Read on to learn more about how Internet Explorer 9 unlocks the Beauty of the Web. IT Professionals and IE9 enthu’s download product guide here.
Group Policy Settings Reference Windows IE9:
The policy settings included in this spreadsheet cover Internet Explorer 5, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9. These files are used to expose policy settings when you edit Group Policy objects (GPOs) using Group Policy Object Editor (also known as GPEdit). Download the reference spreadsheet here.

Windows Deployment Guide – Step by Step

WDS (Windows Deployment Service) is a revised version of RIS (Remote Installation Service).  Windows Deployment Services enables you to deploy Windows operating systems, particularly Windows Vista® and Windows7 and Server 2008. You can use it to set up new computers by using a network-based installation. This means that you do not have to be physically present at each computer and you do not have to install each operating system directly from a CD or DVD.

What’s new in Windows Deployment Services?

 
Installing the WDS role on Windows Server 2008
Installing WDS in Windows Server 2008 is quite simple; just add it as a Server Role from Server Manager.

Besides the core components in WDS, Windows Server 2008 has the multicasting feature for the deployment. Transport Server option gives us that functionality. Click on next and then install.

Configure WDS for first use
WDS also has a simple procedure to configure the server, just running a wizard and you’ll be good to go. In Administrative tasks open the WDS up in mmc, expand “Servers” then right click on the root name, and “configure server”.

We’ll need to create a path for the storing of our images. E:\RemoteInstall.
PXE answer policy, every time a machine boots from the network you can decide if they are going to receive an automatic answer or wait for an administrator decision.
Uncheck “add images now” select next.
If we have the DHCP server on the same operating system running WDS, we’ll also need to access the WDS server properties and select on the DHCP tab both options: “Do not listen on port 67” and “Configure DHCP option 60 to ‘PXEClient’.
In our case the DHCP role is placed on a different server and those options are not checked.
Adding Boot and Default Windows 7 Images
Every environment we are trying to deploy will always need boot images; fortunately we just have to select the boot images included on Windows 7 DVD. Right click on “boot images” and select add boot image.

Using a Windows 7 DVD, we can easily find the boot.wim file in “sources” folder.
.
Now we can leave the image name to its default or we can change it. Confirm settings then continue. For adding the Windows 7 operating system image is the same procedure to run, but using the “Install Images” folder in WDS console.
Adding the default Install Image Right click on Install Images in the WDS console and select Add Image.
Creating a new image group.
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Browse again in “sources” folder and select install.wim. .
Now we are given a choice of all the available versions of the installation media; install.wim contains all the versions available of Windows 7.
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We can select just one version to avoid allocating unnecessary space in the hard drive.
Once completed we’ll have available a boot image, plus a default and clean image of Windows 7 to be installed over the network.
Once the successful configuration of the WDS is done, boot the bare metal hardware with PXE boot and ready to deploy the clean Image.

Reference:

Microsoft technet guide

MSFN: A Step by Step guide to setting up WDS for PXE

Windows Deployment Services Step-by-Step Guide 

Windows 7, How to Customize – A Tutorial

To open Windows version information:

Open Start menu in the search box enter “Winver” and press enter. You will display a windows talking about the Windows 7.

Activate Windows 7 Online:

Right click on Computer in start menu will open above the window and then by clicking Activate Windows now.‌

Note: Type your Windows 7 product key when prompted, click Next, and then follow the instructions.

How to Uninstall or Change a Program in Windows 7:

Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click on Programs and Features, Select a program and see the available options on the toolbar for that program.

The options will be either Uninstall, Change, Uninstall/Change, Repair, or Change/Repair. Some program may not have all the options available for it.

Click on the Uninstall or Uninstall/Change toolbar button.

How to Change the Window Color and Appearance in Windows 7:

Right click any blank area in desktop and select option personalize context to open the above window.

How to Open and Use Clear Type Text Tuner in Windows 7:

Open control panel from start menu, open display and select the “adjust clear type text” to open the CTT wizard.

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/What-is-the-ClearType-Text-Tuner to know more.

How to Adjust the Column Width in Windows Explorer:

Open any folder, change view to details, and right click on the column title and select any of the options available.

How to Open a Command Prompt in Windows 7:

How to Run a Program in Compatibility Mode with Windows 7:

Right click the program that you want to run in “compatibility mode” and select the properties. From the dialog, choose compatibility tab to change the settings.

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/compatibility to know more about this.

How to open Network connections window in Windows 7:

· Click the network icon in the notification area of windows 7 taskbar.

Click on the open network and sharing center to open a window as shown below.

· In that window please select local area network connection will open windows as shown below.

· Right click the local area network connection icon to open the dialogue box shown below

Note: You must have admin rights to change the settings of this dialogue box.

How to Delete Cookies in Windows 7

In Search tab type: “shell:cookies\Low” to open the cookies window and delete the cookies that you want to delete

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/Windows7/Cookies-frequently-asked-questions to know more about this topic.

How to Change the Date and Time in Windows 7:

Click the time on the taskbar to open the window like below shown.

Click on the change time and date settings will open the window shown below.

Note: You must be an administrator to change the date and time in your computer.

How to Change the Windows 7 Desktop Background:

To change the desktop background, right click any blank area in the desktop, either select next desktop background option if available or select personalize option to open the themes window. Below shown window will open and please find a option to change the desktop background.

How to Change the Main Display in Windows 7:

Open control panel, click on display, select change display settings, and select the display that want to make it into the main display

Note: this option is available only if your hardware supports multiple displays.

How to Change the Display Language in Windows 7:

Open control panel, select region and language and select keyboard and language tab to select the display language.

Note: This option is available only if multilingual pack is installed.

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Install-or-change-a-display-language for further details on this topic.

How to Encrypt or Decrypt a Folder or File in Windows 7:

Right click any folder/file click properties, click the advanced tab and select “Encrypt contents to secure the data”

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Encrypt-or-decrypt-a-folder-or-file to know more.

How to Import and Export Favorites in Internet Explorer:

Follow these steps on the computer that you're exporting your favorites from.

1. Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button. In the search box, type Internet Explorer, and then, in the list of results, click Internet Explorer.

2. Click the Favorites button, click the arrow next to the Add to Favorites button, and then click Import and Export.

3. In the Import/Export Settings dialog box, click Export to a file, and then click Next.

4. Select the Favorites check box, and then click Next.

5. Select the folder that you want to export your favorites from, and then click Next.

6. By default, Internet Explorer creates a file called bookmark.htm in your Documents folder. If you want to use a name other than bookmark.htm or to store the exported favorites in a folder other than Documents, specify the new file and folder name.

7. Click Export. If you already have a file by the same name, Internet Explorer will ask you to replace it. Click Yes if you want replace the file, or click No and type a new file name.

8. Click Finish.

Follow these steps on the computer that you want to import your favorites to.

1. Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button . In the search box, type Internet Explorer, and then, in the list of results, click Internet Explorer.

2. Click the Favorites button, click the arrow next to the Add to Favorites button, and then click Import and Export.

3. In the Import/Export Settings dialog box, click Import from a file, and then click Next.

4. Select the Favorites check box, and then click Next.

5. By default, Internet Explorer imports from a file called bookmark.htm in your Documents folder, but you can tell it to import favorites that are saved under another name. Click Browse and select a file, or type a location and file name to import, or click Next to accept the default.

6. Select the folder where you want to place the imported favorites, and then click Import.

7. Click Finish.

How to Hide or Show Known File Type Extensions in Windows 7:

Open windows explorer, select organize from the menu bar, select the folder and search options menu

and from folder options dialog, select view, and then either check or uncheck “hide extensions for known file types” to show/hide the file extensions.

Refer:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Change-folder-options to know more about the folder options window.

Create Shares Between XP and Windows 7:

Right click the folder, select share with, it will open a new window, in that type the user name or everyone and click “add”. After that, select the username which just now you entered and select the permission that you want to grant. Then click share.

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/File-sharing-essentials to know more about topics.

How to Add or Remove Desktop Gadgets in Windows 7:

Right click on an empty area in desktop, click on gadgets, it will open gadgets gallery, double click on any gadget to show on desktop.

Note: some gadgets may require internet connectivity to work properly.

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Desktop-gadgets-overview for more details.

How to Create a Home group in Windows 7:

Open -> control panel -> network sharing center in that choose advanced sharing settings to do the same.

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/homegroup to understand home group

How to Open and Use Windows 7 Start Menu and Taskbar Jump Lists:

Right click any minimized program on taskbar to open jump list. Using jump list, you can perform tasks simply and quickly related to that particular application.

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/jump-lists

How to Find the MAC Address of Your Computer:

Please type “cmd” in the search bar of the start menu. It opens the command prompt. Type “getmac” command in the command prompt to get the MAC address.

How to Enable Windows 7 to make a Remote Desktop Connection:

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/What-types-of-Remote-Desktop-connections-should-I-allow

How to Change the Screen Saver in Windows 7:

Right click on empty area of desktop, select personalize, and then select the screen saver option from the window. It will open the screen saver window, in that you can select, type, time even power management options.

How to Change the Power Plan Settings in Windows 7:

Open control panel, click power options, to change the power options.

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/power-management for knowing more.

How to Enable or Disable Quick Launch in Windows 7:

Right click on taskbar, select toolbar, click on new tool bar. You will be prompted to open the folder, type

%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch to open the quick launch toolbar.

Code:

How to Enable or Disable Recent Items in Windows 7:

How to Open the XPS Viewer in Windows 7:

Navigate through Start ; all programs, XPS viewer

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/xps

How to Use Windows DVD Maker in Windows 7:

Click start; all programs choose Windows DVD maker to open DVD maker.

Refer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Burn-a-DVD-Video-disc-with-Windows-DVD-Maker for guide lines.

How to Set the Windows 7 Network Location Type:

Simply by clicking the network icon in the taskbar, you can change the network type or you can change via start ; control panel ; network and sharing center; select the network type and change.

Hope this is useful to all who is putting baby steps with Windows 7. I will try to write some of the important features in details with upcoming articles.

Please share your thoughts comments…will help me to improve in better way…