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

32-bit and 64-bit Windows: frequently asked questions

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.

List of limitations in 64-Bit Windows

Options for Installing Installing and reinstalling Windows 7

• Clean installation 
• Upgrade
• Migration

Options for Clean Install

• CD/DVD
• Network Share
• Image

Common Install Errors

Windows 7 installation problems: frequently asked questions

• Minimum Hardware Requirements
• BIOS should be updated for Windows 7
• Hardware failures

How to configure Computer Name and Domain/Workgroup Settings

Join or create a workgroup

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 Advisor Find out if your PC can run Windows 7

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

Image –based Install Building a Standard Image of Windows 7: Step-by-Step Guide

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

Windows Setup Installing and reinstalling Windows 7

AIK Catalogs Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 Readme

DISM Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM)

Sysprep Preparing an Image Using Sysprep and ImageX

Deployment Services (2008 Server) Windows Deployment Services Getting Started Guide

VHD Windows 7 Boot from VHD

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

SYSPREP Preparing an Image Using Sysprep and ImageX

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

• Can be used to store an OS to run on a computer without a parent OS, virtual machine or hypervisor Windows 7 VHD Boot Demonstration
• VHD boot, is a new feature in Win7 that eases the transition between virtual and physical environments Demonstration: Windows 7 VHD Boot

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

Common Mitigation Methods Testing Your Application Mitigation Packages

• Upgrade the app
• Modify the security to install  (then put back the way it was)
• Use a virtual machine

Updating Shims Deciding When to Use Shims as a Compatibility Mitigation

• 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