Hardware driver support is an important consideration, and Windows 7 supports older hardware.  One way to discover if drivers might be a problem in an upgrade is to run Microsoft’s Upgrade Advisor which can be downloaded at:  http://windows.microsoft.com/upgradeadvisor

A Windows 7 upgrade-in-place, in which all applications and files are automatically retained, can only be done from an existing installation of Vista service pack 1 or 2. This type of upgrade should go pretty smoothly since Vista and 7 have much in common. Upgrading from a 32bit version of Vista to a 64bit version of 7 isn’t possible, and the Home versions of Vista can’t be upgraded to Windows 7 Professional or Enterprise. A complete list of upgrade paths is found at:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd772579(WS.10).aspx?ITPID=insider

What if you’re currently using Windows XP? XP can’t be upgraded, and a clean installation of 7 is required. It is, however, possible to migrate user data including email, documents, music and video files, local user accounts and even profile-related application settings using the Windows Easy Transfer (WET) Wizard. I ran the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard to save my settings and data to a USB drive before I reformatted and installed Windows 7. Then I ran the WET to import my data into the new installation. Nothing could be simpler to use than this tool. You can download WET from:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/windows-easy-transfer

Related Course:

Administering and Maintaining Windows 7 (M50292)

Planning and Managing Windows 7 Desktop Deployments and Environments (M6294)

Unlike traditional Group Policy settings, changes applied by preferences can be undone by the user of a computer and can be configured to not be reapplied when the Policy is refreshed. This flexibility makes it more practical to apply many settings to specialize a computer for a specific purpose and still allow users to adapt it to their personal needs.

Even though Group Policy preferences were developed after Windows XP and Server 2003 were created, those operating systems can by updated with Client Side Extensions (CSEs) that allow them to process some preference settings. Windows Server 2003 domain controllers can also be configured with a Central Repository of ADMX and ADML files that define old and new GPO settings. Using the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) installed on a Windows 7 computer, an administrator can then create and edit GPOs with preferences. This allows existing Active Directory Domains that have yet to be updated from Server 2003 to support the very latest policy options for their Window 7 and Vista clients.

So, don’t wait until you deploy Windows Server 2008 R2 to enjoy the benefits of Group Policy Preferences. Get started now by checking out Microsoft’s official white paper on preferences here.

I am not sure that AERO makes me a more productive user of Windows 7 but I have noticed that if AERO is turned off I miss it. Windows 7 with AERO is a livelier, breezier experience and that is enough for me. AERO requires 128 MB of dedicated video RAM, Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits of color per pixel. That is not a problem for most computers built today except for the smallest netbooks.

What is a surprise is the fact that Windows 7 can furnish the AERO experience to users connecting via Remote Desktop. This new feature, called Aero Glass remoting, is available if you use the latest version of the Remote Desktop Connection client which come with Windows 7.  Remote Desktop Connection 6.1 which supports Remote Desktop Protocol 7.0 includes other enhanced capabilities such as bidirectional audio, and true multiple monitor support. Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate Editions support AERO remoting and Windows Server 2008 R2 can also participate. Of course, the Remote Client must have AERO capable display hardware and its Remote Desktop Connection client must have both Desktop Composition and 32 bit color enabled.

Even if Windows 7 is running as a virtual machine on a Hyper-V server it can still provide AERO Glass remoting to clients that connect if they are AERO capable.

So the question becomes; is it live or is it Remote Desktop? Remote Desktop Protocol 7.0 and Windows 7 give a Remote Desktop experience that is so good that it is hard to tell one from the other.

–Mark

Related Courses

Administering and Maintaining Windows 7 (M50292)

Microsoft Windows 7 Fundamentals: End-User Training

Planning and Managing Windows 7 Desktop Deployments and Environments (M6294)

But when Windows 7 was released the Sidebar was one of several Vista Features that was removed in order to make Windows 7 more efficient and uncluttered. Luckily, some of the best Vista Gadgets are still available for Windows 7 including the Analog Clock, the Currency Converter, the Weather Reporter and most importantly, the Picture Puzzle, a terrific time-waster. If those are not enough to satisfy one’s Gadget desires there are more choices available online at Microsoft’s Personalization Gallery.  One of the most interesting new offerings is Traffic by Bing Maps, which not only gives directions but also steers drivers clear of Friday afternoon commuting hassles. Outlook 2007 users will like the Outlook Upcoming Appointments Gadget from the Microsoft Office System folks. This Gadget has been downloaded over 600,000 times. I like the Piano Gadget which allows you to tap out simple tunes and the Amazon and EBay Gadgets that keep me updated with the latest deals.

If you are running Vista or Windows 7 try out a few of these new choices for yourself at: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/personalize?T1=desktopgadgets

Enjoy!

–Mark

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Administering and Maintaining Windows 7 (M50292)

MCITP: Windows 7 Enterprise Desktop Administrator Boot Camp

MCITP: Windows 7 Enterprise Desktop Support Technician Boot Camp

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Microsoft Windows 7 Fundamentals: End-User Training

Planning and Managing Windows 7 Desktop Deployments and Environments (M6294)

One of the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 changes includes support for the United States Federal Government Employee and Contractor Personal Identity Verification (PIV) extensions to the Common Access Card (CAC) use of smartcards. A vendor of biometrics or other identity verification hardware which is compliant with the PIV standards can issue specialized drivers through Windows Update. When an end user inserts their PIV-compliant smartcard for authentication, the appropriate device drivers can potentially be downloaded to the Windows 7 workstation automatically. This extends the basic smartcard plug and play functionality with support for PIV-compliant systems. There is even a generic driver included with Windows 7 in support of scenarios where a specific driver is not available.

But what if you don’t work for the U.S. Federal government – is there anything else new in the way Windows 7 supports smartcards which could be useful to you?

Since Windows 2000, there has been support for using smartcard public key (PK) authentication for the initial Active Directory-based Kerberos authentication at user logon. As the standards for this have evolved, newer versions of Windows have kept up. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 implement the Internet RFC 4556 called PKINIT which describes this public key initial (PKINIT) authentication as an open specification.

Windows Vista introduced an update to the Cryptographic Application Programming Interface (CryptoAPI) used in Windows 2000 and XP – this update is called the Cryptography API: Next Generation (CNG). This CNG has been further enhanced in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 for additional plug and play capabilities similar to the PIV driver update ability via Windows Update, but for supporting smartcards in any application software that implements the CNG. Therefore, any line-of-business (LOB) applications which are properly developed could integrate with basic and enhanced smartcard functionality.

Let’s go back to the updates to PKINIT support and smartcard logon. Diffie-Hellman (DH) and Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) forms of public key cryptography and the classic forms of shared secret key cryptography (e.g. DES, 3DES, RC4) have been supported in Windows for many years. But when the combined with the CNG support of Elliptic Curve algorithms for public key cryptography (e.g. ECDH, ECDSA) and more modern shared secret key algorithms (e.g. AES128 and AES256) and longer key lengths for hashing (e.g. SHA384), the modern versions of the Kerberos and PKINIT in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 can provide a solid foundation in your security infrastructure which support PIV extensions as well.

For securing documents, email, and other network traffic, the combination of CNG, PKINIT, and PIV can be extended to IPsec, S/MIME, and XPS for a powerful array of features targeted at deployments requiring defense in depth strategies. What if you want to encrypt whole disk volumes? If you’re using the Enterprise or Ultimate editions of Windows 7, smartcards can be used to unlock BitLocker encrypted disk volumes. Again, if you need PIV support, any specialized device drivers can be downloaded via Windows Update.

It’s a matter of evolution rather than earth-shatteringly new features, however Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 strongly continue the tradition of Windows support for smartcards which began with Windows 2000. What has changed is the ease of deployment and management of smartcards in Windows, enhancements to security with newer protocols and algorithms, and support for newer multi-factor authentication standards in an authentication, authorization, auditing system. Are you using smartcards yet? Or are you still trusting your systems to password/passphrase security?

–Brad

My adventure with Vista was a disappointment. Vista is an under-appreciated OS with a lot of terrific features that most people never see because of what I call the second date syndrome. Many people never got past their first impression of Vista —a first date —because of Vista’s frequent security prompts and lack of speed. Vista really needs 4GB or more of RAM and a dual core processor to perform well and many computers did not have that when Vista was introduced. Therefore, most people never gave a Vista a second chance  –a second date— and missed Vista’s terrific management and monitoring tools, advanced networking capabilities, troubleshooting wizards and a wonderful Desktop search feature.

When Windows 7 was released I was tempted to try once again to upgrade my PCs from XP. Windows 7 was supposed to require less Memory and to use Processor resources much more efficiently than Vista. I install Windows 7 on both machines and found that the promises were kept. Windows 7 runs beautifully on the Laptop and even works well on the Dell despite that fact that it only has 1 GB of RAM. XP is not going back on either computer.

I was curious on one point; however, would the Readyboost feature in Windows 7 make a further improvement of performance? ReadyBoost is designed to use USB flash memory to improve computer performance by placing a Superfetch cache on the flash drive for quick access. The theory is that placing critical data on flash to make it more readily available would make Windows run faster.

I decided to do some (very) informal tests to see if performance would improve using Readyboost.

I selected a 4 GB USB flash drive and dedicated the entire drive to Ready Boost. I measured boot times and shut down times and how long it would take applications to launch and load large files. I did my tests on the 32 bit version of Windows 7. 64 Bit Windows 7 can utilize up to 256 GB of ReadyBoost memory spread across up to eight devices.

My tests showed only a 1 second improvement in boot time but a 35% improvement in shutdown time. Word, Excel and PowerPoint loaded files about 1 to 5% faster on average.  ReadyBoost may give a bigger margin of improvement if the computers had a slower disk or less RAM, or if the applications were working with many large files at once

My conclusion is that ReadyBoost does not give a significant improvement in performance on my  computers when running commonplace applications. My systems have fast disk drives and enough RAM on board not to need ReadyBoost. Certain applications that do photo editing or desktop publishing might benefit. The best thing to do it to try ReadyBoost on your computer and see if it gives you a worthwhile “boost.”

–Mark

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Planning and Managing Windows 7 Desktop Deployments and Environments (M6294)

Microsoft touts the new backup utility as easier to use, with the ability to “configure regular backups in three clicks”. Backup jobs can be saved to local drives, USB drives, network shares or burned directly to a CD-R or a DVD-R.

Users can choose to backup individual folders or files, or to backup the files stored in a user’s Windows profile folder. While creating any backup of specific files or folders the backup wizard will offers to create a system image as well. A system image backup can be made of all drives on the system that contain files critical to Windows 7’s operation. The image files are created as VHD files which have some interesting possibilities as a file type. The VHD can be accessed by Virtual PC or Virtual Server 2005 but cannot be booted as a virtual machine inside those applications.  The VHDs created by Windows Backup and Restore can be mounted and accessed through Disk Manager and can be used to perform a bare-metal recovery of a failed computer. It is interesting to note that Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate can be installed into a special type of VHD which can be copied as a single file to another computer and booted on that system. A Windows 7 computer that is booted from a VHD has nearly the same performance of a conventionally installed system. The VHD created in Backup and Restore is not bootable but intended for system recoveries only. If a computer has suffered a hard drive failure simply boot from the Windows 7 DVD, select the “repair your computer link”, and load Windows PE from the disk. Window PE is a small operating system than can use the many features of the WinRE or Windows Repair Environment to rescue a failed system.

WinRE tools include a Startup Repair tool that can repair boot file, the ability to select a System Resort point, networking capability and command-line tools such as CHKDSK, ATTRIB and DiskPart. The WinRE tool I like best is a special version of Backup that permits a complete restoration of the computer usinga VHD backup image. The procedure is simple: boot to the Windows 7 installation DVD, load Windows PE, enter the WinRE environment, select the Complete PC Restore option and point to the location of your VHD. Then you can sit back as your Windows 7 computer is rebuilt. Windows 7 Backup uses Shadow Copy to create backups that includes files even if they are changing as the backup is being created. Nothing is skipped and all files are consistent.

–Mark

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Implementing and Administering Windows 7 in the Enterprise

MCTS: Windows 7 Certification Boot Camp

Updating Your Technology Knowledge of Microsoft Windows XP to Windows 7 Beta (M6291)

Certificate templates on a Certificate Server determine the validity period, encryption strength, and other properties of certificates issued from the template. Windows 2000 used version 1 certificates, Windows XP and Server 2003 used version 2 certificates and Windows Server 2008 and Vista/Windows 7 can use version 3 certificates. Version 3 certificates support stronger encryption by using Suite B algorithms including ECC (elliptic curve cryptography). Server 2008 Certificate Authorities support OCSP (online certificate status protocol), a new way for clients to check to see if a certificate is revoked. Instead of parsing a CRL (certificate revocation list) a client can use OCSP to contact an Online Responder, a webserver-based agent to quickly obtain a certificate’s revocation status. This method is more efficient, and busy environments can be serviced by responder arrays for high capacity and high availability. Online Responders must be authorized by a new Version 3 certificate that attests to the Responders accuracy.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Certification Authority Servers have additional new capabilities such as the ability to do cross-forest enrollments, even cross-forest autoenrollements using Group Policy. Enrollment is the process of requesting and receiving digital certificates from a Certificate Authority. Autoenrollment automates the certificate request using a group policy. Other improvements include a Kerberos certificate that identifies the Domain Controller to the client during Kerberos based authentication. Check out some of the new features at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.05.pki.aspx?pr=blog

–Mark

I like Vista as an OS if it is installed on a machine that can handle its voracious appetite for RAM. 2 GB was just not enough for it, and even though the Gateway’s Intel 945 Express chipset could handle AERO, the system always felt stressed and close to its limits. Vista really needs 3–4 GB of RAM and plenty of video power. The advance word on 7 has been that it works better than Vista on existing hardware and that it makes more efficient use of system resources.

My first task is get my hands on copy of 7, preferably the Ultimate Edition. Why the Ultimate Edition? Because, well, it’s the ultimate.

One of the best deals around is Microsoft’s TechnetPlus subcription. For about $350 per year you get download access to the latest Microsoft products including Window XP, Vista, 7 and Server 2008. You also get to try out Office, Exchange, SQL, Sharepoint and just about any other software Microsoft offers. Software is officially designated as ” full-version evaluation software without any time limits”. Check it out at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/bb892756.aspx

I selected Windows 7 Ultimate x86 (32 bit addition) because my hardware will not run 64 bit. Ultimate has just about every feature available in any version of Windows 7 ranging from Media Center to BitLocker to Go. Windows 7  also has Windows Live Essentials, which allows downloads of applications such as Windows Mail, Movie Maker, Photo gallery and the Family Safety Toolbar. I especially like Window Mail, a POP3, IMAP4  email client that had junk email filters and Phishing protection. It looks a lot like Outlook and includes calendar functionality.

Windows 7 works just fine on my trusty old laptop. The interface is snappy and responsive, Aero works well,  boot up times are faster than Vista and Memory is managed much better by 7 than Vista.  Windows 7 seems to use the same amount of processor power that XP and only a  bit more memory.

The best indication that the upgrade to Windows 7 is a success is that it has remained on my laptop for weeks. I have no plans to go back to XP. Now that’s an endorsement.

–Mark

Related Courses

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The answer is yes. Windows 7, particularly the Enterprise edition which has several new features that will be valuable, especially if it is paired up with its stalemate, Windows Server 2008 R2. Let’s take a look at some of the things that every IT department should know about Windows 7.

New Search Functionality

One of the benefits of Window 7 Enterprise for end-users is the new search capabilities that allow file searches across remote desktops, including file shares on Windows Server 2003/2008, Vista and XP computers that have Window Desktop Search installed. Windows 7 can also organize files into Libraries, which permit browsing by author, date and tags. Files can be included in a Library with out being moved from their original locations.  Windows 7 also supports the OpenSearch standard which allows federated searches across websites and blogs such as YouTube, Twitter and eBay, sites which have search connectors enabled. Search connectors are necessary for Federated Search and can be created for any website or blog. Microsoft has a Windows 7 Federated Search Provider Implementer’s Guide, available at:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=c709a596-a9e9-49e7-bcd4-319664929317#tm

PowerShell Management

Another benefit of Windows 7 for IT Departments is the more than 100 new PowerShell cmdlets that are available to manage both local computers.  With the new PowerShell remote management capability administrators can run commands on hundreds of computers at once!  The PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) provides a GUI interface in which to run commands and write and test scripts. The ISE has a built-in script debugger and context-sensitive help. The Get-Help cmdlet has a new online parameter that opens updated help topics from the TechNet website.

Remote Access Features

Some of the best new features of Windows 7 are in the area of Remote Access; VPN Reconnect automatically reestablishes a VPN tunnel that is momentarily lost due to a hiccup in the Internet connection.  VPN Reconnect makes use of IPSec tunnel mode and IKEv2 to quickly restore the VPN connection. VPN Reconnect requires that the VPN server be a Windows 2008 R2 server running Routing and Remote access. Another cool Windows 7 Remote Access feature that requires Server 2008 R2 is DirectAccess. DirectAccess gives Windows 7 clients seamless access to enterprise network resources from any location. If the client has a wireless, cellular or wired connection to the Internet it will establish a an IPv6-over-IPv4 tunnel using 6to4 or Teredo to the DirectAccess server and make any network resources Network Admins select available over the Direct Access connection. If a firewall blocks the tunnel ports the Windows 7 client will attempt an IP-HTTPS using SSL port 443 instead. See the details at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd637827(WS.10).aspx

Branch office users of Windows 7 can take advantage of BranchCache functionality, which allows branch office Windows 7 computers to share content from file and web servers at the main office site. When the first client at the branch accesses web or file servers at the main office servers data received will be cached on Windows 7. Other Windows 7 clients that need the same data will obtain it from the first client instead of using the WAN connection to the main office site. BranchCache can also be configured to share the cached data on Window7 computers in the branch office with a Windows 2008 R2 server in the branch office which will act as a central cache for the entire branch.

Security Upgrades

IT Departments should be interested in the numerous new or improved security features in Windows 7. Bitlocker Drive Encryption now supports USB hard drives. Windows 7 has enhanced auditing capabilities with 53 new advanced settings. Applocker controls which applications are permitted to run on Windows 7, preventing unapproved software, worms and viruses. Built-in biometric device support and enhanced support for smart card readers make for more secure logons. User Account Control is more user-friendly, with a lower annoyance factor.

Deployment Options

Deploying the Windows 7 OS to computers has been simplified and streamlined. Windows Deployment Services on Window Server 2008 R2 can inject new drivers during the imaging process. Multicast Multiple Stream Transfers of Windows 7 images across the network are more efficient and many computers can be imaged simultaneously. User State Migration Tool version 4 (USMT 4.0) can more quickly migrate users data and settings from old Windows XP installations to a clean install of Window 7.

User Productivity

In addition to changes to User Account Control, Windows 7 has many advances that just plain make it more fun to use than Vista. Faster boot times, better use of memory, support for more hardware devices make Windows 7 easy to like. Features such as a zippier desktop experience with Jump Lists, touch-enabled displays, Aero Snap and Aero Peek  make Window 7 easier to use. This can translate to greater user productivity.  I can’t think of a anything better than that to get an IT Departments attention.

Check out Windows 7 for yourself at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd361745.aspx

Enjoy.

–Mark

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MCTS: Windows 7 Certification Boot Camp

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