Windows Enterprise Desktop » Windows 7 Upgrade advisor

OEM Install Issues Are Real and Serious

Ed Tittel — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:07:47 +0000

In the wake of my latest blog on bargain Win7 versions, I got an e-mail from a former student and regular corresponent, asking about some problems with an install from a Windows 7 OEM version. Seems that he couldn’t get the install to run correctly on his target machine, no matter what he tried. This can be a real problem because the company that builds systems that use OEM versions of Windows is supposed to provide first-line technical support for Windows on those machines. When you build your own machine and run an OEM version of the OS, you’re technically on your own hook for system support and troubleshooting.

I recommended that he start troubleshooting by running the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor on his target machine and see what it reports. It may very well be the case that the hardware fails to meet minimum requirements, and something is impeding the usual warnings and error messages to that effect that would normally appear inside the install process itself.

Next, he might try booting from the install media (after burning an ISO if he is working from a download), or perhaps using the ultra-snazzy new (and free) Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool. By booting from an installable image, he may be able to sidestep whatever is hampering his install difficulties in the present circumstances (assuming, of course, that the Win7UA doesn’t flag issues that need to be addressed before an install can complete, or even begin–in that case, he must first remedy those issues before trying again).

But this, alas, is the real nub of the potential problems with a quasi-legal version of Windows 7. While MS will cheerfully and thoroughly support upgrade or full retail install problems by phone or Web chat, you won’t get a peep out of them on OEM versions. That means you’ll need to turn to somebody else who knows more about Windows than you do for help instead, and hope they’ve got the time to assist you in figuring out what wrong, and how to fix it.

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Helpful Even Post-Upgrade

Ed Tittel — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:52:22 +0000

The obvious use for the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor (W7UA) program is to evaluate and report on hardware running some earlier version of Windows to help professionals prepare for an upgrade to that OS. But it’s also the case that if you run the W7UA on a machine already running Windows 7, it will still identify potential issues with installed hardware or software even after the fact.

At the bottom, W7UA tells you which programs need upgrades for Win7

I was forcibly reminded of this the other day, when I ran the program to refresh my memory about its operation to answer a question from a student in a class I’m teaching right now. At the time, I noticed several programs that needed updates, including Acronis True Image Home (now available in a Win7-friendly 2010 version) and also Norton Internet Security (also now available in a 2010 flavor as well). The only program still showing–Alex Feinman’s handy little ISO Recorder utility–is actually also updated to version 3.1 (which supports Windows 7 and works fine on my system), but mis-reports itself as vesion 3.0 (which predated Windows 7 and didn’t support the new OS 100%).

Contrary to what you might expect, it may be worth running this tool again on systems you upgrade to Windows 7 after the upgrade is complete, just to make sure all the software is up to snuff as well.

New Beta Release of Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Posts

Ed Tittel — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:19:09 +0000

In poking around the MS Download Center, I observed that Microsoft posted a new, but still-beta version of the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor (9/17/2009). Having run it on a couple of desktops and another pair of notebooks, I don’t see any obvious or even visible differences or changes to this program vis-a-vis the version that appeared in the download center on or about June 15. Given that we now have less than a month to go to reach the Windows 7 GA (general availability) date on 10/22/2009, I’m curious to know when this tool will change from beta to released status.

Drat! I’d kind of hoped that would happen yesterday or today. I’ll keep an eye on this, and let you know when that status changes. In the meantime, this tool does the job reasonably well. You can also visit my “guided tour” of the previous version dated 6/22/2009. Because this tool shows no obvious or apparent changes, it should still give you a pretty good idea of what this latest version of the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor can do, and how it works!

Startup screen for the Win7 UA

Check out the (Beta) Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Ed Tittel — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:08:17 +0000

The Windows 7 Upgrade advisor is still in beta — as is the Windows 7 OS itself — but it’s recently acquired a pretty permanent-looking URL: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/upgrade-advisor.aspx. System admins who may be thinking about upgrading current XP or Vista platforms to Windows 7 will definitely want to download and check out this interesting tool. FWIW, I plan to upgrade my production machine as soon as I can lay hands on the RTM version of Windows 7 (hopefully, not too long after its reported mid-July release date to OEMs for testing and slipstreaming into their factory install programs), if only to see if Windows 7 can’t arrest and repair some of my current problems with networking, the snipping tool, and the sidebar on that machine.

Once you download and install the program, you’ll launch it from the Start menu. Thir produces a startup screen.

The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Startup screen

Click the “Start Check” button to perform the upgrade review of the machine upon which the software is running.

On my speedy quad core machine, the program took about 3 mins to complete

Wait several minutes while the hardware check is underway.

When it’s complete, a report appears as shown. It will tell you what kind of upgrade you can perform (if any), indicate any components on your current OS that may not be available in Windows 7 (for my Vista Ultimate install that includes Windows Mail, now supplanted by Windows Live Essentials Mail, parental controls that are no longer supported in Windows 7, and Ultimate Extras which are likewise gone, gone gone).

When the check completes, a report defines your upgrade action plan

If you’re curious, you can also click on the System Requirements link to see how well your system meets Windows 7 minimum install requirements.

Rates your system against minimum 32- and 64-bit Win7 requirements

If you’re even halfway thinking about upgrading any machines to Windows 7, you definitely want to install and get to know the beta version of this tool. At 6.3 MB, it’s a pretty speedy download.