Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

Nov 19 2008   5:59PM GMT

Exam 70-624 TS: Deploying and Maintaining Windows Vista Client and 2007 Microsoft Office System Desktops

Posted by: Ed Tittel
Desktops, Enterprise desktop, Group Policy Objects, Windows Vista, MCSA, MCTS, Vista Upgrade Advisor, Windows Vista troubleshooting, Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, Windows Update, Windows Vista SP1, Vista System Health Report, Vista application compatibility, Vista ACT, Vista ACT resources, MS Exam 70-623, 70-624, MS Exam 74-134

Another doozy of a title, this exam is likely to appeal to IT professionals who work with Vista in all situations (SOHO, SMB, tech support, enterprise, and so forth) and of all stripes (help desk, tech support, IT administration, and so on). As with other exams in the 70-620 through 70-625 Vista sequence, this one’s Preparation Guide follows the old-style format. In short, anybody who deploys or maintains Windows Vista desktops is likely to benefit from studying for and taking this exam, even though its official target audience is candidates with “a minimum of one year of experience managing day-to-day issues with desktop deployments.”

There’s one more incredibly useful nugget inside this prep guide. It reads: “This exam is the Windows Vista version of Exam 74-134: Pre-Installing Microsoft Products and Technologies, [and is] focused on the OEM Pre-Installation Kit (OPK).” Why so? Because you’ll find some great links to study materials for the other exam on its prep page (linked at the head of this paragraph) that don’t appear on the 70-624 exam page.

The prep tools and resources that appear on the 70-624 page include the following:

• Classroom training: Course 5105: Deploying Windows Vista Business Desktops and Course 5058: Deploying Microsoft Office 2007 Professional.
• e-learning offerings: Collection 5058: Deploying 2007 Microsoft Office System Client Products.

The lack of books and complete e-learning coverage explains nicely why the 74-134 page is referenced, and also why it’s a good idea to dig up its study material citations to help you get ready for this exam as well.

Skills measured on the 70-624 exam break down as follows:

• Deploying 2007 MS Office System:
  Configure MS Office settings & components, install 2007 MS Office system, and migrate from earlier MS Office versions.
• Configuring Windows Vista Automated Installation Settings:
  Configure Vista automated install settings, manage Windows Vista catalogs, add device drivers to Vista installs, manage Windows components, and configure and manipulate Windows Imaging Format (WIM) images.
• Deploying Windows Vista:
  Deploy Vista using Lite Touch Installation (LTI) and Zero Touch Installation (ZTI), customize Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE), and troubleshoot deployment issues.
• Using Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) Workbench:
  Install BDD, configure distribution point in BDD 2007 Workbench, create a reference computer image, manage XML files in BDD Workbench, automate 2007 MS Office system installation, and customize and maintain Windows PE in BDD Workbench.
• Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT):
  Install and configure ACT 5, deploy ACT 5 agents, report application compatibility, and fix compatibility issues.
• Managing User State Migration:
  Upgrade user state from XP to Vista, automate user state migration, manage Vista deployments using SMS 2003, determine Operating System Deployment (OSD) prerequisites, install and configure SMS 2003 OSD Feature Pack, and troubleshoot and plan for user state migrations.

There’s a lot more to this exam than the title conveys, especially where automation, deployment, and user state migration are concerned. This one’s going to take some work and experience to get through, so be prepared to invest substantial time and effort in preparing, unless you work with these tools and technologies on a daily basis. My guess is that those conditions hold only in enterprises or outside services companies big or specialized enough to have their own Vista deployment teams. How many of those can there be? The total count for MCTS: Business Desktop Deployment certified professionals as of 10/27/08 is 4,868, so the answer could be: “More than you think!”

Oct 24 2008   10:29PM GMT

Out-of-schedule Security Patch Posts to Windows Update

Posted by: Ed Tittel
Desktops, Windows Vista, Windows Vista troubleshooting, Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, Windows Update, Patch Tuesday, KB958644, MS08-067, Windows Server service

Normally, Microsoft reserves its security patches, fixes, updates, and other software tweaks and maneuvers for the second Tuesday in each month, aka “Patch Tuesday.” Yesterday afternoon I was somewhat surprised to see various sources trumpeting the release of an out-of-schedule security patch through Windows Update on the fourth Thursday in October.

As described in Knowledge Base article 958644 and MS Security Bulletin MS08-067, this update addresses a vulnerability in the Windows Server service. The Server service is a critical portion in any modern Windows OS that responds to incoming network communication requests; it has been part of the Windows kernel since the LAN Manager days. In fact, this service is called the LAN Manager Server in the “Server service configuration and tuning” article (KB 128167). It’s also managed via a Registry key named LanmanServer in the HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services sub-tree.

In short, the Server service is so entrenched in Windows operating systems that even Windows Server 2008 installations that lack a GUI–the so-called “Server Core” minimalist version–can fall prey to this vulnerability. That explains why every Windows OS from Server 2008 and Vista, to Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows 2000, in 64- and 32-bit flavors, and server and workstation versions, where applicable, is included in this security update.

Why all this hoopla? According to Brian Livingston’s Windows Secrets Newsletter, “this is the first time in 1-1/2 years that Microsoft has released an emergency fix outside of its montly Patch Tuesday cycle.” The reason is that Microsoft discovered an RPC (remote procedure call) attack that could propagate around internal networks and the Internet with no user action needed to help it spread. Modern versions of Windows that predate User Account Control (UAC), such as XP, Windows Server 2003, and all flavors of Windows 2000, are especially susceptible to this vulnerability. At the same time, most AV vendors have also released updates to defend against this kind of attack, but Livingston’s newsletter reports “there are already nine different strains of viruses” that seek to exploit this vulnerability.

As with other patches that replace kernel files, Windows will request you to restart your PC after the patch is installed. In writing the story on this RPC vulnerability for the Windows Secrets Newsletter, writer Susan Bradley also urges administrators and users to reboot their PCs before installing the patch, just to make doubly darn sure the machine will reboot properly once the patch has been installed (the update process requires a successful restart/reboot for the patch to be completely and properly applied). Then when you reboot the machine after installation, you can be reasonably sure it will complete the installation process following a second successful restart.

If you haven’t already installed this patch, please do so now. It only replaces a single Windows file–namely Netapi32.dll–and is therefore unlikely to cause any incompatibility problems, either for server or desktop machines.

–Ed–

Oct 3 2008   6:45PM GMT

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor Provides Basic HW Assessments

Posted by: Ed Tittel
Desktops, Windows Vista, Vista upgrade, Vista Upgrade Advisor, Windows Vista troubleshooting, Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, Vista migration

In enterprise environments, desktop hardware configurations tend to be standardized, and are usually limited to at most a handful of different setups that will be deployed for various job tasks or roles. For companies and organizations considering a move to Windows Vista for those machines it might be wise to download, install, and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor on sample machines that match deployed configurations.

The program comes packaged in a 6.6 MB file named WindowsVistaUpgradeAdvisor.msi, and sets itself up using the standard Windows Installer. Typical installation time is under two minutes, and the program requires Windows XP SP2 or better (it also works with Windows Vista; I checked). Other supporting software elements that must be present include .NET Framework 1.1 or newer, and MSXML 4.0 or better. Installing the program is a snap and simply demands clicking through a handful of screens to accept a EULA, selecting a target directory, then managing startup and desktop icon options.

When you install and run the program on a target machine, it will usually take at least a couple of minutes to complete. In the background the software is enumerating all devices and software on that machine, and comparing them to a database of Vista compatible (and incompatible) items. The best possible outcome for the scan is depicted in the next screenshot.

Of course, this resulted from a put-up job deliberately designed to pass with flying colors. On an older more typical desktop running Windows XP SP3 with 2 GB RAM, Sempron 3200+ CPU, and integrated graphics, the results were a bit less exhilarating: warnings showed up in all three categories that the Upgrade Advisor checks: System (the computer system itself), Device (adapter cards, drives, and other devices inside the PC), and Program (software running on the target machine). The next three screenshots illustrate each of these reports from the Upgrade Advisor.

1. Potential System Issues

2. Potential Device Issues

3. Potential Software Issues

Investigating Potential Issues

When it comes to dealing with the items reported in the Upgrade Advisor’s detail sections, it’s important to formulate a strategy for accommodating or overcoming those results. For example, if users don’t need the Vista Aero theme and its graphics razzle-dazzle, upgraded machines can be configured using Sysprep or some other image construction and deployment tool to turn off that resource-intensive capability. On the other hand, for users that need more capable graphics performance, one could replace an existing graphics adapter or (as would be the case for this test target platform) install a graphics card thereby disabling its older and less capable integrated graphics. The same type of approach generally holds true for both devices and software, with the possible exception of legacy or custom appliications that users simply must run. For such items, if all else fails, remember that you can install older Windows operating systems in Virtual Machines (VMs) running inside Windows Vista, as a next-to-last resort for keeping such items operational (the last resort is to set up a server or target machines elsewhere on the network that Vista users can remote access into).

A Grain of Salt Applies to the Upgrade Advisor’s Advice
The target XP machine on which I chose to run the Upgrade Advisor gets a suprisingly clean bill of health from the software. My own experience has been that Vista runs best on a dual-core processor or better, works best with at least 2 GB of RAM, and requires an Nvidia 7600 or AMD/ATI 2400 graphics card or better, for even minimal and acceptable use. It’s important to bear such observations in mind when pondering how to react to the Upgrade Advisor’s reports and recommendations. Otherwise, end-users may wind up with painfully slow desktop systems. Once you’ve decided on an upgrade strategy, it’s probably wise to upgrade a small group of machines, place them with a hand-picked set of at least moderately knowledgeable users, and let them try out the new gear for two to four weeks, then evaluate those results and react to them, before performing any wholesale upgrades. Otherwise, one wave of effort and expense may simply lead to another, along with a sizable group of end-users in various states of disarray and disaffection.