Ten Things You Should Know about Windows 7 vs. Windows XP

Glenn Weadock, Global Knowledge Instructor, MCT, MCITP, MCSE, MCSA, A+

Abstract

So you're an XP shop, and your organization skipped Vista but is considering taking the plunge to the latest revision of the Longhorn platform: Windows 7. Windows 7 is a big jump from Windows XP! XP was one of the best operating systems ever to come out of Redmond, but Windows 7 contains enough goodies to make a persuasive case for change in most environments. This white paper discusses ten things to help you evaluate Windows 7 for your environment.

Introduction

So you're an XP shop and your organization skipped Vista, but is considering taking the plunge to the latest revision of the Longhorn platform: Windows 7. Here are ten things that you should probably know as you get familiar with this new Windows client:

1: The Deployment Tools Is Much Better
2: Tools Exist to Help with Application Compatibility
3: Security Is Better
4: The Consoles Are More Grown Up
5: You Can Make Windows 7 Look Like XP
6: Windows 7 Is Quick
7: The Applets Are Better
8: Many New Group Policy Settings Only Apply to Longhorn
9: You're Going to Need New Drivers
10: Networking Is Better (Even If You Don't Need IPv6)

1: The Deployment Tools Is Much Better

Windows 7 can be deployed using the tools in the most recent version of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). This free download includes various deployment tools, including:

• ImageX, for capturing, mounting, and applying image snapshots using the new WIM image format
• System Image Manager, for creating unattended "answer files" in situations where you need some flexibility but don't necessarily want to create multiple image files
• Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM), which lets you add device drivers, language packs, and operating system updates to an image
• User State Migration Tool (USMT), which has been around for several years and assists with the migration of user profile information to a new system

These tools work hand-in-glove with the server-side Windows Deployment Service (WDS), the follow-on to Remote Installation Service (RIS). WDS offers over-the-network booting, image selection, and multicasting. However, you can also deploy Windows 7 using optical media, flash drives, and external hard drives, if network deployment is inconvenient.

The WIM format is file-based rather than sector-based, which means that you can re-image a system without necessarily destroying all user data on that system.

The WAIK also includes everything you need to create boot images using WinPE, the Windows Preinstallation Environment. (WinPE is the graphical OS you are running when you start a clean install of Windows 7.)

All these tools can be pretty confusing, so if you plan to use them, it would be a good idea to download the "Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010." (This toolkit was released in 2009. Does the IT industry really want to emulate the auto industry this closely?) It's a free toolkit that has some helpful help, useful scripts, scenarios, examples, consoles, and so forth.

2: Tools Exist to Help with Application Compatibility

With every operating system migration, there are bound to be challenges that come up with respect to application compatibility problems. Indeed, this is the number one reason many organizations do not upgrade operating systems every time a new one appears on the market. Windows 7 is close enough to Vista in its core design that Vista applications should work well in Windows 7, but for applications designed for XP, you may have some work to do.

One potential area of concern is User Account Control, a Longhorn feature in which even if you log on as an Administrator you don't get an elevated security token until you actually try to perform a task that requires Administrator privileges, can create problems with some applications. You may be able to solve them by setting applications to run "as an administrator" but this doesn't always get you out of the woods.

Microsoft has provided some tools to assist organizations in getting legacy apps to run in Windows 7. For example, the Windows XP Emulation Mode capability (only available on Ultimate and Professional versions) combines two downloadable (i.e., not-in-the-Windows-7-box) technologies: Virtual PC, and "Windows XP Mode," which is much larger (approaching half a gigabyte).

Microsoft decided that it would be smart to provide a virtual XP system where Windows 7 users can run apps that refuse to run satisfactorily under Windows 7 natively. I put this in the "last resort" category: if you can't get an app to run using the various other tricks (such as the EXE file's Compatibility tab), then use Windows XP Emulation Mode. It's not an especially elegant solution, because you're virtualizing an entire XP system in order to run an application that doesn't like Windows 7, but at least it works.

To use "Windows XP Mode," you have to have virtualization support on your computer (we're talking Intel-VT on Intel motherboards and AMD-V on AMD ones). This shouldn't be much of an issue; most systems of recent vintage will have this capability. You also need gobs more disk space, according to Microsoft.

Related Courses

First Look: Windows 7 Beta for IT Professionals,
Implementing and Administering Windows 7 in the Enterprise,
Updating Your Technology Knowledge of Microsoft Windows XP to Windows 7 Beta,