One of the concerns while doing a Windows XP to Windows 7 migration is to not lose any user documents, Internet Explorer favorites or other similar settings. In such situations,
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the Windows XP
to Windows 7 migration can be made quite simple with the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT)
2010 tool. However, there are a lot of popular deployment tools in Windows Automated Installation
Kit (WAIK) for different Windows XP
to 7 migration scenarios. For example, in SMBs and large enterprises, and there are different
tools which you can effectively utilize.
Earlier, there used to be a lot of confusion about which migration tool to run for a specific
purpose. However, certain tools can act as a meeting platform for different tools. Some of the
popular migration tools that can be used for Windows
XP to Windows 7 migration are:
· ImageX: This is used to customize deployments. It was introduced in Windows 2007,
and was used for all the bare metal requirements. Bare metal customization examples include
requirements such as adding drivers or packages.
· Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool.
· Windows Preinstallation Environment (WINPE).
· User State Migration Tool (USMT): The latest version is 4, which cannot be downloaded
separately. One has to download the WAIK, and USMT is a part of this toolkit usable for effective
migration of Windows XP
to Windows 7.
Windows XP to 7 migration: The SMB scenario
Windows Easy Transfer (WET) is a very SMB-centric tool whose requirements will not be very
complicated when used for Windows XP to 7 migration. WET is available in Windows XP. It can migrate
only the program settings—not the program as such.
While using a transfer using WET, the data can be stored using end-user media. It creates an MIG
file and stores data into it. Take a target machine and run Windows XP on it. Select the transfer
option, and while doing the rerun, WET transfers all the profiles and settings. After that, you
have to install the applications.
Enterprise Windows XP to 7 migration requirements
When it comes to enterprise scenarios of Windows
XP to Windows 7 migration where the number of desktops can vary from 200 to 2,000, the SMB
strategy cannot suffice. In this scenario, USMT and MDT 2010 come in extremely handy for Windows
XP to Windows 7 migration. All capabilities use MDT. It can be installed on Windows 2007, 2008
and 2008 R2 machines. You will require WAIK for Windows 7, which has to be installed prior to
installing MDT 2010.
After installing MDT 2010, you should create a deployment share—within it the applications,
out-of-box drivers, operating systems and packages. The OS options which can be kept in the
deployment share include options right from Windows XP
to Windows 7. One can also deploy Windows Server editions.
Once you complete the above step during Windows
XP to Windows 7 migration, you need to create a task sequence to bundle them together. The
folders are not there by default, so you have to create them separately. You should give a logical
name and select a template from the provided options. This task sequence will take the backup of
the user data, wipe out everything from a particular machine, install Windows 7, join this client
to the domain, install the applications, and recover the data. One has to specify a key during
Windows XP to Windows 7 migration; if it is not specified one has to specify during the time of
Windows 7 installation.
From the Windows XP machine, you should go to the deployment share, then go to the scripts folder,
and from there go to Lite touch or zero touch. Lite touch will show you the task sequences to
choose from for Windows XP to Windows 7 migration. From there make the selection of Windows 7.
After that, it is just a matter of following the wizard and selecting options for migrating Windows
XP to Windows 7.
To wrap it up, there are five essential basic steps that you should keep in mind when using MDT to
migrate Windows XP
to Windows 7. These are:
· Lite touch deployment.
· Install.
· Gather.
· Configure.
· Deploy.
About the author: Sumeet Khanna is the director of Windows Client Business Group, Microsoft
India. He has been a speaker at various events on Windows Client and Windows Migration. The topic
of Windows XP to Windows 7 migration was discussed at Microsoft TechEd 2010 held in
Bengaluru.
(As told to Jasmine Desai.)
This was first published in April 2010