When you use Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 to migrate Windows XP workstations to Windows 7, applications currently installed on XP aren’t migrated to Windows 7—at least not by default. But with just a little work and tweaking on your part, MDT can perform something close to application migration.
There are four Windows 7 installation scenarios: refresh, replace, bare-metal, and upgrade. A refresh scenario simply updates the OS of an existing computer. A replace scenario replaces the physical computer and the OS. Bare-metal installations are performed on computers with no OS installed or by wiping the current OS and installing from scratch. Upgrades are possible only from Windows Vista (not XP). Although you could technically upgrade XP to Vista, then Vista to Windows 7, doing so isn’t really feasible.
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PROBLEM: You need to migrate your Windows XP machines to Windows 7 without having to manually reinstall every application.
SOLUTION: Use MDT 2010 to create a repeatable migration scenario complete with applications and their settings.
WHAT YOU NEED: MDT 2010; a deployment share as described in InstantDoc ID 103607; a task sequence as described in InstantDoc ID 125154; an application added to the Deployment Workbench (DW)
SOLUTION STEPS:
1. Create a deployment share
2. Import Windows 7
3. Add applications to the DW
4. Find application information from XP
5. Configure MDT DW with XP application information
6. Create a task sequence
7. Update the deployment share
8. Migrate XP workstations
DIFFICULTY: 4 out of 5
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In this article I explain how to set up MDT 2010 to reinstall applications found on XP workstations and apply the applications’ settings after Windows 7 has been installed in a refresh scenario. I also discuss how to force application installation in bare-metal and replace scenarios.
Before you start, you need to install MDT 2010, which is available as a free download from Microsoft. MDT 2010 requires the Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7. After you install MDT, the snap-in you’ll use is the Deployment Workbench (DW). You can find the DW under Start, All Programs, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, Deployment Workbench.
Step 1: Create a Deployment Share
A deployment share is the shared folder your client/target machines connect to during the deployment process. Ensure that your machines have network connectivity and permissions to the deployment share. To create a deployment share within the DW, right-click the Deployment Shares node and select New Deployment Share. Then follow these steps:
- Click Browse on the Path page and enter a path for your new deployment share (the folder doesn’t have to exist; MDT creates it). I recommend creating your deployment share on a hard drive other than where your system and boot volumes reside. My deployment share is F:\DeploymentShare. Click Next.
- On the Share page, enter the shared folder name of your choice or accept the default name DeploymentShare$. Click Next.
- The Descriptive Name page lets you provide a description for your deployment share. Accept the default of MDT Deployment Share or enter your own. Click Next.
- On the Allow Image Capture page, accept the default setting Ask if an image should be captured. Click Next.
- On the Allow Admin Password page, accept the default setting for not asking users to set the local administrator password during deployment. Click Next.
- The Allow Product Key page lets you choose whether to be prompted for a product key during deployment; accept the default to not be prompted. Click Next.
- The Summary page displays the choices you made in the New Deployment Share Wizard. Click Next to create the deployment share.
- The Progress page displays the steps necessary to create the deployment share, then disappears. Click Finish on the Confirmation page.
When the New Deployment Share Wizard completes successfully, your deployment share appears in the DW under the Deployment Shares node.
Step 2: Import Windows 7 into the DW
Before you can deploy Windows 7, you need to import the OS into the DW. To import Windows 7 from within the DW, expand your newly created deployment share, right-click the Operating Systems node, and select Import Operating System. Then follow these steps:
- On the OS Type page, select Full set of source files and click Next.
- On the Source page, click the Browse button to navigate to the root of the Windows 7 CD-ROM or the folder where you copied the Windows 7 CD-ROM.
- The Destination page prompts you for the name of the folder in which to store Windows 7. Enter W7 and click Next.
- The Summary page displays the details for the Import Operating System Wizard. Review your choices, make any necessary changes, and click Next.
- The Progress page appears, then disappears. Click Finish on the Confirmation page.
Windows 7 will now be listed under the Operating Systems node.