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Last week we blogged about some early lessons learned from Windows 7 deployment. It seems like this is a pretty hot topic, as today more information has come out from Forrester in a CIO article written by Shane O’Neill. Over the past six months Forrester has spoken with 40 Windows 7 early adopters, most from large enterprises. The research firm then compiled a list of best practices for companies developing a Windows 7 migration strategy. Their summary is not that different from BMW’s experience, but some interesting strategy tips are worth mentioning. Here are Forrester's five best practices for migrating to Windows 7, quoted from their summary on CIO.com: Don't Take App Compatibility Lightly - “Microsoft did more preparation for the hardware and software ecosystem of Windows 7 than it did for Vista”. Companies that are on Windows XP or earlier should expect approximately two-thirds of their applications not to be natively supported on Windows 7, according to Forrester. But companies that have deployed Vista or have done extensive application compatibility testing against it should expect that two-thirds to reduce to 3 to 5 percent, writes Gray. Time Win7 Upgrades with PC Refreshes - One-fifth of the companies Forrester spoke with are upgrading to Windows 7 on existing hardware. Writes Gray. Invest in Client Management Software - Having client management tools in-house will ease Windows 7 upgrades, free up IT for other projects and help retain employees who want more computing flexibility, he adds. The client management space has myriad vendors from which to choose. Consider Client Virtualization for Windows 7 Deployments - Application and desktop virtualization offers an effective path to migration for companies struggling with the complexities and costs of upgrading an OS and testing for app compatibility. Don't Overdo the Training - The Windows 7 user interface and navigation features are not so different from Vista and Windows XP that a lot of training is required. Forrester predicts that even those who are not using Windows 7 at home will only need an hour or two to become accustomed to the OS. As we promised in last weeks blog, we will be diving into these topics with deeper posts that include interviews, demos and more. Look for Part 1 to be posted soon! Thanks for reading, bio picJeff Wettlaufer Sr. Technical Product Manager System Center via > http://blogs.technet.com/systemcenter/archive/2010/02/17/inside-tips-for-windows-7-deployment-continued.aspx

the guide was for Server 2008 and was written before Server 2008 R2 came out, WSUS sp2 is a role within Server 2008 R2 so yes of course use that, once you've installed Wsus SP2 then continue as normal cheers niall

if you want to deploy OS's then you'll need windows deployment services, i'd suggest you start with setting up Sccm by following the section called Setup SCCM in this list of guides good luck ! cheers niall

is the computer object already created in AD before attempting to join the domain >? what does your netsetup.log say ?

Microsoft has announced new prices and a slimmed product line for Office 2010, which will be available in June. Volume prices for corporate purchases are still pending. Microsoft said it would offer Office in three packs: Home and Student, Home and Business, and Professional. Buyers who buy the suite as part of a new personal computer will receive discounted key cards that unlock the pre-loaded software. Office Home and Student * Key card price: £89.99 * Boxed price: £109.99 * Applications: Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, Office Web Apps Office Home and Business * Key card price: £189.99 * Boxed price: £239.99 * Applications: Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, Office Web Apps, Outlook 2010 Office Professional * Key card price: £299.99 * Boxed price: £399.99 * Applications: Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, Office Web Apps, Outlook 2010, Publisher 2010, Access 2010 via > http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2010/02/17/240326/Microsoft-releases-prices-for-Office-2010.htm

So, after much, much speculation and many, many rumours, Microsoft finally took the wraps off Windows Phone 7 Series, its newest mobile operating system. Hold on to your hats, because uncharacteristically for the Redmond giant, they've rebuilt everything from the ground up - this system has little to no connection to the Windows Mobile of yore. I don't say this lightly - but dear lord, Windows Phone 7 Series is full of win. Update: Hands-on video from Engadget inside. Update II: There is no sync application. It's all done over-the-air, to the internet. Only videos and music are synced via the Zune software. Update III: Since I didn't mention it clearly, here it goes: Windows Phone 7 Series is a clean break. There is no backwards compatibility at all. Update IV: Channel9 has a 22-minute in-depth demonstration of Windows Phone 7 Series. Gone is the old Windows Mobile name, replaced by the rather long Windows Phone 7 Series. Everything has been rebuilt from the ground-up, resulting in what could be described as the Zune Phone, something many people have been clamouring for ever since the very positive reaction to the Zune HD. more > http://www.osnews.com/story/22877/Microsoft_Unveils_Windows_Phone_7_Series

and the problem was ?

i believe they are supposed to 'self remove' after 14 days, but that was last time i checked have you seen anything different ?

Consider the following scenario: * You install Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) site server on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008. * You try to import a driver into an Operating System Deployment (OSD) image. The driver is signed for only the Windows 7 operating system. In this scenario, the Import New Driver wizard fails. At the same time, you receive the following error message: The Import New Driver Wizard completed with errors. For more information about the tasks that were not completed, see details. Details: Error: Some driver(s) cannot be imported successfully, please see following details. Error: Failed to import the following drivers: <Driver file> The selected driver is not applicable to any supported platforms Note This issue does not occur if the driver is signed for both the Windows Vista operating system and the Windows 7 operating system. http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/archive/2010/02/15/new-hotfix-available-kb978754-you-cannot-import-a-driver-into-an-osd-image-if-the-driver-is-signed-for-only-the-windows-7-operating-system-in-sccm-2007-sp2.aspx J.C. Hornbeck | Microsoft

USMT 3.0.x doesn't support moving to Windows 7 but USMT 4 does and here's how to do it http://www.windows-noob.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1633-sample-xp-to-windows-7-task-sequences/

if you post your smsts.log file we can take a look, my guess is you should wipe the hdd first in the ts including all paritions, unless of course you want to keep it ?

you can use Wise Package Studio to do it

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 - Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector Brief Description The Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector (ACT Connector) assists administrators with collecting the necessary computer and application compatibility information to help plan for a Windows deployment. download > http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=567be755-1d64-471d-8376-6b463491654b&displaylang=en Overview The ACT Connector provides the following functionality: * Inventories installed software applications and creates reports that will assist with determining which applications are Windows compatible. * Retrieves device driver compatibility for installed devices and creates reports that will assist with determining which device drivers will need to be upgraded to support the Windows operating system. Top of page System Requirements * Supported Operating Systems: Windows 7; Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-Bit x86); Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition (32-bit x86); Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2008 Enterprise; Windows Server 2008 Standard; Windows Vista Business; Windows Vista Enterprise; Windows Vista Ultimate; Windows XP Service Pack 2 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 is a minimum prerequisite for installing the Configuration Manager 2007 ACT Connector 4.00.6044.200. Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 2 is recommended for full Windows 7 deployment support. See the Configuration Manager 2007 Supported Configurations Help topic (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=164940) for information about hardware and software requirements and unsupported configurations in the Configuration Manager Documentation Library. ACT 5.5 requires SQL insensitive database. When using a SQL case sensitive database for Configuration Manager 2007 the ACT database must be hosted on a different SQL server. The ACT 5.5 database may be hosted on the same SQL Server as Configuration Manager 2007 database if the Windows Server and SQL Server meet the system requirements for both products. Top of page Instructions To install the ACT Connector 1. Install and configure a Configuration Manager 2007 site. 2. Download ACTConnector.msi from this page and launch on your Configuration Manager 2007 site. 3. On the Welcome page click Next. 4. On the License agreement page select I accept the license agreement and click Next. 5. On the Installation page click Next to start the installation. If you want to review the installation information you specified on previous pages, click Back. 6. Click Finish to complete the Configuration Manager 2007 Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector installation. For instructions on configuration and using the ACT Connector please download the release notes ConfigMgrACTConnectorReleaseNotes.docx on this page.

from your log then so, to fix verify that your network access account is set in Site Settings, Client Agents, Computer Client Agent, General, Network Access Account cheers niall

are you doing this on the actual server that you are going to deploy from or via an SCCM console ?

I use the GP and my servers update fine, same for desktops, i'd advise you to test in the lab first to verify, always test everything

take a look at this post http://www.windows-noob.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1660-customising-windows-7-deployments-part-1/

if you get it working post how you did it here please

well can you contact the sql server/service ? what version of sql server did you install ?

the supported method from microsoft is to reinstall the latest service pack, or do a site reset read this post for more info

When running a SCCM 2007 SP2 Task Sequence with a "Capture User State" task that utilizes USMT 4, files are properly captured and restored but settings may not be. The SMSTS.log will not show any errors, however the scanstate.log will show the following error: <Date> <Time>, Info [0x000000] Downlevel Manifests folder is not present. System component settings will not be gathered. Settings that may not be captured include printers, mapped network drives, and wallpaper. The cause and solution is discussed here: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/archive/2010/02/10/solution-when-using-usmt-4-in-an-sccm-2007-sp2-osd-task-sequence-files-are-captured-successfully-but-not-settings.aspx J.C. Hornbeck | Microsoft

this would make a great post Peter, hint hint, if you have time, please do one

here it is http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978754/en-us

adding the following link ConfigMgr 2007: How to move the Site Database

office 2003 and office 2007 are packaged very differently so i'd say no, perhaps Peter can chime in ?