1. Installing and Upgrading Windows
Chapter 14 1

2. Overview In this chapter, you will learn how to
Identify and implement pre-installation tasks
Install and upgrade Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7
Troubleshoot installation problems
Identify and implement post-installation tasks 2

3. Installing and Upgrading
Accomplished in three main steps
Step one: Prepare for installation
Step two: Install
Step three: Perform post-installation tasks

4. Preparing for Installation or Upgrade
Identify hardware requirements
Verify hardware and software compatibility
Decide: Clean install or upgrade?
Back up data
Select an installation method
Identify partition and file systems to use
Determine computer’s network role
Decide on language and locale settings
Plan for post-installation tasks
Note: This nine-step process was once part of the CompTIA A+ exam objectives. Starting with the and exams, CompTIA has dropped this process from the exams. However, the nine steps are practical, clear, and easy to remember. They are an excellent mental checklist to use every time you install Windows. 4

5. Identify Hardware Requirements
Core Resources
CPU
RAM
Free hard disk space
Miscellaneous
Video adapter
Display
Storage devices 5

6. Verify Compatibility Verify hardware and software compatibility
Windows Logo’d Product List (previously known as HCL)
Tested and verified to work with your OS
Products not listed may also be supported

7. Verify Compatibility (continued)
Several sources for hardware compatibility information:
The Setup Wizard that runs during the installation does a quick check of your hardware.
A free utility (usually called Upgrade Advisor) can be run on a system to see if the hardware and software will work with a newer version of Windows.
Microsoft provides Web sites where you can search by model number of hardware or by a software version to see if it is compatible with Windows— they evolved from the HCL text file to the Windows Logo’d Product list to the current Windows 7 Compatibility Center.

8. Verify Compatibility (continued)
Several sources for hardware compatibility information (continued):
The manufacturer of the device or software will usually provide some form of information either on the product box or on their Web site concerning Windows compatibility.

9. Verify Compatibility (continued)
Figure 1: Upgrade Advisor

10. Verify Compatibility (continued)
Figure 2: Windows Compatibility Center

11. Verify Compatibility (continued)
Figure 3: Untested device in Windows XP

12. Clean Install or Upgrade
Usually done on an empty hard disk or one on which you’re completely replacing an existing installation
All applications must be installed (or reinstalled)
Upgrade
New OS installs on top of the old one
Many previous settings and capabilities retained
Applications don’t need to be reinstalled
Microsoft uses the term in-place upgrade to define an upgrade installation
Note: Before starting an OS upgrade, make sure you have shut down all other open applications! 12

13. Clean Install or Upgrade (continued)
Multiboot
Doing a clean install side-by-side with another OS.
Enables you to boot to more than one OS.
Windows XP can be installed in a separate folder from an existing older copy of Windows, enabling you to put two operating systems on the same partition.
Neither Windows Vista nor Windows 7 allows you define the install folder, so multibooting using Windows Vista or 7 requires you to put each installation on a different partition. 13

14. Clean Install or Upgrade (continued)
Multiboot (continued)
Windows Vista and Windows 7 enable you to shrink the C: partition, so if you want to dual-boot but have only a single drive, use Disk Management to shrink the volume and create another partition in the newly unallocated space. Install another copy of Windows to the new partition. 14

15. Other Installation Methods
Not only CD-ROM - also DVD, USB, or special CD-ROMS
Can be installed over the network (called a remote network installation)
An unattended installation is done when scripts are included to configure the installation without any user intervention.
Can use imaging using tools such as Norton Ghost, PowerQuest’s Drive Image, or Acronis’s True Image—often used when you have a lot of computers with identical hardware.

16. Other Installation Methods (continued)
Remote Installation Services (RIS, proprietary to Microsoft) was implemented with Windows 2000, but it was replaced by Windows Deployment Services (WDS) in Windows Server 2008 and R2.

17. Determine How to Back Up Data
If data saved to central server, skip this step
If data exists on local drive, back it up
Back up to network server, DVD, USB, hard drive, etc.
Will need to restore data from this location after upgrade or reinstall 17

18. Select an Installation Method
Two basic choices
Optical disc (CompTIA A+ focus)
Boot from CD or DVD and start installation
Over the network
More for CompTIA Network+ techs and network administrators 18

19. Determine Partition and File System
Create when drive first created (or use third-party tools to repartition)
If multiboot, use one partition for each OS
File system
Use NTFS whenever possible—security features are valuable
Most multiboot systems and OSs support NTFS, so FAT or FAT32 should not be necessary 19

20. Network Role Determine your computer’s network role
Standalone (in a single-member workgroup)
Workgroup (also known as peer-to-peer network)
Domain (central domain controller exists)
Windows 7 can also belong to a homegroup in a home network environment

21. Language, Locale, and Post-Installation Tasks
Decide on your computer’s language and locale settings.
Plan for post-installation tasks (for instance, do you need Internet access for patching or accessing backed-up data?).
Install service packs, hotfixes, etc.
Update drivers.
Reconfigure settings such as network settings.
Install applications.

22. The Installation and Upgrade Process

23. Installing or Upgrading to Windows XP Professional
Upgrade paths
Can upgrade from Windows 98 , Me, NT 4.0 (service pack 5 and up), Windows 2000 Pro, and XP Home

24. Installing or Upgrading to Windows XP Professional (continued)
Component
Minimum for a Windows XP Computer
Recommended for a Windows XP Computer
CPU
Any Intel or AMD 233 MHz or higher processor
Any Intel or AMD 300 MHz or higher processor
Memory
64 MB of RAM (though Microsoft admits XP will be somewhat crippled with only this amount)
512 MB of RAM or higher
Hard disk
1.5 GB of available hard drive space
4 GB of available hard drive space
Network
None
Modern network card
Display
Video card that supports SVGA with at least 800 × 600 resolution
Video card that supports DirectX with at least × 768 resolution
Optical drive
Any CD- or DVD-media drive
Table 1: Windows XP Hardware Requirements 24

25. Hardware and Software Compatibility with XP
Upgrade Advisor
First process that runs from setup.exe
Provides list of devices and software known to have issues with XP
Can be run by itself
From Microsoft’s Web site
Or winnt32 /checkupgradeonly
On the installation CD or can be downloaded for free 25

26. Windows XP Installation
Bootable CD-ROM boots into Setup
May need to set boot order in BIOS
Registration—optional
Activation (Microsoft Product Activation or MPA)
Mandatory within 30 days
Antipiracy mechanism
System disabled after 30 days if not activated
Via Internet or phone 26

27. Activation
Figure 4: Activation takes just seconds with an Internet connection.

28. Windows Vista Installation
Upgrade paths to Vista are complicated
Windows 2000 to Vista requires clean installation
Variables
Version of XP (Professional, 32-bit, etc.)
Version of Vista
Must start the upgrade process from within the older operating system

29. Windows Vista Installation (continued)
Vista Home Basic
Vista Home Premium
Vista Business
Vista Ultimate
XP Professional
Clean Install
Upgrade Install
XP Home
XP Media Center
XP Tablet PC
XP Professional x64
Table 2: Vista’s Labyrinthine Upgrade Paths

30. Windows Vista Installation (continued)
Component
Minimum for a Windows Vista Computer
Recommended for a Windows Vista Computer
CPU
1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
Any dual-core Intel or AMD processor or better
Memory
512 MB of RAM for Vista Home Basic (for all other editions, 1 GB of RAM)
2 GB of RAM or higher
Hard disk
20-GB hard drive with 15 GB of available hard drive space for Vista Home Basic (for all other editions, 40 GB hard drive with 15 GB of free space)
100-GB hard drive or greater
Network
Modern network card with Internet access
Display
Support for DirectX 9 graphics and 32 MB of graphics memory for Vista Home Basic (for all other editions, 128 MB of graphics memory, plus pixel shader 2.0 support, the WDDM driver, and 32 bits per pixel)
DirectX 10 capable graphics card with at least 512 MB of graphics memory
Optical drive
Any DVD-media drive
Note that RAM sizes for display indicate dedicated graphics memory, not shared memory, on recommended specs.
Also can go to Windows Vista Compatibility Center to verify equipment and check hardware and software compatibility.
Table 3: Windows Vista Hardware Requirements

31. Installing or Upgrading to Windows 7
The upgrade path to Windows 7 is available only from Windows Vista.
Must be 32-bit to 32-bit or 64-bit to 64-bit
All XP editions require a clean installation to upgrade to 7.
Upgrading to a higher edition with more features can be done with the built-in Windows Anytime Upgrade feature.

32. Installing or Upgrading to Windows 7 (continued)
Existing OS
Can Upgrade To…
Can Clean Install To…
32-bit Vista (any edition)
32-bit Windows 7 only
Any edition of Windows 7
64-bit Vista (any edition)
64-bit Windows 7 only
Any pre-Vista Windows
Not allowed
Table 4: Installing or Upgrading to Windows 7

33. Installing or Upgrading to Windows 7 (continued)
Hardware Requirements for Windows 7
With Windows 7, Microsoft released a single list of system requirements, broken down into 32-bit and 64-bit editions:
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

34. Installing or Upgrading to Windows 7 (continued)
Additional requirements for some games and performance options may require additional or higher-level hardware:
Aero desktop requires a video card with 128 MB of graphics memory.
Some games and programs may require a DirectX 10-compatible graphics card (most newer graphics cards are compatible with DirectX 10).
Homegroup requires a network and PCs running Windows 7.
Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM and an additional 15 GB of available hard disk space.

35. Installing or Upgrading to Windows 7 (continued)
Additional requirements (continued):
The 32-bit editions of Windows 7 can handle up to 32 processor cores, and the 64-bit editions of Windows 7 support up to 256 processor cores.
Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise can handle two physical CPUs, but Windows 7 Starter and Home Premium support only one physical CPU.

36. For Upgrades, Follow These Pre-Upgrade Steps
Remember to check hardware and software compatibility.
Back up data and configuration files.
Perform “spring cleaning.”
Perform disk scan (error checking) and defragmentation.
Uncompress all files, folders, and partitions.
Perform virus scan and disable or remove virus-checking software.
Disable CMOS virus checking.
Be prepared to do clean install. 36

37. Windows XP Clean Install
Start by booting to CD-ROM
Text mode
Can partition drive in this mode
Choose file system (usually NTFS)
A “clean install” can be a multiboot setup. 37

38. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Figure 5: Windows Setup text screen

39. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Figure 6: Welcome text screen

40. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Figure 7: Partitioning text screen

41. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Figure 8: Choosing NTFS

42. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Graphical mode
Enter product key.
Enter computer name and administrator password.
Choose network settings.
Wait for completion.

43. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Figure 9: Beginning of graphical mode

44. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Figure 10: Product key

45. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Figure 11: Computer name and administrator password

46. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Figure 12: Selecting typical network settings

47. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Figure 13: The Big Copy

48. Windows XP Clean Install (continued)
Figure 14: Windows XP desktop with Bliss background

49. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process
Fully graphical installation process—both Vista and 7’s installation processes are virtually identical.
Insert the Vista/7 DVD and reboot the computer to the DVD.
Note that both Vista and 7’s installation processes are virtually identical!

50. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 15: Windows 7 and Vista splash screens

51. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 16: Windows Vista language settings screen

52. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 17: The Windows Vista setup Welcome screen

53. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
The product key
Comes early in Vista, much later in the process for 7.
All editions of Vista or 7 come on their respective discs.
Product key not only verifies the legitimacy of purchase; it also tells the installer which edition you purchased.
With Vista, leaving the product key blank allows you to install a trial (30-day) version of any edition. With 7, leaving the product key blank enables you to install a trial version of only the edition named on the box or disc label.
Note that both Vista and 7’s installation processes are virtually identical!

54. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 18: The Windows Vista product key screen

55. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 19: Choose the edition of Vista you want to install

56. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Agree to the EULA.
If you’re installing over a copy of another OS, you can get the option to install an upgrade copy.
Most likely, you’ll get the Custom option and your option will be to install a new copy.
Partitioning screen. Press F6 to load drivers for the hard drive controller if necessary.
Big copy phase

57. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 20: The Vista EULA

58. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 21: Choose your installation type

59. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 22: The partitioning screen

60. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 23: Browse for drivers

61. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Customization options for user name, password, profile picture, and so on
Windows 7 asks for the product key at this stage of the process.
Automatic Update settings
Setting the time zone
Network security level
Note that both Vista and 7’s installation processes are virtually identical!

62. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 24: Choose a user picture

63. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 25: Choose your computer name

64. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 26: The automatic updates screen

65. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 27: Vista pities the fool who doesn’t know what time it is.

66. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 28: Tell Windows what kind of network you’re on.

67. Windows Vista/7 Clean Installation Process (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 29: Aw, shucks, Microsoft Windows Vista. Don’t mention it.

68. Lab – Installing Vista Insert Vista DVD. Reboot the computer.
Boot to the installation DVD.
You might need to make changes in CMOS to boot to the optical drive first.
Follow the setup wizard.
Do not put in a product key.
Install Windows Vista Ultimate.
Insert a user name.
Skip the performance test.

69. Automating the Install
Scripting Windows XP installations with Setup Manager (download from Microsoft or locate on installation disc in the \Support\Tools folder)
Allows creation of text files (called answer files) used for unattended installations
Can be created for many different types of operating systems
Can be fully automated or partially automated

70. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 30: Extracting Setup Manager from the DEPLOY cabinet file

71. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 31: Setup Manager can create answer files for three types of setups.

72. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 32: Setup Manager can create answer files for five versions of Windows.

73. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 33: Setup Manager can create several kinds of answer files.

74. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 34: Choose where to store the installation files.

75. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 35: Don’t forget to accept the license agreement.

76. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 36: Enter the product key.

77. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 37: Running additional commands

78. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 38: Running a program once

79. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 39: Pick your computer names.

80. Automating the Install (continued)
Automated Installation Kit (AIK) in Windows Vista and Windows 7
Very complicated tool that replaces Setup Manager
Can create a Master Installation and answer files by using a tool called the Windows System Image Manager for rolling out Vista/7 onto one or many machines
Used most commonly for new rollouts over a network

81. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 40: The Automated Installation Kit

82. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 41: The list of components in the Image Monitor

83. Automating the Install (continued)
Disk cloning
Exact copy of drive with fully installed and configured OS
Works great with standardized systems
Sysprep
Sysprep sanitizes many unique settings on a computer
Can help create an automated installation that requires select user input
Norton Ghost is a good third-party tool that works better for creating images than the Microsoft tools, but there are many other good third-party tools available. 83

84. Automating the Install (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 42: Sysprep, the System Preparation Tool

85. Installing Windows over a Network
Network installation is ideal for deploying Windows to multiple workstations across a network without having to visit each PC individually.
Installation image is hosted on a network server that all clients can contact.
Windows Server 2003 uses Remote Installation Services (RIS).
Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 use Windows Deployment Services (WDS).

86. Installing Windows over a Network (continued)
Clients will need to use the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE).
PXE uses multiple protocols such as DHCP so your computer can boot from a network location.
PXE is enabled in the BIOS System Setup, and the boot order must specify PXE/Network boot.
Not every NIC supports PXE—you may have to create boot media so your PC can boot from a network location.
Multiple installation images may be installed on server requiring you to choose from them in a menu. If there is only one image, you’ll see the Windows installation screen begin

87. Installing Windows over a Network (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 43: Network boot

88. Troubleshooting Installation Problems88

89. Text Mode Errors RAID Array Not Detected
Get the driver disc from the manufacturer and run setup again.
Press F6 when prompted very early in the Windows XP installation process.
No boot device present when booting off the startup disk
Replace startup disc.
Set CMOS to boot off of CD.

90. Text Mode Errors (continued)
Windows Setup requires xxxx amount of available drive space
Verify C: is formatted and accessible.
Verify enough space is available for OS
Not ready error on optical drive
May be able to wait for drive to catch up: press R.
May need new disc or faster drive.
A stop error (Blue Screen of Death) after reboot at the end of text mode
Usually points to hardware incompatibility.

91. Graphical Mode Errors Hardware detection errors Can’t read CAB files
Could be hardware incompatibility
If noncritical hardware, find and install correct drivers
Can’t read CAB files
Check the CD-ROM for scratches.
Try copying i386 files onto hard drive.
Replace the optical disc. 91

92. Lockups During Install
Unplug it
Unplug system and restart
Will automatically start where it left off
Optical drive, hard drive
Try another disc or another CD-ROM drive
Log files—track progress of install
Setuplog.txt
Setupapi.log 92

93. Lockups During Install (continued)
SETUPLOG.TXT
Tracks the complete installation process.
Logs success or failures of file copying, registry updates, reboots, etc.
SETUPAPI.LOG
Tracks the hardware installed.
Uses PnP codes, so not very easy to read.

94. Lockups During Install (continued)
Windows Vista and Windows 7 create about 20 log files each, organized by the phase of the installation.
Each phase creates a setuperr.log file to track any errors during that phase of the installation

95. Post-Installation Tasks
Apply fixes for the OS
Patches fix specific problems
Service packs are collections of patches
Upgrade drivers
Restore user data files
Windows Backup (Windows 2000/XP)
Backup and Restore Center (Windows Vista/7)
Copy files and folders manually
Migrate data and retire the old computer

96. Migrating and Retiring
Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (FSTW) for Windows XP
Run the utility on new computer
Create the Wizard Disk
Run the Wizard Disk on old computer
Can select files and folders to migrate
Doesn’t do program files, just data
Transfer files via network or removable media
Migrating moves data off drives to new drives, allowing you to recycle the old drive.

97. Migrating and Retiring (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 44: The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard’s initial screen

98. Migrating and Retiring (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 45: Is this the new computer or your old one?

99. Migrating and Retiring (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 46: Creating a Wizard Disk

100. Migrating and Retiring (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 47: Where are the files and settings?

101. Migrating and Retiring (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 48: How will you transfer the files?

102. Migrating and Retiring (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 49: The files and settings you’re going to transfer

103. Migrating and Retiring (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 50: Customizing the transfer

104. Migrating and Retiring (continued)
User State Migration Tool (USMT)
Functions similarly to the FSTW
Requires a Windows domain
More of a business or enterprise tool
Useful for migrating many users

105. Migrating and Retiring (continued)
Windows Easy Transfer
Upgraded FSTW for Windows Vista/7
Functions similarly to the FSTW
Adds security for network transfer
Can use a special Easy Transfer cable to migrate via USB

106. Migrating and Retiring (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 51: Start a new transfer or continue one?

107. Migration Practices What do you do with the old drive?
Follow these principles
Migrate in a secure environment
Remove data remnants from drive
Recycle old equipment; don’t trash it

108. Migration Practices (continued)
Migrate in a secure environment
Until passwords protect the new system, don’t bring it online.
Don’t walk away from the migration if in a nonsecure space.

109. Data Destruction Data Destruction
When recycling/disposing of an older PC, it must be sanitized of data.
Even data in the recycle bin remains on your storage device until new data overwrites it—that data can be recovered by others.
Completely sanitize a drive by physically destroying it or using a software utility that “wipes” the drive with patterns of ones or zeros.
Low-level formatting writes zeros to every location on the disk.
Data sanitizing utilities “wipe” free space on an in- use drive, erasing deleted files.

110. Data Destruction (continued)
Figure 25: Choose your computer name.
Figure 52: Piriform’s CCleaner showing files to be removed

111. Recycle Recycle Clear computer of any data.
Don’t throw away in regular garbage—computers contain hazardous materials. Take to a proper recycling facility. OR
Donate to an organization that refurbishes and uses older PCs in schools, etc.