1. A+ Certification Guide
Chapter 13
Installing and Upgrading
Windows Operating Systems

2. Chapter 13 Objectives Installing Windows Transferring Data
Updating Windows
Setting Up Recovery Partitions and Discs

3. Windows Editions Windows 7: Vista: XP: Home/Home Premium Professional
Home Basic
Home Premium
Business
Ultimate
XP:
Home Edition

4. Pre-Installation tasks
Verify that target computer(s) can run the version and edition you plan to install.
Choose the best boot method and installation method for a particular situation.
Create suitable disk partitions for an installation.
Choose the correct file system.
Understand when and how to load third-party disk drivers.
Understand the differences between workgroup and domain setups.
Understand the significance of data/time/language region settings and when to change defaults.

5. Process of Installing Operating Systems
Verify that the system has sufficient resources and free disk space for the installation.
Acquire drivers for the devices and peripherals you want to use with the operating system.
Prepare the appropriate startup disks (when required) to prepare the hard disk and start the installation.
Determine the location of the operating system if you are installing the new operating system as a dual-boot configuration to run the old or new operating systems.
Determine which edition of the operating system you want to install.

6. Verifying That the System Has Sufficient Resources
Component­
Windows Version 7
Vista XP
Processor speed
1GHz (x86 [32-bit] or x64 [64-bit] processor
800MHz
233MHz
RAM
1GB (32-bit)
2GB (64-bit)
512MB
64MB
Free disk space­
16GB (32-bit)
20GB (64-bit)
15GB (20GB Partition)
1.5GB (2GB partition)
Video/Graphics device
DirectX 9 graphics using WDDM v1.0 or higher driver
DirectX 9 graphics using WDDM v1.0 or higher driver; 128MB of RAM
Super VGA (800[ts]600) or higher resolution
Other­
DVD-ROM drive
CD-ROM or DVD- ROM­ drive
CD-ROM or DVD- ROM
These are minimums, recommended requirements are higher

7. Types of Installations
As an upgrade to an existing version
As a clean install to an empty hard disk or to the same partition as the current version
To unused disk space (new partition) to permit multibooting the current or new version as needed
As a repair installation to fix problems with the current installation

8. Boot/Installation Options
Booting from the distribution DVD or CD:
Install Windows to an individual PC and to create a master PC from which disk images can be created.
Installing from the network:
To install one or more systems that have working network connections. Network adapters need to be configured to boot to a network location.
Drive imaging:
An existing Windows installation (with or without additional software and drivers) is cloned for use with other identical systems.
Recovery CD or disk partition:
A manufacturer supplied special recovery CD or partition containing an image of Windows. Used to restore a system to its original as-shipped configuration.
Booting from USB drive:
Can hold an ISO image or original installation files .

9. Booting from the Windows Distribution CD
Set system to boot from DVD-ROM.
Restart system.
When prompted, “press any key” to continue.
Drives are detected.
Create partitions/file systems.
Accept end user license.
Same information items as before.

10. Basic GUI Install and User-Supplied Information
After initial selections for drive partitioning/file system, user interactions include the following:
Selecting a language.
Time and currency.
Keyboard/input method.
Product key/activation options.
Accept the license terms.
Select upgrade or custom install.
Upgrade option will not appear on a clean disk.
The drive location for the installation.

11. More Informational Items Supplied
Select a username, password, and picture.
Select a computer name and desktop background.
Configure Windows Update to
Use Recommended Settings.
Install Important Updates Only. or
Ask Me Later.
Use Recommended Settings automatically enables Windows Updates, Windows Defender, updated drivers, and the phishing filter for Internet Explorer.
Set the time zone, time, and date.
Set the computer’s location: either home, work, or public location.

12. Installing from Network Drive
Server options:
Windows Deployment Service
Installed on Windows Server 2003, 2008
Remote Installation Service
Installed on Windows Server 2000, 2003
Useful when a site license utilizes the same product key
Use of an answer file for unattended installations:
Answer file contains the information normally filled in manually by the installer:
Windows Vista file = unattend.xml.
Windows XP/200 = unattend.txt.

13. Disk Image
Disk cloning is the copying of identical drive partition contents to formatted drives.
Allows multiple drives to be installed simultaneously.
Hardware must be
Same motherboard
Same hard drive adapter (IDE/ATA/SCSI)
Same BIOS setup parameters
To be legal, this must be accompanied by either
Site license adequate for the number of PCs
Individual licenses on file
Cautions:
Security ID is the same on all machines.
Can cause problems for domain controllers.
Use SysPrep utility to engage allowances for such differences.
Uses an answer file system.

14. Installing Windows from a Recovery DVD/CD
Used by major vendors such as Dell and HP to create a system-specific boot partition replacement of all system files/drivers.
Advantages:
Easy recovery of system in case of catastrophic failure
Can rid system of viruses, malware, and other maladies that would be hard to eliminate
Disadvantages:
Formats and replaces all the data on the drive with the data on the recovery CD
Must reactivate the license with Microsoft

15. Preparing the Hard Disk for Installation
File systems supported by Windows 7/Vista/XP:
NTFS: (most common selection)
TB size limit
Enables the use of encryption and compression
Defines user permissions with greater precision
FAT32:
32GB limit.
Limited security: Users can access other users’ files on same machine.
Can be converted to NTFS using convert.exe file.
FAT16 (also known as FAT):
Legacy systems only
FAT64

16. Hard Drive Partition Options

17. Preparing the Hard Disk for Installation

18. Installation Verification
Test drive the installed programs:
Paint, Wordpad, Task Manager, Internet Explorer.
Using log files:
Files that store data about installation and bootup
Setuperr.log
Setuplog.txt—Text mode portion of installation
Setupact.log—GUI mode portion of installation
Setuapi.log—Records events caused by use of an information (inf) file, such as an answer file
Setup.log—Used by recovery console to make repairs
Netsetup.log—Troubleshoot domain/workgroup memberships
Smiglog.xml—User directory structure information (SIDs)
PreGatherPnPList.log—Pre-driver device installation
PostGatherPnPList.log—Information about device installation after configuration phase

19. Transferring User Data
Windows Easy Transfer
Copies files from older systems to Windows 7
User State Migration Tool (USMT)
Command line transfer
Can be used on multiple systems concurrently
Was call User Data Migration Tool previously
Files and Settings Transfer Wizard
For older systems

20. Installing Service Packs Manually
Service Packs provide updates and fixes for
Programming bugs
Security flaws
Improvements to system
Steps
Determine whether a service pack update is needed.
Go to windows.microsoft.com and follow the path for Windows version updates.
Review release notes for potential problems.
Download the service pack.
Save your data.
Follow directions to install service pack.

21. Upgrading Operating Systems
Upgrade paths:
XP to Vista
Vista to Windows 7
XP to Windows 7
Pre installation/upgrade steps:
Verify minimum hardware requirements.
Verify hardware compatibility.
Troubleshooting? Check
Free disk space
Hardware conflicts
Limited memory/CPU underpowered

22. What Have You Learned? What is a site license?
In what circumstance is a sysprep.inf file needed?
Which file system is required on a 320GB hard drive, where the entire drive will be the system drive?
How does partitioning a drive differ from formatting a drive?
How would a technician access the installation verification files to troubleshoot a failed boot?
What might be an expected outcome of installing Windows 7 on a machine that barely meets minimum requirements?

23. Reflection
The technician in the field is calling tier 2 support to say that a user's drive will not boot. The system is giving an error message that the ntldr file is missing or corrupt. He thinks he should reinstall the system but does not have time. What should he try?

24. Chapter 13 Summary Install Windows Vista. Install Windows XP.
Upgrade to Windows Vista from Windows XP or Windows 2000.
Upgrade to Windows XP from Windows 2000.
Troubleshoot Windows Vista/XP Installations and Upgrades.
Next Lesson: Chapter 14