Four Things That Will Eliminate the Difficulty During a Windows 7 Migration
Here at Scalable Software I have helped quite a few companies Migrate to Windows 7 over the past few years.
You may be wondering where the biggest problems are? Was it installing Windows 7? No, with today’s technology that’s pretty easy. Was it installing the application load set? No, that process took a little longer than installing windows, but still relatively easy. Was it making sure the end users personality and data was migrated correctly? Nope, with a good system like WinINSTALL LMS in place the personality settings and data will migrate over with little issue. You may ask “So what else is left?”

What’s left is the hardest part of a Windows 7 Migration and believe me, there is plenty.

I call it “The Mickey Mouse stuff”. I’m talking about those little tweaks, activations, and configurations like application EULA pop-ups, Windows Update opt-ins, and worthless OS tours. Your users do not want or need a high level overview of Excel and it’s our job as Windows Migration Planners to ensure they are not asked for one.
Below are a few common “Mickey Mouse” details that have helped the hundreds of companies with their Windows 7 Migration.

Windows 7 Settings

Activate Windows – Windows 7 has a built in utility for activation titled the Software License Manager (SLMGR.VBS). This can activate windows via a command switch which can be packaged in the form of a WinINSTALL Network Application Install (NAI) file.
%SYSTEM%\slmgr.vbs /ato

The Network Location Wizard can be disabled by adding the following Key. This also can be packaged within a WinINSTALL NAI file.
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\NewNetworkWindowOff

Office 2010
Turn off the “Office First Run Tips” in Office 2010. Please!!
Microsoft also provides an Office Customization Tool which can be invoked by running “Setup.exe /admin”
Using this tool you can disable a lot of “First Run Tips”. The majority can be found under “Microsoft Office 2010 -> Miscellaneous”.
From here you can disable “Show Screen Tips” and “Suppress Recommended Settings Dialog”.

The Opt-in Wizard can be disabled under Microsoft Office 2010 -> Privacy –> Trust center-> Disable Opt-in Wizard on first run

Adobe Reader
Adobe updates are a cause of annoyance for most end users. You can disable all Adobe updates using the Adobe Customization Wizard under “Online and Acrobat.com” section.

Simply check “Disable all updates”. You can also disable the EULA by checking “Suppress Display of End User License Agreement” under the EULA section.

Java Runtime
Java updates are another annoyance especially if the user is in a locked-down environment. Java updates are turned on\off during the install. This feature is set by a MSI Property JAVAUPDATE. Setting this to “0” will disable Java Updates. This can be done inside the Property table or if using a command line, adding JAVAUPDATE = 0 anywhere in the arguments will disable updates.

If you have any questions relating to your Windows 7 Migration please don’t hesitate to ask. That is why we are here: To Help!