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7/29/2019 Windows Migration Tips Tricks and Gotchas
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/windows-migration-tips-tricks-and-gotchas 1/11
Windows MigrationTips, Tricks, and Gotchas
An Olenick & Associates White Paper
March 2013
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Windows Migration Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Plan and Prioritize....................................................................................................................... 2 Check Hardware and Software Compatibility ............................................................................. 3 Pre-Test Application Compatibility ............................................................................................. 4 Benchmark Existing Performance ............................................................................................... 5 Fine Tune your Approach ............................................................................................................ 6 Prepare and Test Installation Packages ...................................................................................... 7 Don’t Throw Users into the Deep End......................................................................................... 8 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................ 9 About Olenick & Associates ........................................................................................................ 9
Copyright © 2013 Olenick & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
205 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60606
312 332 0096
http://olenick.com
@OlenickIT
Additional copies of this white paper can be downloaded from
http://olenick.com/Windows-Migration-Tips-Tricks-and-Gotchas.pdf
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other
countries.
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Windows Migration Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas 1
INTRODUCTION
Microsoft is offering carrots and sticks for Windows XP or Vista users to migrate to either
Windows 7 or Windows 8. If you’re in that situation, you have plenty of company. As of January2013, about 43% of all Windows personal computers are running XP; 6% are still running Vista
or earlier Windows versions.1
While the basic steps to upgrade a single PC are straightforward2, there are pitfalls.
Deciding what to data to keep, making copies, uninstalling apps, installing a new OS, re-
installing apps, and copying over user data files can take even a moderately technical user
several days. For an organization that relies on hundreds or thousands of PCs, this presents a
significant operational challenge.
Olenick & Associates has helped our clients migrate over 40,000 PCs to Windows 7 or Windows8. In this white paper, we share some tips from our experience about how to plan, prepare, and
conduct a Windows migration for a large number of PCs. *
Plan and Prioritize
Check Hardware and Software Compatibility
Pre-Test Application Compatibility
Benchmark Existing Performance
Fine Tune your Approach
Prepare and Test Installation Packages
Don’t Throw Users into the Deep End
We’ve also found that following this sequence helps to minimize migration detours,
backtracking, and dead-ends.
*You may also be interested in our companion white paper, How to Pull the Windows Migration Trigger:
Five Questions Every CIO Must Ask.
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Windows Migration Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas 2
PLAN AND PRIORITIZE
A successful migration begins with creating a detailed roadmap for your organization and then
translating that into an action plan.
Spend plenty of time
analyzing your
application and
hardware census
Identify every PC that needs an upgrade.
Create a complete list of who uses which applications. This
will drive compatibility testing, packaging, and deployment.
This also defines the scope of the project.
Define migration
priorities and focus
About 20% of the applications will consume about 80% of
the time and effort.
Identify and prioritize the applications that are most likelyto have problems and start working on them as soon as
possible.
Look at native
platform capabilities
versus the need for
third party utility
products
Third party utilities are most likely to have compatibility and
support issues.
Reducing the reliance on third parties will reduce the time
needed to find fixes and make deployment more stable.
Contact vendors early
about compatibility
Vendor compatibility support may take some time andcould affect the migration schedule.
Some vendors may be unwilling or unable to certify the
compatibility of their applications for the new platform.
Give the vendors enough time so that any upgrades or fixes
can take place as soon as possible.
Do not assume all
vendors will support
Windows 7 or 8
Some app vendors will not or cannot provide information
about the compatibility of their products on Windows 7 or
Windows 8. In this case, you may have to conduct extensive
functional testing to assess compatibility.
If you find compatibility problems, the vendor may be
unwilling to resolve these problems.
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Windows Migration Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas 3
CHECK HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY
Each PC, application, and peripheral variant may have compatibility problems in your new
environment. Alternatively, some may require special handling during the migration. Try to
discover these problems with early testing and take corrective steps long before you attempt
the first conversion of a user’s PC.
Review and test
application and
peripheral compatibility
as soon as possible
Hardware support can often lag application support,
especially for older or special purpose peripherals.
Legacy peripherals (printers, displays, print/fax combo,
etc.) may not be compatible with upgraded or
replacement applications.
Early identification of these problems reduces the risk of
delays and wasted effort.
Some fixes may require significant lead-time and effort to
identify and then provision replacement peripherals.
Don’t assume existing
peripherals are
compatible
Just because a device works with the current OS on the
current PC does not mean it will work on the same PC
with the new OS, or with a new PC and OS.
New hardware probably will not have legacy hardware
interfaces like nine-pin serial or parallel ports.
Device drivers for older peripherals may not be available
for Windows 7 or 8.
Don’t forget to check
multi-function devices
Legacy multi-function devices (print/scan/fax combo, etc.)
that work on XP are likely to be incompatible with
Windows 7 or 8.
Do not set project
timelines until you
complete your
compatibility
assessment
The time needed to fix compatibility issues can have a big
impact on schedule.
You'll have better odds of meeting schedule
commitments if you set your timeline after completing
your initial compatibility assessment.
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Windows Migration Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas 4
PRE-TEST APPLICATION COMPATIBILITY
Once you’ve worked out configuration-related issues, it’s time to set up some PCs with the new
configuration and then use them to test if the migrated apps will actually run.
At best, only half of
applications that run on
Windows XP will run on
Windows 7
Although many applications that run on XP will also
run on Windows 7, many will not. Some that can run on
Windows 7 will not run on Windows 8.
Network connectivity or application configuration
issues often cause problems.
Look out for IE 6 zombies
Internet Explorer 6 will not run on Windows 7 or 8.
Although most users have long ago upgraded or
switched browsers, legacy intranet web servers and
web content may be hard-coded for IE 6. These web
sites will have to be reworked.
Use application
compatibility tools
Tools like Microsoft’s Application Compatibility Tool
(ACT) and Flexera’s AdminStudio automate initial
compatibility testing. This saves a lot of time and
quickly identifies applications that are most likely to
have problems.
DOS applications will not
work under Windows 7 or 8
Most DOS programs were written for 16-bit hardware
and the FAT file system. These applications often areincompatible with 32 and 64 bit PCs. Most of these
applications will have to rewritten or replaced.
Don’t forget this also applies to apps running on
Windows 95 or Windows 98, which are based on
MS/DOS, not NT.
Pay particular attention to
applications that mustinteroperate with one
another
It is very likely that applications used together but
provided by different vendors will have support and
compatibility issues.
It is possible that one of the applications is compatible
but others are not.
Getting these applications to work together may take
more time than you might think.
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Windows Migration Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas 5
BENCHMARK EXISTING PERFORMANCE
Users’ expectations for how long their PC takes to do just about anything play a big role in how
the result of a migration is perceived. We’ve found it is very useful to establish a credible
baseline of an existing environment’s performance. This helps to identify problems with
converted PCs, evaluate complaints about the new environment, and substantiateimprovements.
Benchmark results have a
significant value in
assessing impact of future
deployments
Users have expectations for application performance. If
an application appears to run slower on upgraded PCs,
they will assume there are problems and could
potentially reject the upgrade.
Benchmarking can also identify and trouble-shoot
performance issues before deployment.
Return on investment in
developing automated
tests is quickly realized
when scripts are designed
for future testing efforts
Automated benchmark test scripts can be used
repeatedly during the application’s life cycle.
Application service packs, operating system upgrades,
hardware changes, and network changes can affect
performance.
Developing re-runnable performance test suites will
save time when you need to re-run performance tests
after making changes for any reason.
Use Windows PERFMON
metrics to identify
performance problems
Older PCs may not have enough memory or a fast
enough CPU for adequate performance with the new
stack.
Microsoft’s PERFMON metrics can indicate PC
hardware limitations and provide evidence that
hardware upgrades are (or are not) needed.
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Windows Migration Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas 6
FINE TUNE YOUR APPROACH
Details matter. Even something as simple as a bad choice for file and folder names can
necessitate an installation do-over, leading to headaches and wasted effort.
Include as many
applications as practical
in the base image
The base image is installed on every PC.
This should include as many applications, tools, and
components as possible to cut down on the amount of
time that will be needed to deploy and setup individual
PCs.
Chose a default
document file type early
Will you default to using the older file types (.doc, .xls,
.ppt, etc.) or newer types (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.)?
The defaults for files and documents will be set as part of the base image. Therefore, the applications and tools
needed to support the defaults must be part of the base
image.
Setting associations early on will reduce testing and
debugging time, avoiding wasted effort and delays.
Define and follow aconsistent version
control approach for
images
The base image includes the Windows OS, components,
tools, and applications that everyone will get.
During the development process, the image will have tobe adjusted to meet compatibility needs. Proper version
control and distribution is critical to testing and problem
solving.
Working with an out-of-date image will lead to wasted
time and frustration that will affect the schedule and
budget.
Create and maintain atest repository for up-to-
date status and
transparent reporting
It is critical that all project members have access to the
most accurate and up-to-date information
A central repository for all test assets and test run results
is vital to a smooth workflow.
Accurate tracking of compatibility test results will avoid
delays in issue resolution and prevent non-compatible
applications from being deployed.
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Windows Migration Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas 7
PREPARE AND TEST INSTALLATION PACKAGES
Packaging is the creation of installation files for the new OS and applications, typically in the
MSI or App-V formats. Packages will greatly facilitate the installation of your applications.
However, packages can be tricky to get right. You cannot be sure they’ll work until you testthem on PCs built with the new baseline image.
Allow extra time for
adequate packaging andpackage testing
Organizations that have deep experience with XP or Vista
often lack of technical resources and Windows 7 or 8
packaging expertize.
In addition, the absence of clear documentation or wide
variation in existing configurations can lead to missing
package components.
Packaging will most likely require more time and
resources than might be assumed at first.
Improper packaging can lead to many application
installation issues. Repackaging to correct these issues
can cause delays.
Different configurations
will have unique
compatibility problems
Image problems are common for
Java and .NET versions
Adobe Reader (PDF’s) and Crystal Reports
Base Windows 7 image
All applications will need to use the same versions of all
the components, add-ins, and tools. Insuring that all the
applications are compatible with the same versions will
require extra effort in issue resolution with the
application and component vendors.
Do not assume all applications will work with the same
versions of the tools, frameworks, or Java runtimes. This
can be one of the hardest and time-consuming parts of
the migration effort.
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Windows Migration Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas 8
DON’T THROW USERS INTO THE DEEP END
A Windows migration project will probably affect every user in your organization — it is high
risk and high visibility. Your user community probably will not care about the finer points of
Windows technology, but rest assured they will care if their workflow is disrupted.
A certain level of disruption is inevitable for a migration and will be tolerated. However, any
problem that is seen as unnecessary or a result of sloppy execution will lead to trouble.
Communication, education, training, and ongoing support should therefore be part of your
migration approach.
Resolve configuration,compatibility, and
package issues prior to
engaging users
Thorough testing of configurations, images, and
packages prior to involving users will prevent many
problems and delays.
When users are brought in for user acceptance testing
(UAT), any issues they find could result in rejection of the
upgrade and bad feelings.
If the users get a bad first impression, they will be less
inclined to cooperate in further retesting and final
acceptance.
Involve the packaging
team to sort out delivery
problems from functional
problems
When doing user testing, users are often confused about
what is causing an issue. They may be unable to
determine if an issue is an application functional problem
or if the application was not installed and set-up properly.
A technical person must be available to trouble-shoot and
identify the source of the problem.
It is especially important to involve the packaging team
to insure the intended installation was done properly and
that installation issues are not masking other problems.
Have a technicalcoordinator triage and
validate user acceptance
testing issues
Resolving issues in UAT can have a direct impact on a
deployment schedule. User issues are often a result of
unfamiliarity with the new configuration.
Have a person or team with both application knowledge
and technical skills coordinate and triage UAT issues. This
will help reduce the impact of issues found and keep the
testing progress on track.
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Windows Migration Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas 9
CONCLUSIONS
Although the objectives and basic steps for a Windows migration are straightforward, scaling
the process to an entire organization presents many challenges.
In this white paper, we’ve shared some of the practical and technical lessons we’ve learned in
supporting all aspects of migration on over 40,000 PCs.
A complete census, thorough compatibility testing, and careful planning will avoid waste and
delays. Early compatibility, configuration, and package testing are keys to success. Early
performance benchmarking helps to prevent problems and resolve rollout issues. Orchestrating
user testing and support to minimize snags will facilitate user acceptance.
ABOUT OLENICK & ASSOCIATESWe published this white paper to help IT managers and staff plan and execute a Windows
migration project.
In our experience, many underestimate this challenge. To find out more about how our Assured
Windows Migration solution can support your migration, please contact Bill Mertes at 1 (312)
804-5793 or via email at [email protected].
To learn more about our Assured Windows Migration solution, please visit
http://olenick.com/2w7w8.
NOTES
1 Desktop OS by Version, February 2013. Net Market Share. http://www.netmarketshare.com/
2For example, see
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7