Upgrading Windows 7 To Windows 8 Consumer Preview Build

Introduction

Windows 8 Consumer Preview is a prerelease version of Windows 8 that focuses on people and apps and gives you powerful new ways to use social technologies to connect with the people who are important to you. It's Windows reimagined. Windows 8 Consumer Preview is built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7 and has the security and reliability features you expect from Windows. It’s fast, and it’s made to work on a variety of form factors—especially the new generation of touch devices.

Note : This article was written when Windows 8 was still in Consumer Preview build, changes might occur later to the product once it is RTM.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview is one of the biggest changes that Microsoft has made to Windows, moving it from an operating system aimed at a single class of hardware (PCs and laptops) to one that spans a wide range of devices, including desktops.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows 7:• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster• RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)• Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)• Graphics card: MicrosoftDirectX 9 graphics device or higher

Additional requirements to use certain features:• To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch.• To access the Windows Store, download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.• To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768.

In the below steps I will show you how to download and install Windows 8 Consumer Preview, so lets start.

1. Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup will check to see if your PC can run Windows 8 Consumer Preview and select the right download.
   
   Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview Compatability checking tool: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download
2. Run the Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup 
   
3. If you have User Account Control (UAC) enabled, then you will recieve a message if you want to allow the program to run, click on Yes 
   
   
4. The tool will launch and start checking compatability issues with your installed applications and drivers.
   
   
   
   
5. Review the Compatability Report and check if any application needs to be addressed ( updated or uninstalled )
   
   
   
   
6. Its better after you fix the addressed applications to run the compatability tool again and check one last time the compatability report to see if anything wrong was left over. Click Next when done
   
   
   
   
7. You will recieve the Product Key, write this aside and keep it with you so that when you are asked for it in the future you can type it. Click Nextto start Downloading Windows 8
   
   
8. Windows 8 will start to download
   
   
9. Once the download is completed, you are ready now to install Windows 8. You are presented with three options, either to Install Now, Install Windows 8 on another partition, or postpone the installation and install it later. I want to upgrade my Windows 7 now, so I will choose Install Now.
   
   
10. The setup will check if everything is ready and then will display the license terms
    
    
    
    Accept the licnese terms, by selecting I accept the license terms and then click on Accept
    
    
11. Next page will ask you if you want to keep your own settings and data or would like to wipe your data and install a clean copy of Windows 8. What you can keep depends on the current version of Windows running on your PC. These options only show up if the current version of Windows supports them. 
    
    
    Here are the options you might see:
     Windows settings. Windows settings like Ease of Access, your desktop background, or Internet favorites and history will be kept. Not all settings will be moved.
     Personal files. Anything saved in the User folder is considered a personal file, like the Documents and Desktop folders.
     Apps. Some apps are compatible with Windows 8 Consumer Preview and will just work after Windows 8 Consumer Preview is installed. Some apps might have to be reinstalled after Windows 8 Consumer Preview finishes installing, so be sure to find the installation discs and installers for apps you want to keep.
     Nothing. Delete everything and replace your current version with a copy of Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Your personal files will be moved to a windows.old folder.
    If you choose Nothing, make sure to do the following before you continue:
     Back up your files to an external hard disk, DVD or CD, USB flash drive, or network folder.
     Find the installation discs and installers for the apps you know will work in Windows 8 Consumer Preview and need to reinstall.
     If you use a fingerprint reader or other biometric device to sign in to your computer, make sure you write down your password. You’ll have to sign in by typing your user name and password the first time you use Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
12. The installer will check if anything else is needed before starting the installation of Windows 8, and then will ask you to restart the PC
    
    
    
    Click Restart PC
    
    
13. After your system reboots, logon to your account and accept UAC to resume setup
    
    
    
    Choose Continue from where I left off to resume setup and click Next
    
    
14. Now you are ready to install, click Install
    
    
15. Installation will start and your machine will be rebooted several times
    
    
    
    
    
    
16. Once installation is completed, Windows 8 will startup and will ask you few questions to setup your account. In the Personalize page, select the background color and then click Next
    
    
17. In the Settings page, select either to choose the Express Settings or to Customize it. The description of the Express Settings is listed below, I will select Use Express Settings 
    
    
18. In the Sign in page, enter your local username's password. This is your password that was used with Windows 7
    
    
19. If you have a Microsoft account, then you can use it to sign into your PC, this will make you able to :
    
    - Download apps from Windows Store
    - Access your files and photos anywhere
    - Sync settings online
    
    
    
    Enter your email account password, and then click Next
    
    
    
    You will be asked to enter security verification info. These info will be used when you want to recover your password in the future, in case it was lost of forgotten. Then click Next
    
    
20. The sign in process will start into your machine using your Microsoft account and password
    
    
21. When you see the below screen, this means you are in Windows 8 . In future articles, I will be showing you how to work with Windows 8 and discussing new features introduced with Windows 8.
    
    

Summary

Windows 8 Consumer Preview is one of the biggest changes that Microsoft has made to Windows, moving it from an operating system aimed at a single class of hardware (PCs and laptops) to one that spans a wide range of devices, including desktops. Windows 8 Consumer Preview build is available for download and you can try it now. In this article I have shown you how it is easy to do an inplace upgrade from Windows 7 to a Windows 8 Consumer Preview build.

Source from the Link elmajdal

Migration from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 – part 3

Once you have finished the setup of SBS 2008 you will need to migrate data and settings over to the new SBS 2008 server. In the SBS 2008 Console there is a “Migrate to Windows SBS” wizard.

Work your way through these wizards and following the instructions. Note that migrating data and mailboxes will effect users so think carefully about when you run these.

These options are discussed further below.

1. Change where to store data on the destination server

Use this to change where the users redirected folders are stored

1. Configure the network

Use this to setup TCP/IP info

1. Configure the Internet Address

This launches the “Setup Your Internet Address” wizard

• In virtually all cases you will already have a domain name and be managing it externally
• if you are using a different hostname than “remote” for OWA then you will need to specify this in the “advanced” settings

1. Migrate network settings

1. Migrate Exchange mailbox and settings

The Migrate Exchange Server mailboxes/settings will explain how to use the native exchange tools to migrate to SBS 2008. Moving mailboxes may take quite a while depending on how much data is held. If the servers are not connected via Gb connections then you may want to consider using a small gigabit switch to connect the servers to just for the data copy.

• If desired move the Exchange database to another physical drive (there is a section in the migration wizard that does this)
• Install the latest service pack – currently exchange 2007 sp3.
• Enable anonymous connection on the exchange receive connector

• If you need other systems to relay through this server (which in my experience happens most of the time) create an “allowed relays” receive connector for any smart hosts. Seehere for further info.
• Check the recipient policy – make sure this matches the policy on the original SBS 2003 server.

• If you don’t want your iphone users to be forced to create a passcode on their phone disable this options.

• Move mailboxes
  • I recommend using the “sbs migration” account for this.
  • If you get errors try running the Exchange 2007 BPA permissions test.
• I recommend backing up the public folders to a pst just in case. Use the export function in outlook for this.
• Change the exchange server and DC used for recipient update to the new SBS server
  
• Change the server that generates the offline address book to the new SBS server
  

Note – there is a section on decommissioning Exchange in part 4 of this guide.I believe this is best left to the end of the migration

1. Remove Legacy Group Policy and logon settings

The below group policys are created by SBS2003 and should be removed – they may not all exist in your environment. I recommend just removing the links to them in Active Directory rather than deleting the policies completely. This means you can go back and recover the settings if needed.

• Small Business Server Auditing Policy
• Small Business Server Client Computer
• Small Business Server Domain Password Policy
• Small Business Server Internet Connection Firewall
• Small Business Server Lockout Policy
• Small Business Server Remote Assistance Policy
• Small Business Server Windows Firewall
• Small Business Server Windows Vista Policy
• Small Business Server Update services Client Computer Policy
• Small Business Server Update Services Common Settings Policy
• Small Business Server Update Services Server Computer Policy

1. Migrating Users Shared Data

You may want to switch off the reports if you don’t want your end users getting them.

For the group policies to apply to users and computers…

• Please ensure all user accounts are found in the Active Directory OU MyBusiness – Users – SBSUsers
• Likewise all computer accounts should be in MyBusiness – Computers – SBSComputers

Note – you need to run the role wizard for the user accounts to show up in the SBS console

• Note that this is likely to change group membership. Make sure you make a note of group membership and test this before applying to all users.
• On the Migrate groups page, click Next.
• On the Migrate user accounts page, click Run the Change User Role Wizard.
• Select the desired role and choose “add user permissions or settings”

Select the relevant users or users

1. Migrate Sharepoint Website

• Assuming the sharepoint site is in use then please follow the instructions on migrating to the new SBS 2008 server.
• You can find further info here
  • Move the internal Web site for Windows SBS 2008 migration
  • Steps performed on the Source Server for Windows SBS 2008 migration
  • Steps performed on the Destination Server for Windows SBS 2008 migration

General – Migrating Shared Files and Folders

• As with moving the mailboxes this may take a while. If the servers are not connected via gigabit connections it might be worth connecting the servers to a small gigabit switch just for the data copy.
• You will need to copy over any file shares from the old SBS server to the new SBS server.
• You will need to check the permissions on the new folders
• To copy the data over I recommend using Richcopy if speed is an issue. This however will not copy file permission so if that is an issue I recommend using robocopy or xcopy (with the /H /E /C /Y /O) flags.
• Once the shares are copied over you will need to edit any logon scripts or group polices that set mapped drives
• Also I recommend either making the shares on the old SBS 2003 server read only or remove them completely. This ensures that no-one is editing data on the wrong server.

General – Migrate Printers & Scanners

• Any printers shared off the old SBS 2003 server will need to be re-setup on the SBS 2008 server.
• Please see my other article on deploying printers via a GPO.
• Check for scanners that may have hard references to the old server name or IP
Please Click any of the following link

Migration from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 – part 2

This section covers the installation of the new SBS 2008 server. The migration of data is covered in part 3.

Step 1 – Create Answer File with Source Migration Tool

Connect a USB key to the SBS 2003 server and make sure the USB key is visible as a drive in my computer.

Then run the source migration tool on the SBS 2003 server. This is found in the SBS 2008 DVD in the tools folder.

Note – I have seen problems running this file from the hard drive. If you have issues then try running it from the DVD.

This will create an answer file on the USB key. It also allows for 2 SBS servers to exist in the same domain (for 21 days).

Note you may get an error about the number of network cards if RRAS is running. Stop the RRAS service to clear this error.

Once the preparation tool has completed you will get the below.

Select create an answer file. And fill out the answer file windows with the relevant details for your setup. For the domain administrator account use the “SBS migration” account you created earlier and not the default domain administrator account.

• Once you have filled in all the necessary info including the source and destination server info, select save as and save the answer file to the USB key.
• Note that the migration wizard will disable DHCP on the source server. If you are not building the new SBS 2008 server straight away then you will need another DHCP server.
• I recommend unchecking run unattended so you can see what is happening.
• Click finish, remove the USB key and installation DVD and reboot the source server.Letting the source server reboot with the USB key and installation DVD connected is a bad idea!
  

Step 2 – Install SBS 2008 on new Server

Note you may want to verify the physical drive configuration on the new SBS 2008 server before continuing. E.g. Do you want all drives in a RAID 5?

Connect the USB key to the SBS 2008 server and install windows as per normal.

If you look at Active Directory on the other SBS server you should see a new domain controller appear toward the end of the installation.

Note that the installation takes ages and frequently looks like its hanging – bear with it! It will also restart several times.

Post Install Checks

• If there is more than one network adaptor in the server make sure the second one is disabled (as SBS only supports 1 NIC).
• Check the DHCP service on the SBS 2008 server. Make sure all reservations are there and edit the IP scope if necessary.
• The SBS 2008 install adds a number of group policies. It will set a password policy in the default domain policy. I recommend disabling these changes until after the install is complete (otherwise you are likely to get a number of password related queries).
• Verify the SBS 2008 server holds all the FSMO roles – from a command prompt on the SBS2008 server run NETDOM QUERY FSMO
• Run DCDiag and netdiag on the SBS 2008 server to check for errors
• Check that the DNS server is listening on all IP interfaces (and not just IPv6)
• Check shadow copies are enabled on any data drives
• Run Windows/Microsoft Update
• Make sure there is an DNS A record for autodiscover on your internal DNS range
• Time – make sure the clocks between the old and new SBS servers are synchronised.
• Check the new SBS server is a member of the active directory group “exchange domain servers”. If not add it and reboot.

Set User Profile Properties

Please be aware that if you create or associate an account with an SBS user role (more on this in the next section) then SBS will apply a set of default limits. For example it sets the maximum mailbox size to 2GB. To change these settings open the SBS console and go to the below.

Click ok to save your changes.

Please Click any of the following link

Migration from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 – part 3
Migration from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 – part 1

Migration from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 – Part 1

Overview

This article covers the “Microsoft” method for migrating from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008. Following this method allows you to add a new SBS 2008 server to the existing domain allowing you to then gracefully migrate data across (you have 21 days until the SBS2003 server will shutdown). Following this method minimises the downtime for end users – the only downtime needed is when copying data/mailboxes across. I have written this guide whilst performing a number of real-world upgrades.

Alternatively you can use the “swing” method – see www.sbsmigration.com. This method allows you to build a new SBS 2008 server with the same server name as the SBS 2003 server. It’s not covered in

Below is a sample plan showing the timescales of the migration.

Day	Part	Task
1 – day (2 hours work)	1	Backup SBS 2003 server Run all pre-requisite checks & updates Generate answer file
1 – out of hours	1	Reboot SBS 2003 server
2 – day	2	Build SBS 2008 server with answer file Install Updates
2 – out of hours	3	Migrate mailboxes
3 – day	3	Deal with any issues from Email migration Continue migration (using SBS wizard)
3 – out of hours	3	Setup user accounts and folder redirection Move shared folders and sharepoint
4 – day	4	Deal with any issues from data move Decommission SBS 2003

As with all articles on this site this guide is for reference only. Please conduct your own research and testing.

Step 1 – Pre-requisite Checks

• Note that SBS 2008 ONLY supports a Class C network – i.e. the subnet mask must be 255.255.255.0. If you are using another subnet mask then that is a problem!
• If using Backup Exec 12 or earlier then you will need to upgrade.
• If using a self issued SSL certificate then the end users are going to see certificate warnings on their PC/phones. I recommend buying a cheap SSL certificate for the new server (see my other article on this).
• Check that any applications you plan on installing on the SBS 2008 server actually support SBS 2008 (i.e. 64-bit windows)
• Run a full backup of the SBS 2003 server and verify that backup

The SBS 2003 server needs to have at least:-

• Windows Server 2003 sp2
• .net framework 2.0 – check in add/remove programs
• Exchange 2003 SP2
• SBS 2003 SP1 – Note that this is entirely separate to Windows SP1 and can be installed in addition to Windows SP2. Check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SmallBusinesServer\ServicePackNumber
  If the value is 0×00000001, Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows SBS 2003 is installed.
• Windows Sharepoint services 2.0 sp3 – Go to “Add or Remove Programs”. Select Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, and then click “Click here for support information”. If the version number is 11.0.8173.0, SP3 is installed.
• Verify that the CompanyWeb site is updated with sharepoint sp3 – click Administrative Tools | SharePoint Central Administration |Central Administration |Configure virtual server settings |Virtual Server Configuration section. On the Virtual Server List page, verify that the version for the CompanyWeb site is 6.0.2.8165
  MSXML 6.0 SP1
• MS SQL server management studio express sp2
• Microsoft Update – I would recommend running this to ensure the system is fully patched.
  

Step 2 – Raise functional levels

Exchange: Change to Native mode. There must be no exchange 2000 servers in your domain.

AD: Raise the forest functional level. Only do this if there are no Win2000 domain controllers in your domain.

Step 3 – Exchange

• I would recommend exporting a list of email addresses used. Download this file, extract and and run the vbs script. It will create a text file called c:\proxyaddresses.txt
• I would also recommend making a note of DHCP settings and their reservations. I have noticed that although the DHCP service is moved over to the new server the reservations are not.
• Rename any postmaster accounts – make sure there is no postmaster@ address used in the company
• Remove any mailbox management policies
• Remove duplicate or incorrect SMTP addresses

Step 4 – Misc

• Create an active directory user for migration (e.g. sbsmigration).
  • This account must have a strong password – mixture of case, 1 number and 1 symbol.
  • Must be a member of domain admins, enterprise admins and schema admins.
  • Make sure the primary group is domain users.
• Disable WSUS services on the SBS 2003 server
• If using ISA I recommend further reading. You could uninstall for the migration – obviously don’t leave your server connected to the internet unsecured.
• If using an SSL certificate on the SBS 2003 server then export it (with the private key). You can import it on the SBS 2008 server later.
• Reset the Active Directory Restore Mode password (MS KB322672). This is optional just in case the worst happens!
  
• Try to identify any software that might have hard coded server entries
• Where possible remove old users/mailboxes.
• Shorten the DHCP lease time on the SBS 2003 server. This is to try and avoid IP conflicts when DHCP is moved over to the new SBS server.

Step 5 – Healthchecks

• Run DCDiag and Netdiag – look out for any errors
• Check event viewer for errors – in particular look out for JRNL_WRAP_ERRORS in the File Replication Service event log.
• Run exchange BPA
• Check SYSVOL and NETLOGON are available as shares (i.e. go start – run –\\servername)
• Download and run the Microsoft IT environment health monitor
  

Please Click any of the following link

Next – Migration from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 – part 2