Microsoft Released New Version of the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment tool

Baldwin Ng — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 08:09:00 GMT

Hi Folks,

Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office are here! And, you are probably thinking that it's time to take advantage of these 2 great technologies. But, you need to get answers on a few practical questions first:

Would my existing PCs run Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office? Should I buy new ones or upgrade them instead?
Would my devices still work? Would most of the device drivers be available from Windows Vista installation DVD and/or Microsoft Windows Update site?

Well, I have good news for you! Today, our team is happy to announce the availability of the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 tool at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2007. This network-wide readiness assessment tool is designed to make it easier for Microsoft partners and customers to determine their existing PCs' readiness for Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office. It's a great tool to accelerate migration and deployment planning for Microsoft customers and partners.

How it Works?

Step 1 - Network Inventory:

Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 connects securely and remotely from a networked PC and reaches out to each PC on the network, whether they are in an Active Directory domain/forest or in a peer-to-peer/workgroup environment.
Hardware and device data were collected through the WMI protocol (Windows Management Instrumentation) and other Windows networking protocols all without deploying any software agents on the individual PCs.

Step 2 - Compatibility Analysis:

By analyzing the hardware and device data from each computer, Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 can assess your existing computers' hardware compatibility and device compatibility for Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office. It also offers hardware upgrade recommendations if required for each PC.

Step 3 - Readiness Reporting:

Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 offers the auto-generation of 2 readiness assessment reports: a summary report in Microsoft Word and a detailed spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.
The Summary Report provides business decision makers with a high-level view of percentage of existing computers that can run Windows Vista and how many more computers can take advantage of Windows Vista with minor level of memory, hard drive and other upgrades.
The Detailed Spreadsheet Report provides technical decision makers with a detailed view of the information they need to plan for a desktop deployment/migration.

What's New with Version 2.0?

Backed by popular demand, we have added many features in this release:

Enterprise-Scale Scanning - Scan up to 25,000 computers per domain/workgroup in every scan (Note: multiple scans are possible for larger networks)
Office 2007 Hardware Assessment - Assess PCs for hardware compatibility with 2007 Microsoft Office
Customized Inventory using Active Directory - Choose computers of specific organizational units (or OU's) within an Active Directory domain/forest where the inventory would be conducted
Customized Inventory using Flat-File Import - Target a specific set of computers for the inventory and assessment by importing a specific flat file of computers (such as computer host names, NetBIOS names, or Fully Qualified Domain Names - FQDN)

What is the IT community saying about Windows Vista Hardware Assessment? Visit these blogs to find out more.

Where Should I Start?

Download the tool today and see how it can benefit your Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office migration planning
Sign up for one of my July webcasts on TechNet and Partner Readiness web sites
Look for the 6-language localized version that will go live in the coming weeks that will enable you to create readiness assessment reports in your own language including French, German, Japanese, Korean, Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese
Tell your success story using the tool and email us at: wvha-tap@microsoft.com
Subscribe to our RSS feed and stay tuned for my future blog posts where I will share with you our customers' success stories and what's new at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2007
Check out the Windows Vista Business Value Assessment Tool if you are a Microsoft Partner - you'll be amazed how powerful this ROI tool is! (IT Blogger, James Senior, gives you the inside scoop HERE!)
Visit the Solution Accelerators home page to download other great Windows Vista tools including Windows Vista Security Guide, Data Encryption Toolkit and Business Desktop Deployment 2007

See you next time...

Baldwin Ng (Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Solution Accelerators)

wvhafdbk@microsoft.com

Understanding the Feature Design Process at Microsoft

Nick White — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 11:27:00 GMT

Yet another fantastic post from Vinny Pasceri, Program Manager for the Windows Shell Team, appears over at the Windows Shell blog. Vinny sheds some light on what is involved in the feature design process here at Microsoft. He separates the process into three different parts: Page 1, The Spec and Building the Feature. Definitely a great way to understand the process we follow here at MS when designing and developing the features in our products.

Even better: Vinny's post actually includes a real feature spec for all to see! Check out the original feature spec for the Windows Aero Wizard UI.

Windows Vista Team Blog : Feature Specification

Microsoft Released New Version of the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment tool

Understanding the Feature Design Process at Microsoft