Windows 7 and Virtual Server

With Windows 7 now at RTM and in my hands, the time has come to start to migrate over. I got the ISO images I needed last week, and immediately started to get things running. One specific thing I needed is to get Virtual Server running on Win 7. I am teaching a class on Aug 13/14 and need to prepare – the class is a Windows 7 upgrade class for Microsoft Partners.

I thought, given we’d achieved RTM, that it would be cool to have the Labs running under Windows 7 RTM. To do that, I just needed to get Virtual Server running and install the course files on my laptop. Now I know it’s not officially supported, but I wanted to see if I could make it work. If so, I can then run and demo the labs with Win7 as the host.

There were only two problems with that. The first is that the labs that come from Microsoft Learning require Virtual Server. But Virtual Server is not supported under Win 7, and is actively blocked. And even if I did get VS running, MSL assume that you will be using earlier OSs to run the labs – and installing these on Windows 7 is specifically blocked by the MSI installer.

After a bit of Googling using my favourite search engine and perusing the MCT private newsgroups, it appears that there are two solutions. However, both involve some hacking (and are probably NOT supported).  The solutions were either to get the labs working under Virtual PC 7, or install VS into Win7 and get it running. While both are possible, I chose to do the latter since this seemed to provide an easier to use solution (if it worked of course!!!).

Naturally, a third (and preferable!) option would be to wait for Microsoft Learning to come up with a supported solution. But that is not likely to happen any time soon and I have a course to teach now. So down the road I went with two main tasks: first, installing Virtual Server on Windows 7 and then installing the Microsoft Learning labs on Windows 7.

Installing Virtual Server under Windows 7

To install Virtual Server under Windows 7 is straightforward, although it involved registry editing (and is NOT supported). The steps are as follows:

1. Disable the application compatibility fixes. You first need to disable all the application compatibility fixes that would stop you from installing Virtual Server. In Windows 7, bring up the local Group Policy editor and Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Application Compatibility\ and enable all of the “Turn off” entries. As here;
2. Then go to the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Troubleshooting and Diagnostics\Application Compatibility Diagnostics\ folder and disable all of the entries there. Like here:
   
3. Reboot to ensure the settings take effect. You could, I suppose, just do a gpupdate /force, but I prefer to reboot.
4. Install Virtual Server. Download the binaries from Microsoft .com and install it.
5. Install VS SP1 – depending on what download you get, you may may need to install SP1. NB: Installing SP1 is more difficult once you have completed this process, so why not do it now?
6. Change Application File Name. To enable the next step to work properly, you need to rename the Virtual Server application file name, by going to the Virtual Server directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Server\ ) and rename Vssrvc.Exe – I used Vssrvc_Win7.exe.
7. Change the registry settings for this new file name.  Run regedit, then find and replace all occurrences of "vssrvc.exe" to vssrvc_Win7.exe. There are around 5 or 6 entries to fix.
8. Undo the group policy changes you made at step 1 above. This turns all those application compatibility fixes back on (which is probably what you want!).
9. Reboot.

Once the reboot is completed, you should have (the renamed) Virtual Server running on your Windows 7 box. If you want to just run VMs, off you go. you can create and use VS just as you did on XP or Server 2003. Hoevere, if you want to install a MSL Lab onto the system, you have just a bit more work (hacking) to do.

Install course files for Lab Launcher into Win7

Once you have Virtual Server running, you need to fix the installation file for the lab you want to install, e.g. 6291.MSI. Normally, you just run this MSI file on your master system (and use Ghost et al to then blast it to the rest of the systems in the classroom). The only problem with this approach is that Microsoft Learning have put in an installation block on Win7. That means when you try to run the installation MSI, it fails with an error message (”the operating system version does not meet the minimum version required”). Turns out this is really easy to fix – but you do need an MSI editor.

There are two MSI editors you can use (and both are free):

• ORCA – this is a free MSI editor from Microsoft and comes as part of the Windows Installer SDK. It’s a bit of a pain to get as you first have to download and install the SDK, and then install Orca.Msi. You can find copies of orca.msi out on the internet, but downloading it from Microsoft is probably safest even if it is a bit tedious.
• InstEd - you can also use InstEd, a free tool you can get at http://www.instedit.com/. I like Instead and blogged about it a while ago. It’s still cool!

Once you your MSI editor loaded, you need to remove one line from the Launch Condition table. If you are using Orca, you’ll see something like this:

Just delete the first line of this table, then save the MSI (File/Save As) to a separate MSI (just in case). Then exit out of Orca and you can run your newly saved MSI. You should be good to go.

Minor issues

I found that, after playing around a bit, Virtual Server was complaining about access permissions of VHDs on the host. I just gave all users full access to the C: on the host and the problem went away.

An important issue to consider is that this is not supported. Yes, it works and works reasonably well. It also involved editing registry entries, and using a MSI editor. From personal esperience, both can be dangerous. So use this information at your own risk.

Kudos

Thanks to a couple of posters for helping me to do all this. First, the details of how to get VS running were obtained from a TechNet  forum post. Hacking the MSI to get around version limitiations is an old trick, but thanks to MCT Super-Star Michael Buchardt who pointed me to InstEd! And finally a thanks to Chris Randall for the motivation to write this up.

Technorati Tags: Windows 7,Orca,Microsoft Learning

The Flood Gates are Open – Windows 7 has hit TechNet and MSDN

Well, after a long wait, it’s finally there – Windows 7 RTM release is on TechNet Plus for download. As I type this, I’m getting speeds varying between 100kbps and bursting to 200kbps. Not stunning but OK. Hopefully the download will finish tonight and I can spend tomorrow with installing Win7 onto my Laptop. Horray!

Technorati Tags: Windows 7

Hotkey Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 7 beta 1

Some time ago, I posted a blog article describing the short cut keys for Vista.  Looking at the statistics for this site, I see that this article is still being accessed (via Google). While many of those keys still work in Vista, there are some new hotkeys too, as described in a TechNet article.

These new  hot keys are as follows:

• Win+Home: Clear all but the active window
• Win+Space: All windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop
• Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window
• Win+Down arrow: Minimize the active window or restore the window if it's maximized
• Win+Left/Right arrows: Dock the active window to each side of the monitor
• Win+Shift+Left/Right arrows: If you've got dual monitors, this will move the active window to the adjacent monitor
• Win+T: Shift focus to and scroll through items on the taskbar
• Win+P: Adjust presentation settings for your display
• Win+(+/-): Zoom in/out
• Shift+Click a taskbar item: Open a new instance of that particular application

I’ve been using Win7 exclusively on my new laptop for a couple of weeks and am convinced! There are a couple of defencies, but these are driver related issues (and driver makers who do the “we do not support beta OSs” excuse.  But despite that, I’m sufficiently happy with Win7 beta to not want to reboot back to XP.

Technorati Tags: Windows 7,Win7,Hot keys,short cut

Pismo File Mount Audit Package

I’ve just got a new laptop (Dell Lattitude E6500) and am running Win7 Beta. The combination is awesome – my old laptop (running XP) looks so old and dated.

One thing I’ve relied on for many years is Daemon Tools. I use this to mount ISO images of software and then use them. However, Daemon Tools does not install on Win7 (you get a known incomptibilty error message when you try to install it). From reading their forums, it looks like Win7 support will come, but not any time soon. In the mean while, I need a solution,

So I sent out a twitter message and within a few seconds, I had a reply from Chris Randall pointing me to Pismo Technic Inc. - Pismo File Mount Audit Package.

This is a neat package. Not only can it mount ISO images, but it also mounts VHDs and Zip files. This is a seriously nice package. Another cool thing about this tool is that’s free! I’ve downloaded and installed it, and have used it to install Office on my new laptop.

Thanks Chris, and thanks Pismo!

Technorati Tags: Win7,Pismo,ISO

Group Policy PowerShell Cmdlets in Windows 7

I’ve been writing this week about using GPOs with PowerShell. I noticed today, over on the Group Policy Team blog a neat article: Introduction to Windows PowerShell Cmdlets in Windows 7. With Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, we’ll have decent cmdlet support for Group Policy – no more hard core COM objects.

The group policy support is meant to be implemented by a module (grouppolicy), although that module does not exist in the beta versions of either Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2.

I’m looking forward to seeing this module when it gets completed!

Technorati tags: Windows 7, Group Policy, cmdlets

Windows 7 Beta Has Arrived – But Not For Everyone

The Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 beta versions were released this week. I got the ISOs myself during the week, and finished off today loading R2, Win7 Ultimate and WIn7 Home Premium as VMware virtual machines. But it looks like Microsoft has totally underestimated the demand. In a blog post over on The Windows Blog, Brandon LeBlanc explains that they are delaying the introduction of the public beta. They are adding extra infrastructure to cope with the demand. Another blog post, Windows 7 Beta Downloads Will be Available Soon - Microsoft's Servers Already Can't Handle Demand, Frederic Lardinois gives more detail.

I guess it was inevitable that Win7 would be popular once it was officially released. The beta had already leaked out, and at one point the torrents had thousands of folks downloading. Looking at The Pirate Bay, the Win 7 torrent (“directly from Microsoft”) today has 1700 lechers. It should have been obvious that this was going to be popular. Of course, these problems just make great press stories, and stoke the enthusiasm of the industry. Perhaps Microsoft should have considered deploying Bit-Torrent to enable the download?

Irrespective of Microsoft’s infrastructure woes, Win7 and Server 2008 R2 look like real winners. Win 7 looks really good, although thus far, I’m only running it in a VM. And Server 20087 R2 also looks pretty good! For me the biggest feature of both, thus far, is the inclusion of PowerShell into the OS. As I’m running these betas in VMware, I am not yet getting the benefit of the updates to the Aero UI – my new laptop comes very soon and I’m really looking forward to running Win7 natively.

If you have Windows 7 and/or Windows Server 2008 R2 betas, be sure to check out PowerShell V2. The OS betas incorporate what is more or less PowerShell CTP3 beta (which itself was released just before Christmas). This new version has some pretty exciting new features – I’ve been blogging about these ever since I got the beta. The version of PowerShell that is contained in the OS betas is just slightly earlier than the released PowerShell CTP3. But there should be no real difference in functionality (aside from having a few less bugs in the full CTP3). While remoting and eventing are pretty cool technology, the module functionality, including Auto-Help, are awesome.

So if you don’t have the WIn7, or R2, betas yet – be patient. The infrastructure will soon be in place. I suspect most users will feel the wait is worth while. Hopefully, their reaction will be a little more positive than xkcd’s.

 

Technorati Tags: Win7,Server 2008 R2,PowerShell

 

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Windows 7 Info - WinHEC 2008 White Papers

Microsoft has published a number of White Papers on various aspects of  Windows 7 (including Windows Server 7). These White papers come from Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (aka WINHEC). You can get the papers here.

 

Technorati tags: Windows 7, WinHEC, White Paper

Group Policy and PowerShell in Windows 7

Following on from the PDC, details of Windows 7, and Windows Server 7 (aka Windows Server 2008 R2) are starting to be publicly announced.Over on the Group Policy Team Blog Lillia has blogged about PowerShell and Group Policy in Windows 7. She outlines three cool new PowerShell related functions coming in Windows 7:

• Extending startup/shutdown and logon/logoff scripts to use PowerShell
• Use Cmdlets to perform actions that previously needed the GPMC com object or the sample scripts
• Configuring GPO registry settings directly from PowerShell.

The last of these is very cool! I can’t wait to see more!!

Technorati Tags: Windows 7,Group Policy,GPO,PowerShell

PowerShell V2 Release Timescales

In yesterday’s PowerShell related blog entry, I noted that the next CTP for V3 is coming very soon. Like the child sitting in the back of the car on a long journey, I just want V2 to be here now. But despite wanting it, and frankly expecting it by now – it’s not here and won’t be for a wee while (i.e. around a year from now). At one level that’s bad, but at several others, it’s good as I explain in this post!

First the basic release news. On his blog, super-star and good friend Dmitry Sotnikov sets out the dates that Microsoft announced at TechEd EMEA. Namely:

• CTP3 - Dec 20087 CTP 3. NB: this may be called Beta 1
• RTM – in Windows 7 and Windows 7 Server (aka Windows 2008 Server R2), when that ships. Late 2009 or Early 2007.
• RTM – for XP, 2003, Vista and Server 2008 (RTM) – a few months after that, V2 will be available for download to these older OS versions.

So the final versions of V2 won’t be here for at least a year, and possibly longer for those of us using legacy OSs. So that’s the “bad” news. I also expect V2 to be baked into Exchange 14, so may ship early if for some reason Exchange 14 ships earlier. We’ll know more about the Exchange 14 time scales in due course.

So that sounds bad. It’s life – things take longer than we’d like! But there’s also two bits of good news.

First, there will be more CTP releases. CTP3 has a AWESOME set of features. While we wait to get the final version, the CTPs will allow us PowerShell addicts to have some fun, and develop stuff that will prove even more valuable once RTM occurs. For example, all the scripts over on the PowerShell Scripts blog should all work just fine on V2 – and going forward, some will require V2 or a pre-release of V2 to run (well probably!). So in the short time, there’s plenty of updated features to get to know and leverage.

But the really good news is that PowerShell is now a fully fledged Feature within Windows. Whilst many of us probably think this should have happened with Server 2008/Vista, but that did not happen. Being a Feature means PowerShell is just as important to the overall product as say the file system, the kernel or the fail-over clustering component.

This means that going forward, we’ll see PowerShell align with OS release schedules. Just as there are not major updates of say Active Directory, File sharing, or Failover Clustering outside of a full OS release, there is far less likely to be any major updates to PowerShell outside major OS releases. Thus, we’ll see updates at around the 2 year cycle at best. That is provides the team with a much clearer time frame in which to produce V3, V4, etc.

The reason this is good, is that other OS Win 7 feature teams can take dependencies on PowerShell V2 in order to produce new Cmdlets, etc, knowing that V2 will be ready and will ship at the same time! This also means a whole lot more testing – testing all those cool upcoming cmdlets with PowerShell V2 code. While all the recent releases of PowerShell have been pretty reliable, the more testing the better! And of course, since ISVs can now count on V2, they can target new product releases to run on R2 and can make PowerShell support part of their tool kits.

We’ll also see another important thing in Windows 7/Server 20098 R2 – PowerShell in Server Core. Horray! This to my mind enables a much more unified admin experience (or darn well better!) for Server core. The mixture of obscure command line utilities and near-random VB Script files was just awful. With PowerShell, things should be a whole lot easier. And where there are existing tools that continue to be valuable but are obscure, the community can develop wrappers (i.e. PowerShell Functions or scripts) to vastly simplify the use of those tools. All in all, this represents a great step forward!

So while I really wanted V2 by now, waiting another year or so really isn’t that bad. It’s a wait that I find OK – the result is worth it. I’m pretty excited about the potential. Or should I say I’ STILL pretty excited about the potential.

Technorati Tags: PowerShell,PowerShell V2,Windows 7,Server 2008,Server Core