P2V Migration for Software Assurance

The P2V Migration for Software Assurance package will create a virtual machine (VM) containing the previous operating system installation as part of an automated Windows 7 deployment. P2V Migration provides a safety net by enabling continued access to users’ previous computing environment.
P2V hard disk migration of a Windows installation is a valid function for customers with Software Assurance and full retail copies of the Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP operating systems.
P2V Migration for Software Assurance uses automation from the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 Update 1 and P2V disk conversion from Sysinternals Disk2vhd. The Windows Installer Package for P2V Migration contains a collection of scripts and MDT 2010 task sequence templates that convert an existing operating system installation to a VHD file during a Windows 7 deployment. Then, the process creates a VM using the VHD file and publishes the applications it contains to the Windows 7 Start menu.
P2V Migration supports creating VHD files based on Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3) operating systems. Although you can use P2V Migration when deploying the x86 or x64 versions of Windows 7, it can only create VHD files based on x86 versions of the operating system. P2V Migration is language agnostic.
Even the most skilled IT shops, with resources to work through application compatibility challenges, often find a few users blocking roll-outs to entire sites or larger numbers of users because of:
- Compatibility of specialized, region or user-specific applications, browser customizations or USB device drivers.
- Missing installation files or media to install applications or drivers for testing or redelivery.
- Critical users who cannot risk losing any functionality of their current desktop environments and require a working backup before moving to Windows 7.
Although P2V Migration can help in targeted cases, by design, it is not scalable to large percentages of users in an organization. Best practice is to ensure native compatibility with applications, websites, and hardware devices for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8.
Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization scales to deliver and manage more compact and standardized Windows XP VMs to more users requiring a managed set of Windows XP-dependent applications. P2V Migration is recommended in cases where users require specific components from their current PC and those components cannot run in Windows 7 and do not warrant being part of a standardized and managed VM environment for broad use.
Licensing for P2V Migration requires that the converted Windows XP desktop and Windows 7 environment be installed using Microsoft Volume Licensing media and covered by Microsoft Software Assurance.
For Lite Touch Installation (LTI) deployments using MDT 2010 Update 1, P2V Migration for Software Assurance requires the following components:
- A functional installation of MDT 2010 Update 1 with mapped deployment shares on the client computer targeted for P2V Migration installation. The installation process for P2V Migration automatically copies required components to the MDT 2010 installation folder and deployment shares mapped in the MDT 2010 Deployment Workbench.
- An Internet connection or downloadable components listed in the previous section, available in C:\Program Files (x86)\P2V Migration for Software Assurance\Tools. If no Internet connection is available, you will need to copy these files manually.
- Sysinternals Disk2vhd 1.62 or later. The P2V Migration for Software Assurance installer will download Disk2vhd as part of the installation process. Pre-1.62 versions of Disk2vhd are not supported.
For Zero Touch Installation deployments using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, P2V Migration requires the following components:
- A configured System Center Configuration Manager Operating System Deployment environment, with MDT 2010 Update 1 add-in components installed.
- An Internet connection or downloadable components listed in the previous section, available in C:\Program Files (x86)\P2V Migration for Software Assurance\Tools.
The client computers targeted for VHD conversion must meet the following requirements:
- 32-bit Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Enterprise with SP1 or SP2, or Windows XP Professional with SP3 must be installed.
- Client computers were installed and activated using Microsoft Volume Licensing or full packaged product installation media. Installations using OEM installation media are not valid. Full packaged product installation media provide the right to transfer the installation to another computer but will require reactivation once the system has been converted to a VHD.
- Hard disks must be 127 gigabytes (GB) or smaller in size, regardless of the amount of data stored on them. This is a limitation of Windows Virtual PC. For example, if the computer has a 160-GB hard disk consuming only 20 GB of data (even if it is configured with partitions smaller than 127 GB), P2V Migration will not work in either configuration.
- The P2V and deployment processes will target Disk 0 partitions only (Windows and system partitions).System requirementsMicrosoft Word or Microsoft Word Viewer 2003 can be used to view Word documents
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats can be used to open, edit, and save documents, workbooks, and presentations in the file formats new to Microsoft Office.
Sysinternals Disk2vhd 1.62 or later