Richard Carpenter
IT Services
University of Oxford
This session
 There are three main operating systems that we see:
 Microsoft Windows
 Mac OS X
 Ubuntu Linux
 The primary focus of this presentation will be on
Windows.
 Please interrupt if you have questions!
 Everything here refers to how things work out of the
box, if I’ve said it doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean it can’t
be done.
Microsoft Windows
 Most reinstalls that we do are in one release of
Windows or another
 Four currently supported releases.
 Windows XP
 Windows Vista
 Windows 7
 Windows 8
 Installation interface for Vista, 7 and 8 is identical.
 But processes are different between Vista/7 and 8
Windows Versions
 Each copy of Windows is divided into four separate
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identifiers:
Release name: i.e. Windows 7
Edition: i.e Home Premium
Restriction code: KN, N
Architecture, mainly x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit)
How many total supported versions of windows do you
think there are?
86
Microsoft Licensing
 Microsoft sell three types of license:
 Retail
 Media for key for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions
 OEM
 Media for one version, support for both
 Volume License
 Media and one version, licensing by KMS
Windows Upgrades
 Increasingly relevant in the Windows 8 era, fresh
install media difficult for end users to get hold off.
 Previously, Windows 7 and below special versions (i.e
Student) could be found as both full and upgrade
versions.
 Upgrade copies can be installed, but will not activate if
they haven’t come from a machine with a qualifying
Windows OS on it.
 Windows XP cannot directly upgrade to anything.
Upgrade or Custom Install
 To quote Microsoft:
 An upgrade installation replaces your current version
and your files, settings, programmes and kept in place
on your PC. You can perform a custom installation
using either the upgrade of full version disks.
 A custom (clean) installation replaces your current
version of Windows but doesn’t preserve your files,
settings and programs.
 However, there’s lots of times when the upgrade option
won’t work…
Upgrade Windows Vista to 7
Windows 7
Windows Vista
Starter
Home
Basic
Home
Premium
Professional
Enterprise
Ultimate
Starter
Home Basic
Home Premium
Business
Enterprise
Ultimate
Green illustrated that an in-place upgrade is possible, red is not. Cross
architecture upgrades i.e 32-bit (x86) to 64-bit (x64) are never permitted.
Upgrade Windows 7 to 8
Windows 8
Windows 8 Pro
Windows 8 Enterprise
Windows 7
Starter
Home Basic
Home Premium
Professional
Ultimate
Enterprise
Green illustrates that an in-place upgrade is possible, red is not. Cross
architecture upgrades i.e 32-bit (x86) to 64-bit (x64) are never permitted.
Downgrade Rights
 Introduced in Windows Vista as a way for corporations
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to downgrade machines to XP, when they bought
machines with a Vista sticker.
So for example, User has Windows Vista Business
sticker. This can be downgraded to Windows XP Pro
Available to anyone with a valid license sticker (retail
or OEM on the base)
Enterprise not covered (because Volume License
agreements, already cover this)
All downgrades are clean installs.
Downgrade Rights (2)
 Not all versions of Windows are eligible for this.
 Only Professional/Business and Ultimate are so:
 For Windows 8, only Pro and Ultimate can
 For Windows 7, only Professional and Ultimate can
 For Windows Vista, only Business and Ultimate can
 Process is as follows:
 Install Windows without entering a license key.
 Go to Activate Windows, then Telephone Activation
 Choose option for downgrading, you will get put
through to Microsoft and they will issue a key.
Introduction to RAID (1)
 RAID is a method of combining multiple disk drives
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into one disk partition.
Unusual, but not unheard of to see it on a laptop.
Quite common on higher powered desktops.
RAID 0 –Maximum space and performance.
RAID 1 – Mirrored, keeps a copy of all saved data.
RAID 5 – Performance, but lose some hard drive space
for parity.
RAID 0 and 1 require a minimum of two drives, RAID 5
needs three
Introduction to RAID (2)
Partition Structures (1)
 Each operating system has a different Partition type
that is required. The following the typical ones that we
see and what can be installed on them:
 FAT – Windows XP
 FAT 32 – Windows XP
 NTFS – Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8
 HFS+ - MacOS
 ext2 - Linux
 ext4 – Linux
 Bold text means it’s recommended to use this.
Partition Structures (2)
 What OS can read and write to which partition
structures?
OS
FAT
FAT32
NTFS
HFS+
ext2
ext4
Windows
Mac OSX
Linux
 Green is read and write, Yellow read only, Red not
available
Disk Partitioning - Multiboot
 “The act of dividing a hard disk drive into multiple
logical storage units referred to as partitions, to treat
one physical hard drive as if it was multiple disks”
 One main reason is to allow for systems to boot
multiple operating systems.
 For most users a Virtual Machine may be a better fit as
you can run both the host and virtual machine at the
same time.
 Has the advantage however that as opposed to running
a virtual machine you have all of the resources of the
machine available to you
Multiboot Issues
 When installing different versions of the same OS (i.e
Windows XP and Windows 7) there’s no advantage to
which order you install them.
 Mac OS X has a utility called Boot camp that
repartitions the current drive and prepares a large
section for a Windows install.
 With Ubuntu, it’s recommended that you install
Windows first. Otherwise, after the Windows install,
you won’t be able to login.
Disk Partitions – User Convenience
 Some users however may want to split up their hard
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drive into separate partitions anyway.
Commonly seen and requested by users (sometimes
even created by manufacturers)
Rare to see on Mac OS X.
Can be set up at the time of installation.
When the system is installed, only limited changes can
be made. Other changes are possible through use of
third-party software, but rearranging live partitions
always comes with risk of loss of data.
Multiple Partitions – Good or Bad?
Positives:
 Separates the OS from
the User Data. Easier to
backup.
 Separate area for Virtual
Memory/Paging.
 Speed increase over
single partition on
NTFS on very large hard
drives (1TB+)
Negatives:
 Reduces overall
performance where data
is accessed regularly
from multiple
partitions.
 Slows down moving
data between same
physical disk
 Reduces overall space
Booting from a CD
 Sometimes you
are offered a
choice of a Boot
Menu usually F9
or F12.
 Otherwise you
need to enter
BIOS (Setup) and
change the boot
order
Windows Legacy Installer
 Windows XP was last Windows OS to use legacy
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installer, first used with Windows 3.1.
Does not come with native SATA support.
Disks which are on the Help Centre are patched to
include support for SATA hard drives
In the BIOS, ACHI must be disabled for this to install
and load.
Non-existent RAID controller support, requires
external drivers at time of install.
Partitioning Drives (Legacy)
Windows Modern Installer
 Introduced with Windows Vista, practically
unchanged since then.
 Better support for HDD and some RAID
implementations
 May look slightly different between versions, but
everything is in the same place
 Key point: Disk partition options hidden behind
“Drive Options” button, allows you to delete and
recreate partitions available for install.
Partitioning Drives (Modern)
Windows Setup (1)
Windows Setup (2)
Windows Setup (3)
Windows Setup (4)
Windows Setup (5)
Next Steps
 Four main tasks that you need to do now to get the
machine finished off:
 Activate Windows
 Recommended to do this over the internet
 Install Windows Updates
 Through Control Panel  Windows Updates
 Install all Drivers
 Get the from manufacturer’s website and install.
 Device Manager very helpful
 Install Anti-Virus
Recommended Order (1)
 1) Go to Device Manager, and check to see if there is
Ethernet. If not, then install it via website.
 2) Once Ethernet is working, go straight to Windows
Update and apply all updates, including optional.
 3) Machine will reboot. Go back to Windows Update
and keep clicking on Check for Updates until it
completes a check and reports nothing. Usually 4-5-6
reboots.
Recommended Order (2)
 4) Apply remaining drivers (if any)
 5) Activate Windows. You can get onto the screen at
Control Panel  System. You may have to scroll down
to see the activate windows section.
 6) Install Anti-Virus. Usually Sophos for us from
register.oucs.ox.ac.uk. Worth considering Microsoft
Security Essentials instead
Device Manager
 Device Manager illustrates current device drivers that
are on the machine.
 Devices that are not illustrated will appear as ‘Other
Devices’ with a question mark and brief descriptions
 Right click for more info
 Most manufacturers
websites gives you a good
place to download the
drivers that are missing
Device Manager – Unknown?
Unknown Device
Typically is:
Audio/Modem Device on High
Definition Audio Bus
Sound
Base System Device
Chipset
Biometric co-processor
Fingerprint reader
Ethernet Controller
LAN/WLAN
Imaging Device
Webcam
Multimedia Audio Controller
Sound
PCI Simple Communications Controller
Chipset/Modem
Video Controller (VGA Compatible)
Video
USB Device
On older laptops, Webcam/Touchpad
Getting Drivers
 With some manufacturers it’s very simple to get the
drivers and some it’s more difficult.
 One of the most tricky thing is that often machines
will be have shipped with different configurations even
though they are the same machine (to fulfil orders)
 Laptop’s that show Centrino are guaranteed to have an
Intel CPU, Wireless card and Chipset
 Installing drivers can be done either by running a
Setup program or right clicking on the device in
Device Manager and pointing Windows to the
directory where the driver is.
Hardware ID’s
 On some occasions, Windows won’t be able to identify
the device at all and on this case it will display it as an
Unknown Device.
 In Device Manager, right-click on the device, then go
Properties, Driver and you get a drop down box and
select Hardware ID’s
 This usually gives you a few strings of text which are a
good starting point to search online for.
 There are also websites such as
http://www.pcidatabase.com where you can search for
what you find.
Activating Windows
 User way of activation is use of a product key which
you inputted earlier
 Every day the machine is not activated it was display a
box that the user can click on to activate windows,
after which, Windows will not operate fully.
 Activation over internet should work and is a fully
automatic process after selecting it.
 Otherwise, this can be done by telephone.
Anti-Virus
 Sophos is provided for use on any machines with a
download from @
https://register.oucs.ox.ac.uk/self/software/sophos
 Very memory heavy however. On netbooks, Microsoft
Security Essentials (MSE) for XP/Vista/7 is perhaps
more appropriate
 In Windows 8, Windows Defender has replaced MSE
so Windows now comes with an good anti-virus
program.
That’s it!
 Any questions?