Lesson 1: Evaluating

Hardware Readiness and

Capability
MOAC 70-687: Configuring Windows 8

Overview
Exam Objective 1.1: Evaluate hardware
readiness and compatibility
Determine which SKU to install
Determine whether 32 bit or 64 bit is
appropriate
Choose between an upgrade or a clean
installation
Determine screen resolution

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Introducing Windows 8
Lesson 1: Evaluating Hardware Readiness
and Capability

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Windows 8
Windows 8 is a major release that represents a
fundamental departure in Windows operating
system design. Many of the familiar Windows
components are gone or substantially changed,
and there are new ways of doing almost
everything.
For IT specialists responsible for installing,
configuring, and maintaining Windows 8
computers, many of the familiar configuration
tools are still there, such as Control Panel and
Administrative Tools; you just have to become
accustomed to accessing them in different ways.
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using the Start Screen

Designed to support both touch-based
screens and the traditional mouse
Contains a series of tiles that provide
access to the various operating system
elements
Tiles are larger than icons found on
Windows desktop
Live tiles can contain dynamic content

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using the Start Screen

The Windows 8 Start screen

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Accessing Start
Screen Controls
Navigation by touch screen or mouse
When you swipe a finger from the right
edge of a touch screen toward the center,
a fly-out panel with icons on it called the
edge UI appears.
The mouse equivalent to this gesture is to
place your cursor in the right-side top or
bottom corner of the screen.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Charms
The edge UI contains a series of buttons
called charms
Charms provide access to common
operating system functions such as:
o
o
o
o
o

Search
Share
Start
Devices
Settings

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Accessing Start Screen Controls

The Windows 8 charm bar

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Accessing Start Screen Controls

The Windows 8 search bar

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

10

Accessing Start Screen Controls

The Windows 8 settings bar

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

11

Accessing Start Screen Controls

The Windows 8 thumbnail bar

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

12

Accessing Start Screen Controls

The Windows 8 apps screen

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

13

Running Start
Screen Apps
Apps are programs that launch from the
Start screen and run exclusively in the
WinRT environment.
WinRT is a runtime environment that is
designed to run apps.
Most of the tiles that appear on the default
Windows 8 Start screen launch apps.
Many others are available for purchase (or
for free) through the Windows Store.
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

14

Closing Start Screen Apps

To close an application:
o On the thumbnail bar, drag a thumbnail to the
bottom of the screen or right-click a thumbnail
and select Close from the context menu.
o On a full screen app, tap or mouse over the top
of the screen and, when the cursor changes to
a hand, drag it down to the bottom of the
screen.
o Press Alt+F4 on the keyboard.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

15

Using the
Windows Desktop
To access the Desktop from the Start
screen, tap or click the bottom left tile
(photograph of daisies, by default).
To return to the Start screen from the
Desktop, mouse over the lower left corner
of the screen, select the Start charm on
the charm bar, or tap the Win key.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

16

Accessing Configuration
Settings
For the IT professional working with
Windows 8 for the first time, accessing the
operating systems configuration settings
will be a top priority.
Many of the familiar Windows
configuration tools are in Windows 8; its
just a matter of finding them.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

17

Using the Settings Bars

Clicking or tapping the Settings charm
displays a Settings bar, the contents of
which differ slightly, depending on
whether you are accessing it from the
Start screen or the Desktop.
The Start screen version enables you to
modify the behavior of the screen tiles.
The Desktop version provides access to
the main Windows Control Panel and the
Personalization and System control panels.
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

18

Using the Settings Bars

The PC settings screen

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

19

Using the Windows

Tools Menu
Mouse over the lower left corner of the screen and rightclick the resulting thumbnail, or press the Win+X key
combination, to open a Windows tools context menu that
provides access to:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Programs and Features

Event Viewer
System control panel
Device Manager
Disk Management
Computer Management
Command Prompt
Command Prompt (Admin)
Task Manager
Control Panel

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

20

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Some of the most useful Win key combinations:
Win+X: Displays the Windows tools menu that
contains links to the Event Viewer, Control Panel,
Command Prompt, Task Manager, Device
Manager, Computer Management, and File
Explorer windows
Win+Tab: Displays the task switcher
Win: Displays the Start screen
Win+D: Displays the Windows Desktop
Win+C: Displays the charms bar
Win+Q: Displays the apps search bar
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

21

More Keyboard Shortcuts

Win+F: Displays the files search bar
Win+H: Displays the Share menu for the
currently running app
Win+W: Displays the settings search bar
Win+I: Displays the Settings bar for the
currently running app
Win+E: Displays a File Explorer window
Win+R: Displays the Run dialog box

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

22

Introducing Windows 8
Editions
Lesson 1: Evaluating Hardware Readiness
and Capability

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

23

Windows 8 Editions
The four Windows 8 editions are
o
o
o
o

Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

RT
8
8 Professional
8 Enterprise

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

24

Feature Support in
Windows 8 Editions
Windows8RT

Windows8
X86/x64
1

Windows8
Professional
X86/x64
2

Windows8
Enterprise
X86/x64
2

Platform
Max
Numberof
Processors

ARM
2

Licensing
ADDS
Domain
Support

OEM only
No

Retail/OEM
No

Retail/OEM
Yes

Volume only
Yes

AppLocker
Bootfrom
VHD
BitLocker/
BitLocker
ToGo

No

No
No

No
Yes

Yes
Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

25

Feature Support (cont.)

Windows8RT

Windows8

Windows8
Professional

Windows8
Enterprise

Branch
Cache
Direct
Access
Encrypting
FileSystem
(EFS)
Group
Policy
Hyper-V
Client
Install
x86/x64
desktop
apps

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

26

Feature Support (cont.)

Windows8RT

Windows8

Windows8
Professional

Windows8
Enterprise

Microsoft
Office

Yes

No

No

No

Remote
Desktop

Client only

Client only

Client and
host

Client and
host

Storage
Spaces

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Windows
Media
Player

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Windows
ToGo

No

No

No

Yes

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

27

Differences between Windows 8

32-bit and 64-bit Platforms

32-bit

64-bit

Maximum
addressable
memory
Hyper-V
support

4 GB

192 GB

No

Yes

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

28

Understanding Windows 8
System Requirements
Lesson 1: Evaluating Hardware Readiness
and Capability

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

29

Minimum System
Requirements for Windows 8

32-bit(x86)

64-bit(x64)

Processorspeed

1 gigahertz (GHz)
or faster
1 gigabyte (GB)

1 GHz or faster

Systemmemory

Availablehard
16 GB
diskspace
Graphicsadapter DirectX 9 graphics
adapter with
WDDM driver

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2 GB
20 GB
DirectX 9 graphics
adapter with
WDDM
driver

30

Selecting Installation
Options
Lesson 1: Evaluating Hardware Readiness
and Capability

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

31

Will the Hardware Support

the New Operating System?
If the computer does not meet the
Windows 8 hardware specifications, you
should consider a hardware upgrade.
For the home user, a hardware upgrade
might mean purchasing and installing a
new memory module or two, or perhaps a
graphics adapter.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

32

Will the New Operating System

Support the Existing Applications?
In enterprise environments, application
testing is as important as hardware testing.
Even if an updated version of an
application is available, test it carefully with
the new operating system to ensure that it
functions properly.
The alternative could be the failure of a
mission-critical application across the entire
enterprise, resulting in extended downtime
and lost productivity.
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

33

Which Windows 8 Edition

Should I Install?
You should select a Windows 8 edition
based on several factors, including:
o The tasks the user will be performing
o Your budget

If you are running an AD DS domain, you

must have Professional installed on your
computers to join that domain.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

34

Which Windows 8 Edition

Should I Install? (cont.)
Most enterprise installations require their
workstations to log on to an Active Directory
Domain Services domain, eliminating the
base Windows 8 edition as a possible choice
because it lacks domain support.
Windows 8 Professional is a retail product,
available in stores everywhere, while
Enterprise is only available directly from
Microsoft as part of a volume license
agreement.
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

35

Should I Perform an Upgrade

or a Clean Installation?
New computers, or computers with new
hard disk drives, require a clean
installation.
With a clean installation, you boot from
the Windows 8 setup disk and create or
select a blank partition where the
operating system will reside.
The primary advantage of performing a
clean installation is that Windows 8 will
achieve its best possible performance.
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

36

Upgrade or a Clean
Installation? (cont.)
Performing an in-place upgrade to
Windows 8 means that whatever disk and
registry clutter is present under the
previous operating system will remain in
place.
The advantage to performing an in-place
upgrade is that all of the users
applications, data files, and configuration
settings remain intact, but even this could
be a problem.
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

37

Do I Have to Install
Multiple Languages?
The main problems for multilingual users
in the past have been the availability of
the languages they need and the complex
procedure for implementing multiple
languages on a single computer.
Windows 8 contains a multilingual user
interface (MUI) architecture that makes it
easier to install multilingual support on a
computer.
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

38

Running Windows 8
Upgrade Assistant
Lesson 1: Evaluating Hardware Readiness
and Capability

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

39

Upgrade Assistant
Upgrade Assistant is a Windows
application that scans an individual
computers hardware and software to
determine whether it is capable of running
Windows 8 at peak efficiency.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

40

Run Upgrade Assistant

The Buy Windows 8 page

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

41

Run Upgrade Assistant

The Heres what we found page in the Windows 8 Upgrade

Assistant
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

42

Run Upgrade Assistant

The Choose what to keep page in the Windows 8 Upgrade

Assistant
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

43

Run Upgrade Assistant

The Windows 8 for you page in the Windows 8 Upgrade

Assistant
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

44

Identifying Upgrade Paths

Lesson 1: Evaluating Hardware Readiness
and Capability

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

45

Upgrading Windows 8
Editions
In Windows 8, the Anytime Upgrade
feature from Windows 7 and Windows
Vista is replaced by an Add Features to
Windows 8 control panel, which enables
retail users to purchase and install
upgrades.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

46

Upgrading from Windows

7
To perform an in-place upgrade from
Windows 7 to Windows 8, run the Windows
8 Setup.exe program from within Windows
7 and select the Upgrade option.
Users can purchase a Windows 8 upgrade
disk or download the operating system
after purchasing it at an upgrade price.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

47

In-Place Upgrade Paths from

Windows 7 to Windows 8
To Windows 8 To Windows 8
Professional

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

To Windows 8
Enterprise

48

Upgrading from Earlier

Windows Versions
Users running Windows Vista with Service Pack 1
installed can upgrade to Windows 8, but they
cannot perform a full, in-place upgrade, as
Windows 7 users can.
For users of Windows XP with Service Pack 3, an
upgrade can only preserve personal files.
For computers running operating system versions
prior to Windows XP, including Windows 2000,
Windows Me, Windows 98, Windows 95, and
Windows 3.1, there is no upgrade pricing available,
so you must purchase the full version of Windows
8, and you can only perform a migration.
2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

49

Lesson Summary

Windows 8 is a major release that represents a fundamental

departure in Windows operating system design. The
intention behind Windows 8 was to create a single
operating system that can run on a variety of devices,
including tablets and smartphones, as well as PCs.
The first new element in Windows 8 faced by users and
support staff alike is the Start screen, which replaces the
familiar Start menu from previous versions of Windows.
Apps are programs that launch from the Start screen and
run exclusively in the WinRT environment. Most of the tiles
that appear on the default Windows 8 Start screen launch
apps, and many others are available for purchase (or for
free) through the Windows Store.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

50

Lesson Summary

There are no less than six editions of Windows 7, but

Microsoft has reduced that number down to four for
Windows 8, one of which is a specialized version for tablets
and other portable devices.
In some cases, the most convenient way to deploy Windows
8 on existing computers is to perform an upgrade from
another operating system. However, there are many
Windows versions, and not all of them support upgrades to
Windows 8.

2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

51

Copyright 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that
named in Section 117 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the
express written consent of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for
further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. The purchaser may make backup copies for his/her own
use only and not for distribution or resale. The Publisher assumes no
responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages, caused by the use of these
programs or from the use of the information contained herein.