There are four steps to running ACT: configuration, creating a collection package,
deploying the package, and analyzing the data. Before you configure ACT, create
and share a folder in which to log the inventory data. Open Application Compatibility
Manager (ACM) from Start, All Programs, Microsoft Application Compatibility
Toolkit 5.0. The ACT configuration wizard runs the first time you launch ACM.
There are two modes: Enterprise mode and View and Manage Reports Only mode.
Choose Enterprise mode to create, view, and manage ACT projects and reports.
Next, choose your SQL Server or SQL Server Express database. Select the shared
folder you created earlier in which to log the inventory data. All computers
that will log inventory data need read/write access to the shared folder. Finally,
supply a user account and password that will collect that log information in
the database. If you choose a specific account, that account must have Log
on as a service user rights and read/write access to the shared log folder
you created and to the database. If you need to edit these configuration settings
later, just select Settings from the Tools menu within ACM.
Create a data collection package from ACM's Collect pane by selecting New from
the File menu. Give the package a name, choose the compatibility option, and
specify when the monitoring should begin and in which database ACM should store
the collected information. To select the type of information to be collected,
click Advanced and choose the compatibility evaluators (i.e., agents) you want
to deploy. There are compatibility evaluators for collecting information on
inventory, Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), User Account Control compatibility,
updates (evaluates Windows updates), and Vista (determines if that computer
is upgradeable or not).
After you've selected your compatibility evaluators, choose Save and Create
Package from the File menu. A self-extracting .exe is created that you can deploy
via Group Policy, email, CD-ROM, or a network share. When the collection package
is deployed, the compatibility evaluators are installed locally on each computer.
The compatibility evaluators run based on the schedule you've set in your collection
package.
The last step is to analyze the data that has been collected. Reports identify
Vista, XP, IE 7, and Windows Update upgradeability. You can then use the ACT
community to view assessments from other companies or create your own assessments.
Developer and Tester Tools
The tools designed for developers to test their applications are the Internet
Explorer Compatibility Test (IECT) tool, the Setup Analysis Tool, and the Standard
User Analyzer (SUA) tool. These tools are found at Start, All Programs, Microsoft
Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0, Developer and Tester Tools.
The IECT identifies potential problems with existing Web sites or Web-based
applications before you upgrade them to IE 7. Start IECT and choose Logging
Enabled from the Tools menu. Now, open IE and browse to a Web site or launch
a Web-based application. In IECT under Issue Description (at the bottom of the
screen) is a list of possible problems you can address before upgrading.
The SUA tool monitors the installation of an application and reports problems
that need to be addressed before the application will run properly on Vista.
Once you have a list of problems, you can apply fixes. These fixes are called
"mitigations." Mitigations allow you to resolve some of the issues. SUA requires
Microsoft's Application Verifier 3.3 (which is a separate download from Microsoft).
Once you've downloaded and installed Application Verifier, open SUA, browse
to an application's .exe file, then click the Launch button.
As you can see in Figure 5, there
are nine tabs that display information showing you exactly what changed, files
that were added or edited, registry keys that were added, and so forth. The
App Info tab records the steps of the installer program. Changes that the application
made to files, the registry, or .ini files are recorded in the File, Registry,
and INI tab, respectively. Using the Privilege tab to find privilege levels
can be a huge help.
This completes our quick trip through Microsoft's planning tools. They will
make your life much easier by helping you identify and resolve Vista upgrade
problems.
On Sunday, the Times of London reported that Microsoft had renewed talks with failing Internet giant Yahoo! and would manage its search engine for 10 years, while Yahoo! would retain control of its email, messaging, and content services. This report ...
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