All base computers to receive Windows 7 upgrade Published May 26, 2011 By Brian Schroeder Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- A Department of the Air Force-directed Operating System change from Vista to Windows 7 requires all government laptop and desktop systems to be upgraded. Tinker Site Manager for Chickasaw Nation Industries IT support, Robert Cuthbertson, said approximately 5,000 out of 19,000 computer systems have already received the mandatory upgrade since Fall 2010. The upgrade can be deployed to your computers by the 72nd Air Base Wing Help Desk. It will be done remotely, at night, after your Client Support Technician schedules an appointment with the HD. The morning after the upgrade, each user will receive a follow-up call to ensure the system is operational and all necessary software is installed. "We will send you an email asking if it is OK to upgrade your computer to Windows 7," Mr. Cuthbertson said. "If you tell us it's OK, then it's going to happen that night." Mr. Cuthbertson said the user's data would be backed up locally to their personal computer through a migration tool provided by Microsoft called USMT, which uses a procedure called Hardlink in lieu of transferring data across the network to a server. "The great thing about Hardlink is that it only requires 128 megabytes of storage space," he added. The hard drive will then be wiped and loaded, going from Vista to Windows 7. "The user's data never leaves the hard drive. It's much faster and more efficient as far as deploying an operating system." Sandy Meyer, Computer Support Section supervisor, said CSTs should always take a snapshot of the current software on the PCs for which they are responsible. Based on the snapshot, everything loaded on a client's computer beforehand should be reinstalled. "If you have a specific program loaded on your computer, CSAs will know about it ahead of time," Ms. Meyer said. "We know who the Software License Manager is and who the Equipment Custodian is in case there are problems. Illegal, non-licensed, and unapproved software will be recognized during the transition to Windows 7. "The upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista was a great learning opportunity," Ms. Meyer continued. "We are taking those lessons learned and applying them to the Windows 7 upgrade process. We will continue to improve the process throughout its lifecycle." Customer education is a huge key to the process of successfully upgrading each computer on base, Mr. Cuthbertson added. Educational awareness and tools are available for the Windows 7 upgrade on the Tier Zero website. "We want the customer to be informed and know they have choices, where to go and know who to ask questions, "Mr. Cuthbertson said. "We invite users to call us and ask questions and we will tell you all about it. Then we will schedule you to go to Windows 7." One such tool offered to customers is a tool to back up their critical data. However, data is backed up during the deployment automation "There is a lot of information for users to take advantage of, Ms. Meyer said, such as documents and videos designed to guide customers through the process." Those can be found on the Tier Zero website https://remedy-web.tinker.afmc.ds.af.mil/tierzero/default.aspx For more information regarding the Windows 7 upgrade, call the Help Desk at 734-HELP (4357) or log on to TierZero through the Tinker home page.