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Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer
Checking Readiness for Deployment with
Systems Management Server 2.0
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Important! There are no support services provided that in any manner relate to the MIF generation tool, its use, queries, reports or your use of the information contained herein. You assume all risk relating to the use of this tool, as it has been provided to you as a free service.
Introduction to the Windows 2000 Readiness tool and Systems Management Server 2.0:
The Microsoft Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool will assist you in determining the state of readiness of computers connected to the network for upgrading to Windows 2000. The Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer runs on the following operating systems: Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, and Windows 98. This tool compares the devices and applications on your system against a list of known issues, producing a text file output. The list of potential issues reported by the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool is based on testing by Microsoft and third-parties, however it is not all inclusive as it relies only on the equipment available to Microsoft at the time of development and that provided by outside vendors.
This tool works by checking for Windows 2000 incompatibilities on individual systems, but its output can be collected and processed by Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0. You can review more about compatibility issues by clicking this link: Show me more about Windows 2000 Compatibility Issues. These results can then be reported by using Crystal Info for Systems Management Server to create reports that give the overall state of Windows 2000 readiness throughout an organization. You can obtain this freely downloadable tool from Microsoft by following this link: Download the Windows 2000 Readiness Tool.
This tool includes the following:
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A wrapper for the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer which allows it to run with no user intervention.
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A program (W2KMIFG.exe) that generates a NOIDMIF file from the output of the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer. This MIF file will be collected by SMS hardware inventory process for later analysis.
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A Package Definition File (PDF) to run the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer and W2KMIFG.exe in conjunction using Systems Management Server.
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Systems Management Server Queries which present summary information on Windows 2000 upgrade readiness
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A Crystal Info report that provides information on Windows 2000 upgrade readiness
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In order for you to run this tool, your system must meet these requirements:
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The Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool (the MIF generation tool) only works on English language based systems, therefore, the package should only be run on English installations of Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95 or Windows 98.
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The Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool must be run with Administrator credentials on systems running Windows NT, as the SMS Package is configured to do this.
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There must be at least 50MB of free disk space on the system drive of the target computer for the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool to run.
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The target computer must have a C:\ drive which can be written to by a local Administrator
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The Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer will only install on site servers running SMS 2.0 Service Pack 1 or later.
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The following describes how to use the above components to easily assess the readiness state of your organizations systems using Systems Management Server 2.0.
Running the Systems Management Server Package
The MIF generation program, W2KMIFG, relies on the output from the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer to run. Therefore, the two programs will be run one after another, with the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool being run first, immediately followed by W2KMIFG.
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Follow these steps to use Systems Management Server in conjunction with the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer:
- Download the Tool.
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Download and copy the self-extracting executable file to the C:\ drive of your Systems Management Server primary site server. The self-extracting executable file can be found at:
Running the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool with SMS 2.0.
You will need Systems Management Server Administrator privileges in order to deploy the tool.
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Run the self-extracting executable file in the C:\ directory of your Systems Management Server Site Server. It will create a directory called “W2K Readiness Analyzer Tools” It will also copy the tool components needed to this location.
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The Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer was released on February 23, 2000. Follow these steps to download the latest version:
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Go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/upgrade/compat/ready.asp.
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Check the posted date of the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer download. If it posted after February 23, 2000, you will need to download an updated version.
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If needed, download the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer program, Chkupgrd.exe, to your C:\W2K Readiness Analyzer Tools\Package Source\ subdirectory, overwriting the current version there.
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Create a new Systems Management Server package
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In the Systems Management Server Administrator console, navigate to Systems Management Server
Site Database (site code – site name)
Packages
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Click Action, New, and then Package From Definition
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Click Next in the first page of the wizard
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In the Package Definition page, click Browse to navigate to the location of the package definition file, Windows 2000 Readiness.PDF. This should be on C:\W2K Readiness Analyzer Tools\PDF subdirectory. Then, in the package definition list, select Windows 2000 Compliance Check and click Next.
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In the Source Files page, click Always obtain files from a source directory, and then click Next.
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In the Source Directory page, click Browse to locate the directory containing the files for the package. These files are located at the C:\W2K Readiness Analyzer Tools\Package Source\ subdirectory.
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In the last page, click Finish
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Create a Distribution Point
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In the SMS Administrators console, navigate to Systems Management Server
Site Database (sitecode – sitename)
Packages Microsoft Windows 2000 compliance check 1.0 English
Distribution Points.
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Click Action, New, and then Distribution Points
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Use the this wizard to specify the distribution points for the package.
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Create Collections
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The package contains two programs, one for computers running Windows NT systems, and one for computers running Windows 95 or Windows 98. In order to target the programs correctly, collections must be created containing target computer running Windows NT systems and target computers running Windows 95 or Windows 98 systems. It is possible to use the Systems Management Server built-in collection for All Windows NT Computers, for example.
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Bear in mind that this tool will only process output from computers running the English versions of these operating systems so the membership rules for the collections you create can also use system and inventory information to ensure that, for example, only English Windows NT is targeted.
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Create an Advertisement
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In the SMS Administrators console, navigate to Systems Management Server
Site Database (sitecode – sitename)
Advertisements.
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Click Action, New, and then Advertisement
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After giving the new advertisement a name, choose the package Microsoft Windows 2000 compliance check 1.0 English
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If the advertisement is targeted at computers running Windows NT, choose the program, run ChkUpgrd and W2KMIFG on Windows NT, and choose the collection created earlier for target computers running Windows NT.
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If the Advertisement is targeted at computers running Windows 95 or Windows 98, choose the program, run ChkUpgrd and W2KMIFG on Windows 9x, and choose the collection created earlier for target computers running Windows 95 or Windows 95.
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At the Schedule tab, schedule the program to run at the required time.
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Forcing Hardware inventory
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By default, the program run from the package which has been created will force hardware inventory to run on the clients immediately after the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool and the MIF generation tool are run. This assumes that the Systems Management Server Hardware Inventory Client Agent is, in fact, installed. This ensures that the Windows 2000 Readiness information is returned to the site server as soon as possible after the program has been run. It should be noted, however, that this will cause delta hardware inventory data from all those clients members of the collection to be sent to the site server outside of the normal scheduled inventory period. This will generate extra network traffic, which may be unacceptable to do at the time the program is run.
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If you do not want to run hardware inventory immediately after the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool and the MIF generation tool are run, you will need to modify the script which runs in the Systems Management Server program:
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Edit the file Win2000 Check Upgrade NT.txt in the C:\W2K Readiness Analyzer Tools\Package Source directory.
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Change the line, run=w2kmifg -r -i c:\compat.txt to run=w2kmifg -i c:\compat.txt (i.e. remove the “-r” switch).
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Save the file with the same name and under the same subdirectory.
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Repeat this edit for the Win2000 Check Upgrade 9x.txt file.
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Update the Distribution Points with the changed files by right clicking the Distribution Points node under the Windows 2000 compliance check package, and choose All Tasks, and then Update Distribution Points.
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It is possible to force a hardware inventory cycle at any time on a client using the CliUtils.exe utility from the BackOffice Resource Kit. A copy of this is also supplied as part of the Package. To run hardware inventory, run the following command line on the client: ‘CliUtils /start “Hardware inventory agent”‘.
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Collecting more detailed information from clients
The information on Windows 2000 Readiness collected by the Systems Management Server hardware inventory gives only summary information, for example the name of an incompatible piece of hardware. More information is available, as the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer generates detailed information about each incompatibility.
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On clients running Windows NT operating systems, the MIF generation tool can be made to generate a more detailed MIF which contains all the text generated by the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool. If the tool is run using the “-f” switch, i.e. “w2kmifg -f -i c:\compat.txt”, and the resultant MIF collected via hardware inventory, the hardware inventory information will show the detailed information for each item. Note: The queries and Crystal Info reports supplied will not work if the full inventory information is collected in this way.
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Alternatively, if more information is required about a particular machine, or about a specific incompatibility, the output file from the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer can be collected. When run as part of the supplied Systems Management Server Package, the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool writes a file, C:\compat.txt, that contains full information about the Windows 2000 readiness. This compat.txt file can be collected from individual clients and examined. The file transfer tool from the Systems Management Server Remote Tools can be used to copy individual files. A copy direct from \\ \c$\compat.txt can be made if there is access to that admin share.
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Getting deployment status reports
To determine which computers have received and run the advertisement, use the System Status as follows:
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In the SMS Administrators console, navigate to Systems Management Server
Site Database (sitecode – sitename)
System Status Advertisement Status
Advertisement Name.
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The details pane shows the number of computers that have received and run the advertisement.
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To view the computers which have run the advertisement successfully, right-click the site in the details pane, and then click Show Messages and Program Success. View the other status messages (i.e. Program Errors) in the same way.
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There are four Systems Management Server WQL queries supplied with the tools you downloaded. These are:
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Windows 2000 All Non-Compliant Products by System in this Site and its Sub Sites
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Windows 2000 All Systems Installed with a Specified Non-Compliant Product
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Windows 2000 All Non-Compliant Products on a Specified System
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Windows 2000 All Windows Clients Ready for Upgrade
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Running Crystal Info for Systems Management Server.
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Before running the Crystal Info report, it must be uploaded into the Systems Management Server administrator console. To do this, carry out the instructions shown later in the Uploading the Crystal Info report section.
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To run the report, it must be scheduled. In the Systems Management Server administrator console, navigate to Systems Management Server
Site Database (sitecode – sitename)
Tools Reports Product Compliance
Windows 2000 Non-compliant Products by Manufacturer
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Click Action, All Tasks, and then Schedule Report.
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In the Schedule tab, schedule a time when the report should be run.
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Uploading the Crystal Info report
A Crystal Info report is provided with the tool you downloaded. The report provided is called Windows 2000 Non-compliant Systems by Site.
Before importing the report into Systems Management Server, it is necessary to set the connection information which is used when Crystal Info runs the report and has to access the Systems Management Server database. To do this:
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Copy the report file win2k_01.rpt from C:\W2K Readiness Analyzer Tools\Crystal Reports to the directory SMS\Cinfo\Samples\ProdComp.
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Start SMS\Cinfo\Winnt\SetLocation.exe.
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In the SetLocation dialog box, supply:
- Site code
- Name of the site server computer
- Account used to connect to the Systems Management Server site database
- Name of the report: :\SMS\CInfo\Samples\SMS\ProdComp\win2k_01.rpt
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Click Update Report.
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A SetLocation message box is displayed indicating that the update was successful.
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Click Exit.
To import the report into Systems Management Server, carry out the following procedure:
- In the SMS Administrator console, navigate to the Product Compliance Crystal reports: Systems Management Server
Site Database (site code – site name)
Tools Reports
Product Compliance
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Click Action, New, and then Report Object.
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In the New Report Object dialog, click Browse to navigate to \\ \CInfo\Samples\SMS\ProdComp\win2k_01.rpt. It is important to use a UNC path, and not a drive letter, so that the reports can be accessed from any Administrator console.
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The Title and Description will be completed automatically.
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Click OK.
The Crystal Info report is now ready to be scheduled and run.
Known Issues
- If the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer does not have sufficient disk space to run, it will be stopped, and no MIF will be generated.
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The programs within the SMS package will cause Chkupgrd.exe to save a file to the root of the C: drive. This drive must exist and the user must have permission to write to the root of the drive.
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Chkupgrd.exe does not run correctly on RC3 version of Windows 2000 Server, and should not be targeted at computers running this operating system.
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Although the package allows the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer to run with no user intervention, while it is running, dialog boxes and windows are still displayed on the computer’s screen.
Using W2KMIFG
This following explains the usage of the MIF generation tool which translates the output of the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool into a MIF format suitable for import into Systems Management Server.
Usage
Usage: W2KMIFG [-i ] [-h] [-f] [-v] [-r] [-n|9] If no input file specified, defaults to COMPAT.TXT in the working directory. -f creates a detailed MIF with product descriptions (Windows NT only) -v gives verbose output. -9 forces the input file to be parsed as if it were generated on a Windows 9x computer -n forces the input file to be parsed as if it were generated on a Windows NT computer -r forces SMS hardware inventory to run after the MIF has been generated
-h shows this usage.
If no command-line arguments are provided, the tool attempts to read a file called Compat.txt located in the current working directory. Compat.txt is the default name of the file created by the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer tool when it runs on computers running Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT.
Normally, the MIF that is generated is in a concise format. That is, it generates a single MIF entry for each incompatible product reported in the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer output. On systems running Windows, if the -f flag is specified on the command line, a full MIF is generated. This repeats the full text of the Compat.txt file generated by the Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer in the MIF.
The -v command-line flag generates verbose output, only for systems running Windows NT systems, when the program runs. This is useful for debugging purposes. Typically, except when errors are reported, there is no console output from the tool.
The -r command line flag forces the SMS Hardware Inventory Agent to run after the MIF is generated. This requires the Microsoft BackOffice 4.5 Resource Kit utility Cliutils.Exe to be present in the working directory or the current path.
The format of the input file read by W2KMIFG.exe differs between Windows NT and Windows 95 or Windows 98 computers. Normally, the program will detect which type of operating system it is running on, and expect the format of input file appropriate for that sort of computer. It can, however, be forced to read a file in Windows NT or Windows 9x format by using the -n or -9 flags respectively. This is useful for testing and debugging purposes.
Error Conditions
If the program runs to completion and successfully generates a Compat.mif file with no errors, then the program will exit with a zero (0) exit code.
If the command line cannot be parsed correctly, for example, there is an invalid command line switch, or if the -h switch is used to generate the usage text, then the program will exit with exit code 1.
If there are errors in opening or reading the input file, or writing the output MIF, then the program will exit with exit code 2. In addition, the reason for the error will be written to the console.
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