For people who are more reserved when it comes to passing from Windows XP to Windows 7, here is a little something that might help: Microsoft P2V Migration for Software Assurance insures the automatic delivery of an updated and personalized Windows 7 OS, while backing up and converting the Windows XP or newer desktop and its applications for a smooth use within Windows 7.

What the Microsoft P2V Migration for Software Assurance does, is using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) and Sysinternals Disk2vhd to convert a user’s existing Windows XP client environment into a virtual hard disk (VHD).

After that, it makes the automatic delivery of an updated, personalized Windows 7 operating system which includes a virtual machine (VM) with the previous Windows environment, apps and Web browser.

This way you will not lose anything, and you will be able to use Windows7 and still have all your previous management components, domain membership and all previous policies.

This software also publishes applications and the browser so that the user can find them easily within the Windows 7 Start menu, according to Bink.

This is quite helpful because even people who are very good with computers, and usually manage to solve any application compatibility problems, might come across a few users blocking roll-outs to entire sites or larger numbers of users.

There might be several reasons for this, which include missing installation files/media to install applications or drivers for testing/redelivery, or compatibility problems of specialized region or user-specific applications, browser customizations or USB device drivers.

There are also those users that cannot risk losing any functionality of their current desktop environment and need a working backup before passing on to Windows 7.

The advantages of this process are that it basically reduces Windows 7 deployment time, it extends the time frame so that all application-compatibility problems could be palliated, and the user can access any possibly incompatible app from the old system.

Now, P2V Migration is very useful in specific cases, but it is not recommended for large percentages of users within an organization.

Obviously, it would be best if you make sure you have compatibility with apps, websites and hardware for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8.

P2V Migration is recommended for users that need specific components from their PCs, that cannot run in Windows 7 and are not a part of a standardized and managed VM environment for broad use.

For P2V Migration use, you need to have installed the converted Windows XP desktop and Windows 7 environment by using Microsoft Volume Licensing media and you also need to be covered by Microsoft Software Assurance.