Right after Windows 7 was officially released; many users and businesses have found ways to upgrade their systems to this latest operating system of Microsoft. However, it is certain that upgrading to Windows 7 is not easy but you have to prepare both good software and hardware to do the job well. Today, I would like to suggest you an appropriate tool named Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 (MAP).
Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 could be seen as a Solution Accelerator which helps users analyze their systems in their business without installing any agent software on the endpoints. MAP leverages existing Microsoft technologies such as Active Directory Domain Services, the Remote Registry Service, and the Computer Browser Service to gather information and produce informative reports to help guide your IT planning.
Talking about broader scale, Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 is such useful tool for business leaders to plan IT scenarios. MAP can help inventory servers and clients on the network, identify physical servers that are not being utilized effectively, and make recommendations for consolidating servers and virtualizing roles using Hyper-V. The most important thing of Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 is to determine whether the hardware is compatible and ready for upgrading to Windows 7.
Using MAP, users can know the recommended system requirements as this tool compares the MAP scan results against Windows 7 minimum. Systems that do not meet the needs of Windows 7 for things like memory, free disk space, or processor speed are identified, and MAP makes specific recommendations for actions to take to make the system ready for Windows 7.
However, MAP is not all you need to upgrade to Windows 7 as it just provides you half in comparison with Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. Another choice for you is Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT).
ACT has the similar function as MAP as it also scans the systems on your network and identifies any software that is incompatible with Windows 7. More interesting, if there are still some applications which cannot work in Windows 7, Microsoft provides XP Mode to bridge the gap and let you continue to run them in a virtual Windows XP system within Windows 7.
