upgrading Win2K TS to Office 2003 from OfficeXP

[Scott Townsend]

Any tips on upgrading Office XP on a Win2K TS to Office 2003?

Thanks,
Scott<-

 

[Guest]

1. Setup a test environment.
2. Setup a network installation point via setup.exe /a (copies all
installation files and the CD key to a network share)
3. Use the Custom Installation Wizard (for the Office 2003 Resource Kit,
available free via download from office.microsoft.com) to create an MST which
modifies the installation routine, so you can automate every step for the
end-user.
4. Once you have everything working the way you want on your test box, make
a good backup (preferably image based) and schedule an update of your
production environment.

http://www.workthin.com/tsai.htm

Patrick Rouse
Microsoft MVP - Terminal Server
http://www.workthin.com

 

[Scott Townsend]

Hey Patrick, Thank you for your reply!

Test Environment?? (-; That's not really an option here, sad to say....

On the MST creation. Somehow for the Office XP install It created an install
where the checkbox in the Mail Setup for Send immediately when connected was
not checked. Its been a Pain for us ever since. How can I make sure that is
checked in the CIW. I could not find it with Office XP. is it there in 2003?

Are there any issues with installing the Same MST on a Non-Terminal Server?
I could use another Non-Terminal Server as a test box.

Thanks for the tips, I appreciate it!

Scott<-

 

[Guest]

Sure you could use a not terminal server, however I'd recommend setting up a
workstation just like your production terminal server, i.e. same OS,
programs... otherwise your're not going to get a real idea of any problems
you might encounter.

I realize not everyone (including myself) has a lab environment (identical
machines on a separate subnet). I have one spare server that I use as a
guineapig, but it is the exact same hardware as the rest of the servers in my
farm.

You can use Group Policy to enforce just about any GUI accessible setting on
any office program. What you need to do is download the templates from the
ORK (office resource kit) which you can get on office.microsoft.com, then add
these templates to the GPO.

 

[Scott Townsend]

Is there a Starter MST for Terminal Services? There was for Office 2000 if
I recall...

Scott<-

 

[Guest]

No, both Office XP and Office 2003 automatically detect a TS installation, so
it's not needed.

 

[Scott Townsend]

Thanks.

I've tested the MST on a new install and a Upgrade install. Seems that both
went well... Will be upgrading the TS some time this weekend probably...
Fingers Crossed!

Thanks again for your help!

Scott<-

 

[Guest]

Make a backup of the TS and the profiles (if roaming) before proceeding.

 

[Scott Townsend]

Most all looks good except having Word as my Email Editor for new messages..

Works fine for me as an Admin on the system. Though if I log in as one of
the users they get an error:
Microsoft Word is set to be your e-mail editor, however, Word is
unavailable, not installed,
or is not the same version as Outlook. The Outlook e-mail editor
will be used instead.

I click okay and it unckecks the user Word as your email editor in the
Tools/options/Mail format.

Why would it not find Word for the generic user?

Even if I launch Word first, it gives the Error.

Thanks,
Scott<-

 

[Guest]

I use Group Policy to force the default email editor to Outlook Rich Text.
Wordmail uses too much memory.

 

[Scott Townsend]

Hmmm... Good point. Though the first thing the users complained about after
the upgrade is that they didn't have word as the Editor and didn't see the
spell as you type underline... Most of my user are running Word for the
other things they do, so I figure its not too bad...

Thanks,
Scott<=

 

[Guest]

Background spellcheck and grammar check on TS are well known to hog the CPU
(why this has never been fixed???), so if you have performance problems, this
is one thing to disable. If it's used a lot it can decrease the maximum
numver of sessions by 1/4-1/3.