Art Rudeseal, CO1 D18 TC NTC Imaging Team

Art Rudeseal, CO1 D18 TC NTC Imaging Team
IMAGING for TCS Art Rudeseal, CO1 D18 TC NTC Imaging Team 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

AARP Tax-Aide System Images
Keeping systems up to date problematic Volunteer’s time is the issue Windows and anti-malware updates AARP recommended software updates Hardware Driver updates Correcting corrupted systems Many “dead” systems only need re-imaging. Any systems with any unusual behavior should be re-imaged immediately. 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Solution is System Imaging
A customized Windows Operating System installation Customizations for the hardware and software specific to the AARP Tax-Aide program Can be sent out as a DVD or downloaded and either burned to a DVD or copied to a USB flash drive Demo Video at Imaging Demo Video ( 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas
Available Images Windows 7 Pro SP1 32-bit image Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit UEFI-only image No longer being updated Available by special request only Windows 10 Pro 64-bit image All images include: Windows update downloads to date of image AARP Tax-Aide required software and settings Tax-Aide Inventory Agent Links to printer driver software 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Image Installation System to be imaged must be connected to the Internet via a wired connection DVD or USB Flash Drive installation Dual-Layer DVD required Generally, flash drive installation is recommended Must be at least 8 GB Recommend USB 3 for faster image apply Always store Product Key in database Resolve personnel turnover issue 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Image Contents Windows Setup includes many drivers – usually enough to allow Internet access Windows Update will download other drivers as needed and do any updates Can auto-install Windows product key Applications used by Volunteers pre installed: TIA, Adobe Reader, CutePDF Writer, 7-Zip Settings are set for secure and private volunteer usage. 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Computer Name If the Tax-Aide Inventory Agent Asset Tag information is configured and properly formatted: Computer Name is set to T + Asset Tag Otherwise: Computer Name is set to a constant string + a unique random string generated by Windows Setup – e.g. DESKTOP-xxxxxxxx You can change it to whatever you like. 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Windows Users Administrator – disabled (new) Installer Administrative user Member of Administrators group Volunteer Standard user (new) Member of Users group only 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Windows Passwords Must be changed annually, per AARP Tax- Aide policy The IRS Volunteer password for the current year is used for the Installer and Volunteer users Distributed by IRS SPEC and Tax-Aide Tech Administrator password: Is not disclosed Can be changed locally from any user that is a member of the Administrators group 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Windows 7 Image Can be used to upgrade eligible systems to Windows 7 professional. For example Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows Vista, etc. Microsoft Office viewers restored to Windows 7 image IE 11 is the default browser. Adobe Flash Player ActiveX control is installed to allow IE 11 to play the TaxSlayer Brainshark videos. Chrome browser is installed. Dual-layer DVD or 8 GB USB flash drive required 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Windows 8 Image Windows 7 remains the OS of choice for Tax-Aide. AARP systems ship with Windows 7 Windows 8 image Windows 8.1 with 8.1 update UEFI 64-bit only no longer being updated Recommend: Downgrade to Windows 7 or Upgrade to Windows 10 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Windows 10 Image Can be used to upgrade eligible systems to Windows 10 professional Dual-layer DVD or 8 GB USB flash drive required Microsoft Office viewers are included Default browser is Edge. IE 11 and Chrome are also installed, and either can be made the default. Edge is set as the default PDF handler. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed and can be set as the default PDF handler. 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Tax-Aide Windows 10 Image Requirements
64-bit architecture system At least 2 GB RAM Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) supported only for these specific models: Lenovo B590, E540, E550 not required or supported for any other models Not intended for use with our older systems Recommend use Windows 7 for these systems: Dell Vostro 1520, HP 6910p, HP 6735s HP 6715b shipped with only 1 GB RAM HP nx6310 is a 32-bit architecture system 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Windows 8/10 Licensing “Core” Edition is approximate equivalent of Windows 7 Home Premium Machine label = Windows 8 or 10 “Professional” = Windows 7 pro Machine label = Windows 8 or 10 pro Tax-Aide images are Professional only OEM Windows 8/10 Pro systems have the Pro license key built into the BIOS. This key can be used by the image to activate Windows 10. To upgrade Win 8 Core to Win 10 Pro apply to OneSupport for access to the future Windows 10 Pro national license key. If you have previously ordered Win 7 Techsoup licenses you may automatically have Win 10 licenses in the Microsoft VLK account. 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Win 8 Local Donated Systems
Upgrade to Windows 10 Either upgrade in place or reimage with the Tax-Aide Windows 10 Pro image Use the system’s built in Windows 8 Pro key or apply to OneSupport to use the future Windows 10 Pro National License Key. To apply, open a OneSupport request with Form = Technology: Software and Subtopic = How to Obtain Image 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Win 10 Local Donated Systems
The “Modern” interface causes issues for many volunteers. Win 10 is configurable to traditional “desktop” look Use our Windows 10 image with the system’s built in Windows 10 Pro key or apply to OneSupport to use the future Windows 10 Pro National License Key. To apply, open a OneSupport request with Form = Technology: Software and Subtopic = How to Obtain Image 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Windows 10 Support The NTC and Tax-Aide staff will continue to be focused on Windows 7 support but will be prepared to deal with questions on Windows 10. TaxSlayer and the IRS assert that support will be available for the use of Windows 10 for tax return preparation. A free upgrade to Windows 10 is now available on many Windows systems, through July 29, 2016. You may accept the free upgrade offer on any eligible AARP-owned systems This is optional – it is not a requirement Upgrade in place preserves 32-bit or 64-bit OS property Alternatively, you may install the Tax-Aide Windows 10 image without first going through the Windows 10 upgrade in place. This installs a 64-bit OS. 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Which OS? The primary or default OS for Tax-Aide usage is Windows 7 Windows 8 is no longer supported by Tax-Aide Windows 10 is being supported to allow upgrade of locally donated Windows 8 or 10 computers to a standardized Windows 10 system image. If in doubt use Windows 7 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

NTC: Windows 10 Update FROM NTC UPDATE by Chris Hughes It is time to start thinking about moving from Win 7 to Windows 10 This season’s preparation will be consumed with the TWO to TSO conversion Nevertheless, it is time to start thinking….. Currently 1706 (11%) out of 15,409 systems are Windows 10 (Systems with TIA installed, Inventory Status=OK Windows 10 will work on any systems however we recommend only Dell Vostro 3500 and more recent. The most recent Tax-Aide Windows 10 image can be used to upgrade any of those Tax-Aide Systems to Windows 10 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Product Key Management
Windows 7 National License Key or future Windows 10 National License Key OEM:COA if Windows 7 Pro was previously installed Key in BIOS if Windows 8 Pro previously installed Techsoup Microsoft Windows 7 or 10 Volume License Key (VLK) – always Pro edition Windows 10 Home/Core Keys are not valid for use with our images Key is stored in a national database that is contacted by imaging software Keys stored in database by Entry during imaging, if network available Entry by OneSupport as an inventory update 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Drivers After Image installation and Windows Update processing, systems are ready to do taxes. No more drivers need to be added. In some cases drivers for some system hardware will not be present. Adding these drivers does no harm but is additional unnecessary work. 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Printer Drivers Links to commonly used Printer Drivers are included in the Windows 7 image. Links to the 64 bit drivers for the Windows 10 image are an in-process investigation. 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Where do I find the images?
Images, Release Notes, and Installing instructions are available at AARP Tax-Aide NTC Resource Website 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Availability A Windows 10 pre-release version is available now, but will expire on July 29. Supports free upgrades to Windows 10 from earlier Windows licenses Windows 7 & 10 Images for TY2016 are planned to be released mid-August This Windows 10 image release will support new licensing rules from Microsoft. Windows 7 and 10 images will be updated in November so that they are up to date when most systems are pulled from storage. 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Issues - DVD Image DVD Fails to boot correctly (should be <1min to first user interaction) or Fails with an error during image installation Most often due to data corruption Check ISO download validity, see website Use CDCheck to validate DVD DVD readers on older computers also have issues with modern DVDs See Installing instructions for model-specific details 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

Issues – Flash Drive Flash drives must be formatted with the NTFS file system for both Windows 7 and Windows 10 – a change from Windows 8. Some brands and models of USB flash drives do not work for this application. Some flash drives work in USB 2 mode but not in USB 3 mode Some computers have some USB 2 ports and some USB 3 ports. Try a USB 2 port if a USB 3 port is not working. Some computers have a BIOS setting that controls whether a USB port operates in USB 2 or USB 3 mode. Try USB 2 mode if USB 3 mode is not working. 2016 TCS SMT Training - Dallas

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Art Rudeseal, CO1 D18 TC NTC Imaging Team

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