Install the Configuration Manager 2007 Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector (ACT Connector).

You must install the Configuration Manager 2007 ACT Connector if you plan to evaluate computers in your site for Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP compatibility.

For more information about how to install the Configuration Manager 2007 ACT Connector, see How to Install the Configuration Manager 2007 Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector.

Configure the ACT Server.

You must configure the Configuration Manager 2007 ACT Connector so that Configuration Manager 2007 can view the application compatibility assessments generated by ACT.

For more information about configuring the ACT Connector so that it can read information collected by ACT, see How to Configure the Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector.

Establish how many computers you plan to evaluate for Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP compatibility and create a collection.

You must decide how many computers you plan to evaluate for Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP compatibility.

If you plan to evaluate less than five thousand computers, you can create a Configuration Manager 2007 collection that contains the computers you plan to evaluate.

If you plan to evaluate more than five thousand computers, you can create a Configuration Manager 2007 collection that performs an application inventory. We recommend that the collection contains less than 5,000 computers so that ACT can process collected information in approximately seven days. For more information about Configuration Manager 2007 collections, see Collections Overview. To perform the application inventory, you must also create an ACT data collection package with only the Inventory Evaluator enabled. Use Configuration Manager 2007 software distribution to distribute the ACT package to the computers you plan to evaluate.

After the inventory information has been collected, create a Configuration Manager 2007 collection that contains 5,000 or fewer computers that have a representative sample of applications installed that you want to evaluate.

Create an ACT data collection package with the Windows 7/Vista/XP Compatibility Evaluator enabled.

You must create an ACT data collection package with the Windows 7/Vista/XP Compatibility Evaluator enabled so that ACT can assess Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP application compatibility. You can use Configuration Manager 2007 software distribution to distribute the ACT data collection package. Using the default ACT data collection package settings of a three-day duration and uploading data every eight hours on a collection with 5,000 computers, you might find that it takes approximately seven days for ACT to process the collected data.

For more information about creating the ACT data collection package, see How to Create the Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector Data Collection Package.

Review the Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector Reports.

To review the Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP application compatibility information in Configuration Manager 2007, view the ACT Connector reports lLocated in the category Windows Upgrade Assessment. You should allow several days for the application compatibility information to be evaluated. This period of time depends on the number of computers receiving the ACT data collection package with the Windows 7/Vista/XP Compatibility Evaluator enabled and the duration and data upload schedule of the data collection package. For more information about the ACT Connector reports, see How to Manage Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector Reports.

Create a new Windows deployment collection.

Use the New Windows Deployment Collection Wizard to create a collection that contains the computers you plan to upgrade to Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP.

For more information about creating a new Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP collection, see How to Create a Custom Collection for Windows Deployment.