Disk Change Please.

Create a System Image Backup, then boot from a system repair disc and restore the image easy? Only if the new disk and the old disk are the same size.

If the new disk is smaller it is necessary to shrink the existing large disk down to a size which can fit on the new smaller disk.  The problem with shrinking is that some files are immovable which limits the amount the drive can be shrunk by.

If you run a shrink operation, it will advise how much space can be shrunk by.  In the event log a 259 event will detail the type of immovable file which is acting as a block on shrinking further.  The types of things which create immovable items are, Windows Search (turn off), Hibernation, and the most likely; System Protection, delete the restore points and related items.

Once these have been addressed, there is the option of, emptying the recycle bins and defragmenting the drive but this is unlikely to improve the shrink potential very much.

Shrinking can take a while so just leave it to get on with it.

Once the shrink has been completed, create a system image on an external drive.  I bet you're thinking you're good now right? Forget it.

You STILL won't be able restore that system image.  Can't do it to a smaller disk see? Even when a load of it is unallocated and blank.  But what you do have is a backup of the partitions in that system image :)

This forum thread saved my bacon
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/f15bfe2f-e265-479a-afa3-f055530c97f5/windows-server-backup-0x80042407-seriously?forum=winserverfiles

You can easily create a System Repair Disk within Windows 10.  You can then boot from that to a command line where the command line tools are available.  Diskpart for disk partitioning and Wbadmin for backup/restore.

In Summary

Obtain the version information of your required backup.
wbadmin get versions –backuptarget:<X:>

Obtain the sizes of your backed up partitions for your required version
wbadmin get items –version:<versioned> -backuptarget:<X:>

Use DiskPart commands or other tools to create the same sized partitions on the disk you are going to restore to.  Also use the tool to list the partitions so that you can correctly specify the recovery target.

Make use of the wbadmin help and example commands to see how to construct the commands.  They can be lengthy and accuracy is essential especially with the -items parameter.


Wbadmin start recovery –version:<versionid> -backuptarget:<x:> -itemType:Volume –items:\\?\Volume\<GUID>  -recoverytarget:D:

Once you have restored the data, you need to ensure the boot system is correctly configured.  You can try the Startup-Repair tool on the System Repair Disk although I did not have much luck with that.  DiskPart can set the active partition for you.  After that you may have to spend some time with bootrec.exe and/or bcdedit to fine tune it.  After a bit of playing I managed to get it to boot although it was not easy.  I have to admit I do not know exactly how it fixed it to boot correctly !

Adding the RunVirtual key via the DeploymentConfig.xml

The RunVirtual key can be entered via the DeploymentConfig.xml file.

    <!-- Machine Scripts Section -->
    <MachineScripts>
      <PublishPackage>
        <Path>REG.EXE</Path>
        <Arguments>ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AppV\Client\RunVirtual\WINPROJ.EXE /d 36867e23-413f-4f7c-a181-0cc075ad2d1e_ed75245c-bce8-48bc-89de-e63d55c320b6 /f</Arguments>
        <Wait RollbackOnError="false" />
      </PublishPackage>
      <UnpublishPackage>
        <Path>C:\Windows\System32\REG.EXE</Path>
        <Arguments>DELETE HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AppV\Client\RunVirtual\WINPROJ.EXE /f</Arguments>
        <Wait RollbackOnError="false" />
      </UnpublishPackage>
    </MachineScripts>


Note that for this to work the EnablePackageScripts must be set to 1.

Set-AppvClientConfiguration -EnablePacakgeScripts 1



When publishing this globally, the <name>_DeploymentConfig.xml file is specified during the Add-AppvClientPackage action

Add-AppVClientPackage <PathToAppVFile> -DynamicDeploymentConfiguration <PathTo_DeploymentConfiguration,xml>


Not tested but if packages were user published on a citrix platform the UserConfig.xml can carry similar commands and the _UserConfig.xml specified during the publishing command.  In this case the user RunVirtual Key would be used? I guess.


Further Deployment Config info
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-desktop-optimization-pack/appv-v5/about-app-v-50-dynamic-configuration

Key Words
DeploymentConfig
Deployment Configuration
Deployment Config

Connection Group Related Articles

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/configmgrdogs/2013/12/22/understanding-configmgr-2012-app-v-virtual-environments/

http://www.alkanesolutions.co.uk/category/appv/appv-5-0/
Scroll Down to
Using RunVirtual to Present Excel Addins
Configuring RunVirtual Registry from the AppxManifest.xml - this doesn't seem consistent with a proper Lead/Master pacakge / Connection Group approach.

http://virtualvibes.co.uk/planning-for-app-v-virtual-environments-with-sccm-2012/

Package and Connection Group clash
http://virtualvibes.co.uk/connection-group-conflicts-in-app-v-5-0/

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/gladiatormsft/2013/08/07/app-v-still-more-on-those-office-add-ins/
Again this does not point to the correct Lead Package/Connection Group approach.

Best known reference on Connection Groups
https://blog.gridmetric.com/2015/09/12/add-flexibility-when-using-app-v-5-runvirtual-key/

SCCM vs Server
http://virtualvibes.co.uk/app-v-management-server-or-configuration-manager-2012-a-feature-comparison/

This is really an advanced techniques paper from Tim including ideas for using junction points
http://www.tmurgent.com/AppV/images/WhitePapers/Connection_Group_Fun_in_AppV5.pdf

Microsoft Connection Group reference pages
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-desktop-optimization-pack/appv-v5/managing-connection-groups


Keywords
Connection groups group

Virtual Machine Notes

Always check your BIOS visualisation settings are enabled.

Hyper-V

Windows 10 / Windows 2012 built in.  Works well but it can be difficult getting to local disk drives on the host.

Windows Virtual PC

Windows 7 Virtual PC solution.
Existing VHDs are limited to 127.5Gb in size.

Virtual Box

http://www.virtualbox.org

Not compatible with Windows Hyper-V features activated.  You'll need to turn them off for access to 64-bit machines.*Issue now resolved since Windows 10 1803*

https://www.how2shout.com/how-to/use-virtualbox-and-hyper-v-together-on-windows-10.html

Existing VHD must be attached via IDE controllers.

Modify VHD sizes using:

vboxmanage.exe modifyhd <pathtoVHDfile> --resize <SizeinMB>

The vboxmanage manual
https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch08.html

Tested with 6.0.x to 6.0.4 - It is possible to run the install of a later version installation over a previous version and retain all the VM configuration information.

Windows 10/11 Version History

https://www.howtogeek.com/236195/how-to-find-out-which-build-and-version-of-windows-10-you-have/

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-info.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_version_history
Win10 Update History
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4498140/windows-10-update-history

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/migration-guide/versions-and-dependencies

.NET version history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework_version_history


Summary

Service Packs are replaced by Build Releases

See above links for latest information.

Run WinVer.exe to display version and build details.
 The version number uses the YYMM date convention for the number.

Major Windows 10 PC Build Releases are

For later than 1809 click here for an up to date list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_version_history

▶ Version 1809 (OS build 17763) October 18 release
▶ Version 1803 (OS build 17134) April 18 release
▶ Version 1709 (OS build 16299) Fall Creators Update
▶ Version 1703 (OS build 15063) Creators Update CodeName Redstone 2
▶ Version 1607 (OS build 14393) Anniversary Update CodeName Redstone 1 includes App-V Client and UE-V for Enterprise and Education Editions
▶ Version 1511 (OS build 10586) November Update (wow what a boring name!)
▶ Version 1507 (RTM) (OS build 10240)


keyword versions

Main build releases acquire Build Revisions e.g. 

20H2 is OS Build 19042

1526 is an example of a build revision.

In the Windows application winver this is shown as

Microsoft Windows

Version 20H2 (OS Build 19042.1526)

This page lists recent build revisions.

https://www.anoopcnair.com/windows-10-build-numbers-version-numbers/

Windows 11

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_11_version_history

▶ Version 21H2 (OS build 22000) October 2021 release

▶ Version 22H2 (OS build 22621) September 2022 release

For Windows 11 version the OS actually reports as 10.x.x.x

Well they did say Windows 10 would be the last version of Windows once!

MS Office 2016 deployment notes and advice

This is probably the MOST important page.  What can you deploy\install with what regarding Project and Visio.  Pay attention at the back.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt712177%28v=office.16%29.aspx#How%20to%20determine%20whether%20you%27re%20using%20a%20Click-to-Run%20or%20MSI%20installation

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/gladiatormsft/2015/04/16/on-office-with-app-v-planning-for-a-virtual-office-deployment/

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/mdop/appv-v5/deploying-microsoft-office-2016-by-using-app-v

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/itpro/mdop/appv-v5/planning-for-using-app-v-with-office

https://redmondmag.com/articles/2015/09/22/office-2016-install-caveats.aspx

http://packageology.com/2016/08/office-365-app-v/

Supported scenarios for deploying Microsoft Office as an App-V package
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2772509/supported-scenarios-for-deploying-microsoft-office-as-an-app-v-package

Potential problems if you have Outlook 2016 or 2013 and an earlier version of Outlook installed on the same computer
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2782408/potential-problems-if-you-have-outlook-2016-or-2013-and-an-earlier-ver

Overview of Click-to-Run (C2R)
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/jj219427.aspx

Checking Click-to-Run (C2R) type install
http://windowsitpro.com/microsoft-office/determining-if-office-installation-click-run-or-not

How to create an Office 2016 App-V Package
https://msitproblog.com/2015/11/14/how-to-create-an-office-2016-appv-package/
Note the volume licensing restriction on this now.  Subscription type activation only, is available.
See my post here on how to achieve this.

Office Deployment Tool (ODT) Overview
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Overview-of-the-Office-2016-Deployment-Tool-bb5b62d9-1168-47e9-9d54-15a958acfcca

ODT supported product IDs
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2842297/product-ids-that-are-supported-by-the-office-deployment-tool-for-click

ODT xml configuration file options
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Configuration-options-for-the-Office-2016-Deployment-Tool-d3879f0d-766c-469c-9440-0a9a2a905ca8?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US#bkmk_productelement

Channels Explained
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Overview-of-update-channels-for-Office-365-ProPlus-9ccf0f13-28ff-4975-9bd2-7e4ea2fefef4?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

Office 365 Updates
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-office365-proplus-by-date

Disk2VHD Tool for Physical to Virtual Hyper-V conversion

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/ee656415.aspx

Important restrictions

Note: Virtual PC supports a maximum virtual disk size of 127GB. If you create a VHD from a larger disk, even if you only include data from a smaller volume, it will not be accessible from a Virtual PC VM. 

In addition Virtual PC doesn't support the Multiprocessor Specification, which means that it won't be able to boot VHD's from multiprocessor Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 systems.

If you create a VHD from Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 and plan on booting the VHD within Virtual PC, select the "Prepare VHD for use in Virtual PC" option, which ensures that the HAL (Windows Hardware Abstraction Layer) installed in the VHD is compatible with Virtual PC.

Check this post out for a VHD vs VHDX comparison
https://www.netwatch.me/2015/03/19/vhd-vs-vhdx-hmm-whats-the-difference/