Windows SteadyState FAQ

Yes! There is no separate licensing fee associated with Windows SteadyState other than the price of the Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista license you have already purchased. This download is available without charge to anyone running genuine Microsoft Windows. Windows validation is required. Internet access is not required to validate Windows.

Windows SteadyState is the latest version of the Shared Computer Toolkit, replacing SCT 1.1. Because of the dramatic improvements in power and ease of use over the earlier Toolkit, we decided to give it a new name.

If you have been using the Shared Computer Toolkit, here are some of the main improvements you will enjoy in Windows SteadyState:

• Easier to install. The simplified setup process now includes a file-based Windows Disk Protection technology that lets you install SteadyState without changing your disk partitions.

• Easier to use. A unified console lets you graphically control all your settings and options within a single interface, including the ability to export user profiles to other computers.

• More powerful. More options are available to restrict what programs and features users can access. New default security levels (high, medium, low) make it easier to control the many options.

• Easier to update. SteadyState now supports Windows Update technology, so you can push updated user restrictions to your shared computers at the same time as updates to programs and features such as Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer.

• More scalable. For server-based networks, Windows Disk Protection can be managed in an Active Directory environment.

Windows SteadyState works with genuine versions of Microsoft Windows XP with Service pack 2 (SP2) or Service Pack 3 (SP3) installed and Windows Vista supporting Service Pack 1 (SP1). SteadyState works on 32-bit versions for the following operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

• Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate

• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic

• Microsoft Windows Vista Business

• Microsoft Windows Vista Starter

Windows SteadyState is available in nine languages: English, Dutch, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese Brazilian, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish. You can download all languages from the download center.

Precise hardware requirements can be found in the Windows SteadyState Handbook. In general the hardware requirements are the same as for Windows XP and Windows Vista, so any computer that runs Windows XP or Windows Vista well should run Windows SteadyState just fine. A couple specific requirements to note:

• A hard disk with minimum 4.0 GB available storage is required to use Windows Disk Protection. (Essentially Windows Disk Protection needs half the space on whatever size hard drive or partition you use, because it creates a second copy of all the information in a cache.)

• The file system must be NTFS (not FAT32).

• Windows Scripting and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) must be working.

• You must have administrator level access to install Windows SteadyState.

• Supports 32-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista.

The two most important tasks you can perform before installing are:

1. Uninstall any previously installed versions of the Windows SteadyState or the Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP, and earlier version of Windows SteadyState.

2. Defragment the hard disk before setting up Windows Disk Protection. (This is important because the Disk Protection cache needs a large contiguous portion of disk space to perform optimally.)

Best practice is to clean and update everything you can on the computer before installation. This means uninstalling programs and deleting files you don't need, clearing caches and histories, removing temporary files and cookies, running antivirus and spyware removal programs, and checking for updates to Windows and all your applications. The idea is to get the computer in exactly the configuration you want it to return to every time you use Windows Disk Protection.

Here are a few of the ways you can restrict user activities on shared computers using Windows SteadyState:

• Don't show logons on the Welcome screen.

• Remove the Control Panel from the Start menu.

• Hide any disk drive you choose from My Computer.

• Remove Favorites from the Internet Explorer menu.

• Disable macros in Microsoft Office.

• Prevent an installed program from running.

• Limit the duration of sessions using timers.

• Restrict internet access to a list of approved sites.

Windows Disk Protection creates a cache—a special place on the hard disk—where it stores all the changes a user makes to the system. This cache is safe and contained like a 'sandbox' in which users do all their activities without affecting the system outside the sandbox. When you clear the cache you discard all user changes, and SteadyState creates a brand new empty sandbox for the next user to work in.

Yes. Windows Disk Protection only discards changes made to files that reside on the same hard disk (partition) as the Windows system. You can have users save their work to a different drive and it will not be endangered by Windows Disk Protection.

Tip: You can redirect the user's Documents folder to an alternate drive for ease of use.

Yes. If you have a user who needs to be able to retain changes between restarts, you can exempt the user from Windows Disk Protection by creating the user's profile on a separate partition from the operating system partition. For example, if Windows is installed on the C drive, you can configure the user profile to reside on the D drive. (Note: Don't lock the profile. A locked profile will remove any profile modifications no matter where it resides on the computer.)

Windows SteadyState is designed primarily for configuring individual computers for shared use. A workgroup of networked peer computers can be remotely managed only in the sense that user profiles created on one computer can be exported to a network location from which the other computers can import the same configurations.

If your shared computers are in a domain server environment, Active Directory provides more powerful tools to restrict users and configure the computers. However, the Windows Disk Protection feature of SteadyState is still very useful to protect the operating system partition of domain computers. For more information on administering it in a domain environment, see the Windows SteadyState Handbook.

Yes, it works in a server environment with Group Policy and Active Directory. In general server tools are recommended for controlling user restrictions. However, the Windows Disk Protection feature of Windows Steady State is recommended to protect the operating partition of shared computers. For more information see the Windows SteadyState Handbook.

Yes, Windows SteadyState lets you choose either to install updates manually, or to schedule automatic updates through the Microsoft Update, Windows Update, or Windows Server Update Services.

Glad you asked! Here are a few more things you can do:

• Run Windows SteadyState on non-English versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista.

• Manage stand-alone, workgroup and domain computers.

• Use common disk imaging tools to image or clone computers that are using Windows SteadyState.

We're glad you asked! Please visit the Windows SteadyState Community to share ideas and experiences with other users who are managing shared computers the easy way.