Windows 7 Users Unable to Double-Click icons on destkop

We have in place Microsoft System Center 2012 which houses our imaging server. We have one 'gold' standard image that we use for all of our devices. When migrating to Windows 7 32-bit, we discovered that the computer when first booting up after imaging that users have issues with double clicking icons. This happens under the Admin account as well as other AD users. You are unable to open any application (web-based or local). This includes opening Recycle Bin, Computer, etc. This is usually alleviated after rebooting the computer 4-5 times. This occurs intermittently as well. Not always able to have it recreate itself.

We are now having the issues being escalated and requests to get it fixed. We are using a combination of HP 600's & HP 6000s as main desktops. We originally thought it may have been an issue with the models as the majority of these have occurred on the HP 600 models. This was proven wrong as we discovered it happened on one of our HP z600 PCs we used previously. I would like to narrow down between either the image we are using or if it is possibly group policy.

I am leaning away from the image as this is the same image that we used to build our IT workstations and no one has reported this issue. This issue occurs in departments outside of IT, which makes me believe that it is some sort of policy that we are pushing out causing the conflicts.

Any assistance is appreciated.
 
Hi and Welcome to the Forum,

One thing I can tell you after spending 20 years in IT and IT management, is that you haven't provided nearly enough information on your problem for us to solve it. You didn't mention the Imaging or Cloning software you used, or the version. Also, is your System Center 2012 running on Windows Server 2012; if so, which version; is it Business Class licensing or Enterprise Class...so many questions on the software and domain environment alone. Does your network have documentation? Do you have network diagrams; topological diagrams, etc.??

I won't guarantee any solutions right off the bat due to not knowing your actual network environment. That being said, I can ask you some questions that might help me to lead you in the right direction. What is your actual title or function in your IT department? This is the most important question, as if you are NOT IT management, your ability to answer my questions my be limited or restricted in numerous ways. Are you personally responsible for all desktops in your organization? If so, how many employees with computers do you have in the organization; 5, 50, 500, 5,000 etc.? In other words I need to know if you have access to the "big picture". It sounds like you are running a domain-based Microsoft network solution. Do you guys have a MCSE or CNI on staff; or access to one?

Your statement on the "migration to Windows7 32bit" is also very confusing. Are you changing from Microsoft System Center 2012 (a server-based environment) to a non-Client or standalone machine environment *the Win7*?? If you are migrating Client machines from an earlier version of Windows, what was it? Vista SP2; which version of Vista? If XP or older; which Version, which SP?

If you can answer some of those questions we can go forward.

In the meantime, the first thing I would do is to certify the hard drives in each of those HP machines using appropriate drive diagnostics such as SEATOOLS, and then MEMTEST. HP often uses substandard drives and Motherboards and have suffered from low quality going back to early 2000s. Most Fortune500 companies no longer use HP due to their low quality and ability to keep from failing after 5 years of use. None of the larger Banks use HP anymore and neither due most of the top insurance companies; again for the same reasons. I'm sure there will be debate on this. After working for 1,000 companies, I have learned about this. If you are indeed in IT management in your organization, the first recommendation I'd make is to replace ALL the HP client machines older than 3 years of age across the entire organization. I personally like Dell for enterprise and ERP type domain software environments, but you can certainly make your own choice. If you are in a position to make hardware specification decisions, this would be the first step.

The next step would be to try to test your existing hardware platforms (the HP client machines internal hardware). A CERT report would be nice. If you are running a SQL database, that will integrate nicely so you can get an accurate cross-section of testing results in Access or Excel for in-depth analysis and query.

You can also step outside the box and buy a Dell or Gateway client PC in with Windows7 to see whether non-HP hardware is at fault or not. If you bring in and test these machines; and they work fine--you have an aging and low-quality Client hardware platform that will need to be remedied on an enterprise basis rather sooner than later. If you cannot produce reliable bootups on Client machines in a domain network environment, Users and then their Managers will begin to revolt! This is where it's really helpful to have a team of professional Microsoft engineers to assist you. I strongly urge you to conider the TSS division of IBM who are experts at resolving these types of complete software & network issues. Back in the 90s, I used to lead teams into companies to solve just the type of problem you are facing. If you are in an IT management position, you will understand the term "leveraged technology troubleshooting".

Being from a hardware design engineering background, I always approach problems such as this by certifying a reliable hardware platform first; and then going after the Software or network stuff to see if the problem lies in one of those areas.

Post back with any answers or more information and we will attempt to advise you further.

Best of luck in the meantime,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>
 
Back
Top