Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) is a suite of utilities for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

customers who have subscribed to

Microsoft Software Assurance Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) is a Microsoft maintenance program aimed at business users who use Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and other server and desktop applications. The core premise behind SA is to give users the ability to sprea ...

program. It aims at bringing easier manageability and monitoring of enterprise desktops, emergency recovery, desktop virtualization and application virtualization.

Components

The MDOP suite is grouped into 3 overall technologies: Virtualize, Manage and Restore

Virtualize

Microsoft Application Virtualization Microsoft Application Virtualization (also known as App-V; formerly Softricity SoftGrid) is an application virtualization and application streaming solution from Microsoft. It was originally developed by Softricity, a company based in Boston, Mas ...
(App-V)

:An

application virtualization Application virtualization is a software technology that encapsulates computer programs from the underlying operating system on which they are executed. A fully virtualized application is not installed in the traditional sense, although it is stil ...

and application streaming platform that allows clients to run applications locally via on demand streaming from a centralized server. This makes sure that all clients run the application with the same configuration. App-V also allows standalone virtualized applications to run locally on the client. Starting with Windows 10 Anniversary Update, this item became part of Windows 10 and is no longer included in MDOP.

Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V)

:A replacement for roaming profiles that will allow user preferences and settings to roam between different environments and types of devices. Starting with Windows 10 Anniversary Update, this item became part of Windows 10 and is no longer included in MDOP.

Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V)

desktop virtualization Desktop virtualization is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it. Desktop virtualization can be used in conjunction with applicatio ...

solution: It allows a physical Windows 7 workstation to host one or more

virtual machine In computing, a virtual machine (VM) is the virtualization/emulation of a computer system. Virtual machines are based on computer architectures and provide functionality of a physical computer. Their implementations may involve specialized hardw ...

s that run their own operating systems on a

Windows Virtual PC Windows Virtual PC (successor to Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, and Connectix Virtual PC) is a Hardware virtualization, virtualization program for Microsoft Windows. In July 2006, Microsoft released the Windows version f ...

hypervisor, with some transparent integration of the Start Menu and desktop of the virtual machine into that of the host. Microsoft advertises MED-V as a compatibility solution that allows enterprises to run legacy applications that will not run natively on Windows 7 to be hosted on a legacy platform such as Windows XP, similarly to the consumer-oriented

Windows XP Mode Windows Virtual PC (successor to Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, and Connectix Virtual PC) is a Hardware virtualization, virtualization program for Microsoft Windows. In July 2006, Microsoft released the Windows version f ...

Manage

Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM)

:Provides enhanced management capabilities for

group policy Group Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems (including Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2003+) that controls the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. G ...

. It integrates with the ''Group Policy Configuration'' MMC snap-in and adds change control, offline editing, and delegation capabilities. Change control tracks and manages changes to Group Policy Objects (GPOs). It presents a virtual ''vault'' which houses the GPOs. To make any changes, a GPO must be ''checked out'' of the vault and the changed version ''checked in''. The system enforces the latest version of the GPO and archives the older version, which can be restored back if need arises. Offline editing capabilities allow GPOs to be edited without a live connection to the network and

Active Directory Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is included in most Windows Server operating systems as a set of processes and services. Initially, Active Directory was used only for centralize ...

. The changes are merged on the next connection. AGPM also adds delegation capability, where the responsibility of managing the Group Policy can be divided among different administrators. Each administrator is concerned with only a certain set of GPOs, which can then be administered independent of others. Optionally, it can be configured so that changes are reviewed by other administrators before being applied. Advanced Group Policy Management is based on GPOVault, a product by DesktopStandard Corporation which Microsoft acquired in October 2006.

Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM)

:A tool for managing, enforcing and monitoring

BitLocker BitLocker is a full volume encryption feature included with Microsoft Windows versions starting with Windows Vista. It is designed to protect data by providing encryption for entire volumes. By default, it uses the AES encryption algorithm in ...

drive encryption across an entire organization from a central location. MBAM consists of administration console which can be accessed using a web browser, as well as an agent which must be installed on every computer in the organization, either manually or using

Restore

Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT), formerly ''Emergency Repair Disk Commander'' (ERD Commander), is a set of tools that helps diagnose an offline copy of

. It comes on a

bootable In computing, booting is the process of starting a computer as initiated via hardware such as a button or by a software command. After it is switched on, a computer's central processing unit (CPU) has no software in its main memory, so some ...

disc and is run during computer startup. It can uninstall installed

hotfix A hotfix or quick-fix engineering update (QFE update) is a single, cumulative package that includes information (often in the form of one or more files) that is used to address a problem in a software product (i.e., a software bug). Typically, hot ...

es, perform crash analysis, recover deleted files and access

System Restore System Restore is a feature in Microsoft Windows that allows the user to revert their computer's state (including system files, installed applications, Windows Registry, and system settings) to that of a previous point in time, which can be used ...

's restore checkpoints on the offline operating system in an environment similar to Windows

graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

. Microsoft DaRT is a successor of ERD Commander, which was part of the ''Winternals Administrator Pack'' from

Winternals Windows Sysinternals is a website that offers technical resources and utilities to manage, diagnose, troubleshoot, and monitor a Microsoft Windows environment. Originally, the Sysinternals website (formerly known as ntinternals) was created in 19 ...

. ERD Commander later became a Microsoft property with its acquisition of

on 17 July 2006. Microsoft DaRT is based on the

Windows Preinstallation Environment Windows Preinstallation Environment (also known as Windows PE and WinPE) is a lightweight version of Windows used for the deployment of PCs, workstations, and servers, or troubleshooting an operating system while it is offline. It is intended t ...

. The tool set includes: * Registry editor: Edits

Windows Registry The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores low-level settings for the Microsoft Windows operating system and for applications that opt to use the registry. The kernel, device drivers, services, Security Accounts Manager, and use ...

* Locksmith: Resets a user account's password * Crash Analyzer: Analyzes crash dumps * File Restore: Restores deleted files * Disk Commander: Repairs volumes,

master boot record A master boot record (MBR) is a special type of boot sector at the very beginning of partitioned computer mass storage devices like fixed disks or removable drives intended for use with IBM PC-compatible systems and beyond. The concept of MBR ...

s and partitions * Disk Wipe: Irrecoverably erases data from hard disk * Computer Management: A group of utilities that help retrieve system information, enable, disable or manage device drivers,

Windows service In Windows NT operating systems, a Windows service is a computer program that operates in the background. It is similar in concept to a Unix daemon. A Windows service must conform to the interface rules and protocols of the Service Control Manager ...

s and software that run during computer startup, inspect the event logs of the offline system and manage partitions. *

Explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

: A

file manager A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to manage files and folders. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files include creating, opening (e.g. viewing, playing, editing or pr ...

* Solution Wizard: A guidance tool that helps user choose the proper repair tool * TCP/IP Config: Displays and modifies

TCP/IP The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suit ...

configuration * Hotfix Uninstall: Uninstalls

Windows hotfixes A hotfix or quick-fix engineering update (QFE update) is a single, cumulative package that includes information (often in the form of one or more files) that is used to address a problem in a Computer software, software product (i.e., a software bu ...

* SFC Scan: Revives corrupted or deleted system files by copying them from the Windows installation source *

Search Searching or search may refer to: Computing technology * Search algorithm, including keyword search ** :Search algorithms * Search and optimization for problem solving in artificial intelligence * Search engine technology, software for findi ...

: Searches a disk for files * Defender (formerly Standalone System Sweeper): An

antivirus Antivirus software (abbreviated to AV software), also known as anti-malware, is a computer program used to prevent, detect, and remove malware. Antivirus software was originally developed to detect and remove computer viruses, hence the name. ...

that scans a system for malware, rootkits, and potentially unwanted software. Uses the same engine as

Microsoft Security Essentials Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is an antivirus software (AV) product that provides protection against different types of malicious software, such as computer viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojan horses. Prior to version 4.5, MSE ran on , ...

and other Microsoft antivirus products. ERD Commander originally included more tools, including a web browser.

Releases

References

External links

*
Official blog
abandoned since 2012
MDOP
on

Microsoft Docs Microsoft Docs is the library of technical documentation for end users, developers, and IT professionals who work with Microsoft products. The Microsoft Docs website provides technical specifications, conceptual articles, tutorials, guides, API ...

DaRT documentations
on Microsoft Download Center {{Microsoft Windows components 2008 software Desktop Optimization Pack Proprietary software Windows-only software Windows administration