Windows Embedded 8 Standard on HP Thin Clients Administrator Guide
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About this guide Command-line syntax in this guide might use one or more of the elements described in the following table. Element Description Variable Italicized text denotes placeholders for user-defined variables. location=IpAddress:Port For the above parameter, you would input something similar to the example shown below: location=192.168.0.10:12345 [ ] Parameters enclosed in square brackets are optional.
iv About this guide
Table of contents 1 Activating the operating system ..................................................................................................................... 1 2 Getting started ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Finding more resources .........................................................................................................................................
Administration tools .................................................................................................................................... 13 HP Cloud Connection Manager (select thin clients only) ..................................................................................... 13 HP Device Manager .............................................................................................................................................. 13 HP Easy Shell ...............................
1 Activating the operating system ● Internet: Connect the thin client to the Internet so the operating system will activate automatically. – or – ● Telephone: Display the charms, select Settings, select Change PC settings, select Activate Windows, select Activate by phone, and then follow the on-screen instructions. – or – ● Proxy server: Configure a proxy server to activate multiple thin clients.
2 Getting started This guide is for administrators of HP thin clients based on the Windows® Embedded 8 Standard operating system. It is assumed you are using the latest image provided by HP for your thin client models and that you will log on to Windows as an administrator when making system configurations or using administration tools as discussed in this guide. Finding more resources The information in this guide provides a basic overview of features specific to HP thin clients.
Logging on to Windows There are two user accounts by default: ● Administrator—Allows you to make permanent system configurations, such as user account management or software program installations ● User—Cannot make permanent changes to the system and is for end-user operation The User account logs on automatically when Windows starts, so you must switch to the Administrator account manually using the default password Administrator. To switch back to the User account, use the default password User.
3 Unified Write Filter Unified Write Filter (UWF) is a software tool that protects the contents of and decreases wear on the flash drive of a thin client by redirecting and caching writes in an overlay, which is a virtual storage space in RAM that tracks changes to a protected volume (the flash drive). The user experience in Windows is unaffected because the operating system maintains the appearance of writing to the flash drive.
UWF management overview There are three tools you can use to manage UWF: a notification icon, a GUI-based tool in Control Panel, and a command-line tool. Some commands can be performed using any of the tools, but other commands might be exclusive to one or two of the tools. Notification icon The UWF notification icon is located in the Windows notification area.
HP Unified Write Filter Configuration HP Unified Write Filter Configuration is a GUI-based tool for managing UWF. To open this tool: ▲ Double-click the notification icon. – or – In the Control Panel, select HP Unified Write Filter Configuration.
Making permanent system configurations The following table describes the possible methods for making permanent system configurations. CAUTION: HP strongly recommends using method 1 in most situations. Method 1 Method 2 Method 3 1. Disable UWF. 1. Make the necessary configurations. ▲ 2. Restart the thin client. 2. 3. Make the necessary configurations. Commit individual cached files. The action takes effect immediately. 4. Enable UWF. 5. Restart the thin client.
Adding files and folders to the exclusion list The following table describes the possible methods for adding files and folders to the exclusion list. Method 1 Method 2 1. Open the HP Unified Write Filter Configuration tool and select the File Exclusion List tab. 1. Use the command line to add an item to the exclusion list (repeat as necessary). 2. Select the Add button to add an item to the exclusion list (repeat as necessary). 2. Restart the thin client. 3. Restart the thin client.
4 Configuration Managing user accounts The User Accounts tool allows you to manage most aspects of the default User and Administrator accounts, as well as create additional user accounts. IMPORTANT: Due to space constraints on the flash drive, keep the number of user accounts to a minimum. To open the User Accounts tool: ▲ In Control Panel, select User Accounts.
Configuring the system date and time settings The Windows Time service is set to Manual (Trigger Start). By default, this service attempts to synchronize with the Microsoft time server (time.windows.com) every seven days. If the thin client is joined to a domain, this service tries to sync its time with an available DC or an NTP server, if one is available. The Date and Time tool in Control Panel allows you to set the system date and time manually.
5 Remote desktop software Citrix Receiver Citrix Receiver is used when Citrix Presentation Server, XenApp, or XenDesktop is deployed with Web Interface. Citrix Receiver enables icons to be placed on the Windows desktop for the seamless integration of published applications. To open Citrix Receiver: ▲ At the Start screen, type Citrix, and then select Citrix Receiver from the search results. Enabling single sign-on for Citrix Receiver 1. Uninstall the preinstalled Citrix Receiver. 2.
HP Remote Graphics Software (select thin clients only) HP Remote Graphics Software (RGS) brings added security, performance, mobility, and collaboration to your workstation deployment. With RGS, you can use a lower-powered desktop, notebook, or thin client to remotely connect to a powerful workstation and use your graphics-intensive workstation programs wherever you go. Your programs run natively on the remote workstation and take full advantage of its graphics resources.
6 Administration tools NOTE: Some tools might not be preinstalled on certain HP thin clients. See Finding more resources on page 2 for information about downloading add-ons from HP. HP Cloud Connection Manager (select thin clients only) IMPORTANT: on page 13).
HP Hotkey Filter (add-on only) HP Hotkey Filter is a security tool that allows a user to lock and unlock their remote desktop session without affecting the local Windows instance. In many thin client deployments, access to the local Windows desktop and the local Windows file system is not necessary and might be undesirable. For more information, see the administrator guide for HP Hotkey Filter. HP Logon Manager To configure the thin client to log on to a specific user account automatically: 1.
HP ThinState IMPORTANT: on page 15). HP ThinUpdate has imaging functionality intended to replace HP ThinState (see HP ThinUpdate HP ThinState can be used to capture an HP thin client image that can then be deployed to another HP thin client of identical model and hardware. CAUTION: HP supports performing only up to three HP ThinState capture and deployment cycles based on the same image. Performing more than three cycles might corrupt the image. To perform an HP ThinState capture: 1.
HP Unified Write Filter Configuration See Unified Write Filter on page 4. HP USB Port Manager HP USB Port Manager allows you to manage USB device access on the thin client. Features include the ability to block all USB devices, allow only certain USB devices, and set access to USB mass storage devices as readonly. To open HP USB Port Manager: ▲ In the Control Panel, select HP USB Port Manager. For more information, see the administrator guide for HP USB Port Manager.
Index A add-ons 2 administration tools 13 C Citrix Receiver 11 Control Panel, using M Microsoft RDP 11 Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager O operating system, activating 1 3 D Drive C: 3 Drive Z: 3 R remote desktop software 11 F finding more resources 2 H HP Cloud Connection Manager 13 HP Device Manager 13 HP Easy Shell 13 HP Hotkey Filter 14 HP Logon Manager 14 HP RAMDisk Manager 14 HP Remote Graphics Software 12 HP TeemTalk 12 HP ThinShell 14 HP ThinState 15 HP ThinUpdate 15 HP Unified Wri
