David Browning in a computer lab at Eastside Christian School in Bellevue. (TechFlash photo)

Some aspiring Eagle Scouts clean up parks, run safety campaigns, or refurbish hiking trails to complete the leadership service project required to achieve the Boy Scouts of America's highest rank.

David Browning, of Troop 600 in Bellevue, is installing Windows 7.

To be sure, this is no simple project. The 16-year-old technology enthusiast, who happens to be the son of a Microsoft employee, is overseeing the deployment of Microsoft's new operating system across 67 computers at Eastside Christian School in Bellevue -- managing a team of fellow Boy Scouts and overseeing a complex software duplication process to help the school make a much-needed technological upgrade.

Scouts get ready for the Windows 7 deployment at Bellevue's Eastside Christian School. Jon Browning photo. Click for larger version.

"Originally the school wanted to go to Vista over the summer," explained Browning, a former Eastside Christian student who works as a technology volunteer at the school. "I managed to convince them to go (Windows) 7, just so the teachers wouldn't have to learn two operating systems in one year."

Browning's project puts him ahead of the pack of businesses and individual computer users who will be making the upgrade to Windows 7 after its Oct. 22 release. The good news for them, and for Microsoft, is that he has yet to encounter any major problems running the school's older peripherals and applications on Windows 7.

"So far we haven't had any compatibility issues. The only issues that have come up are with really old programs ... but the school isn't running those anymore." Browning said. "A lot of the printers are pretty old, and we haven't had any problems yet."

That's a change from the rollout of Windows Vista, in January 2007, which flummoxed companies and PC users with widespread compatibility problems.

Browning does have the advantage of working with mostly new computers. The school has replaced its older Windows XP computers with newer Dell machines running 2.8 GHz dual-core Intel processors and integrated graphics. In terms of hardware, Browning said, "this is a huge upgrade."

To install the operating system, Browning is using a process called ghosting that involves creating a master copy of the operating system, along with related applications and settings, then deploying it across the school's network to the computers. The computers originally came with Windows Vista Home Basic, and one lesson Browning learned was to remove the multiple hard-drive partitions that were on the machines, to simplify the process of management and deployment.

For now, Browning is deploying the Windows 7 Release Candidate, the test version of the operating system that came just before it was finalized. He plans to conduct a second deployment over the winter break to upgrade the computers to the final Windows 7 version. Versions of Windows and Microsoft Office are being donated to the school by Microsoft employees who have children there, with assistance from the matching program offered through the company's giving campaign.

Even if the deployment wasn't helping Browning become an Eagle Scout, it would be a great learning opportunity, he said.

"I've learned so much about Windows Server, and how companies deploy computers," he said. "All these different group policy settings and stuff. That was the probably the big reason I took this on. Another reason is I used to go here, and I wanted to help out the school."

Along the way, Browning has gotten help from fellow Boy Scouts, tech-savvy friends, other technology volunteers and adults, including his dad, Jon Browning, who is a Microsoft director involved in the company's vendor strategy.

But if anyone thinks Jon Browning's occupation gives his son an unfair advantage in working toward his Eagle Scout rank, it's important to know that David Browning doesn't need to lean too heavily on his dad's technological abilities.

"I'm a bit ahead of him," David said with a grin, teasing his dad a little.

Jon Browning, sitting nearby, didn't disagree, and he said he was happy when David brought up the idea of using the Windows 7 deployment for his big Eagle Scout project. "I thought it was a great idea," he said. "It seemed perfect the minute he said it."