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USMT 4

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Important:

Windows XP is supported only as an operating system on the source computer.

 

 

USMT 4 is a tool set from the WAIK for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Once you have installed WAIK you can find USMT 4 in the C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\USMT folder. There are two versions, one for 32bit (X86) and one for 64bit (amd64). There is a USMT 4 help guide (CHM format) located at C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Docs\CHMs\USMT.chm

 

For those that don't know here's an overview of where USMT was (USMT 3) and where USMT is today (USMT 4)

 

In a computer Refresh scenario where users get to keep their existing hardware, in USMT 3, you would move files into protected locations on the disk (your USMT store), wipe the Operating System and then move the files back into their final locations.

 

With USMT 4 we now have hardlinks, and with hardlinks we don't move anything, USMT indexes the user files and registry settings, then wipe the Operating system files around them (yes, in effect keeping the original files where they were in the first place) and then map the unmoved files into the operating system.

 

 

USMT 4.0 includes a new method of saving user state called hardlink migration. Hardlink migration creates a snapshot of current user data files before reinstallation, which keeps data in the same location on the disk while upgrading the system and rebuilds the links after Windows 7 Beta is installed. Hardlink migration dramatically reduces the time required to migrate user state, because the data is never moved, which is faster than copying the user data to another disk.

 

I'd recommend watching this USMT 4 video walkthrough followed by this video of Migrating XP to Windows 7.

 

 

The main advantage of hardlinking is speed, it's way faster than the old method.

 

USMT 4.0 supports the ability to archive files that are in use by using the shadow copy feature in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

 

for a full list of whats new in USMT 4 see the following Word Doc from Microsoft.

 

 

The below info is taken from the CHM

 

PC Refresh (keep your computer)

 

The following diagram shows a PC refresh migration, also known as a computer refresh migration. First, the administrator migrates the user state from a source computer to an intermediate store. After installing the operating system, the administrator migrates the user state back to the source computer.

 

 

 

Scenario One: PC refresh using a compressed migration store

For example, a company has just received funds to update all of its computers to Windows® 7. Each employee will keep the same computer, but the operating system on each computer will be updated.

 

An administrator runs the ScanState command-line tool on each computer. ScanState saves each user state to a server.

 

On each computer, an administrator installs the company's standard operating environment, which includes Windows 7, Microsoft® Office, and other company applications.

 

An administrator runs the LoadState command-line tool on each computer. LoadState restores each user state back to the source computer.

 

Scenario Two: PC refresh using hard-link migration store

For example, a company has just received funds to update the operating system on all of its computers to Windows® 7. Each employee will keep the same computer, but the operating system on each computer will be updated.

 

An administrator runs the ScanState command-line tool on each computer, specifying the /hardlink command-line option. ScanState saves the user state to a hard-link migration store on each computer, improving performance by minimizing network traffic as well as minimizing migration failures on computers with very limited space available on the hard drive.

 

After quarantine of the hard-link migration store, an administrator uninstalls the older operating system.

 

On each computer, an administrator installs the company's standard operating environment (SOE), which includes Windows 7, Microsoft® Office, and other company applications.

 

An administrator runs the LoadState command-line tool on each computer. LoadState restores each user state back on each computer.

 

Scenario Three: PC refresh using Windows.old and the hard-link migration store

For example, a company has just received funds to update all of their computers to Windows 7. Each employee will keep the same computer, but the operating system on each computer will be updated.

 

An administrator clean installs Windows 7 on each computer, making sure that the Windows.old directory is created by installing Windows 7 without formatting or repartitioning and by selecting a partition that contains Windows XP or Windows Vista.

 

On each computer, an administrator installs the company’s standard operating environment (SOE), which included Windows 7 and other company applications.

 

An administrator runs the ScanState and LoadState command-line tools successively while specifying the /hardlink command-line option.

 

 

 

PC Replacement (get a NEW computer)

 

The following diagram shows a PC replacement migration. First, the administrator migrates the user state from the source computer to an intermediate store. After installing the operating system on the destination computer, the administrator migrates the user state from the store to the destination computer.

 

Scenario One: Manual network migration

A company receives 50 new laptops for their managers, and needs to reallocate the 50 older laptops to new employees.

 

An administrator runs the ScanState tool on each of the old laptops, and saves each user state to a server.

 

On the new laptops, an administrator installs the company's standard operating environment which includes Windows 7, Microsoft Office, and other company applications.

 

An administrator runs the LoadState tool on the new laptops to migrate the user states to the appropriate computer.

 

On the old computers, an administrator installs the company's standard operating environment which includes Windows 7, Microsoft Office, and other company applications. The old computers are now ready for the new employees to use.

 

Scenario Two: Managed network migration

A company is allocating 20 new computers to users in the accounting department. The users all have one computer with their files and settings: the source computer.

 

On each source computer, an administrator runs the ScanState tool using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM, a logon script, a batch file, or a non-Microsoft management technology. ScanState collects the user state from each source computer and then saves it to a server.

 

On each new computer, an administrator installs the company's standard operating environment which includes Windows 7, Microsoft Office, and other company applications.

 

On each of the new computers, an administrator runs the LoadState tool using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), a logon script, a batch file, or a non-Microsoft management technology. LoadState migrates the user states from the migration store to a new computer.

 

Scenario Three: Offline migration using Windows PE

A company is allocating 20 new computers to users in the accounting department. The users all have one computer with their files and settings. In this scenario, each user's one computer will serve as both the source and destination computer.

 

 

On each source computer, an administrator boots the machine into Windows PE and runs ScanState to collect the user state to either a server or external hard disk.

 

On each new computer, an administrator installs the company's standard operating environment which includes Windows 7, Microsoft® Office, and other company applications.

 

On each of the new computers, an administrator runs the LoadState tool, restoring the user state from the migration store to the new computer.

 

 

 

Related Reading:-

 

Migrating Data using USMT

 

how can I use USMT 3.0.1 in SCCM

migrate today restore tomorrow

 

how can I view the USMT recovery key

user state recovery information

 

How can I use Offline Mode in Windows PE using USMT 4

Using a scanstate (using offlinewindir in winpe ) Task Sequence in SCCM 2007 SP2

 

Some Sample XP to Windows 7 task sequences showing Hardlinking

hardlinking and SMP

 

Migrate XP to Windows 7 using Offline mode in Windows PE

screenshots describing the process

 

 

and here are some helpful USMT 4 troubleshooting links:-

 

* How USMT works

* Step-by-Step: Basic Windows Migration using USMT for IT Professionals

* Common Issues

* Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ

* Log Files - you'll need them, trust me

* USMT 4 Return codes

* Scanstate Syntax

* How to Use Hard Links for User State Migration

* How to Rename a file using USMT

 

feel free to add yours to the list here...

 

cheers

niall

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Great Post btw,

 

I have 2 questions, both regarding the PC refresh Scenario:

 

PC Refresh Scenario two:

"After quarantine of the hard-link migration store, an administrator uninstalls the older operating system."

What would be the steps for this process? I'm not familiar with how one would uninstall Windows XP?

 

 

PC Refresh Scenario Three:

I assume one would simply upgrade the OS, and then run scanstate and loadstate against Windows.old?

 

 

Thanks for your help-

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What's up fellow noobs! Okay, I have a question. The USMT 4.0 migration batch file worked but my Program folders inside the "All Programs" disappeared. Does anybody know why? We don't have SCCM because the company that I work for is poor. We have WDS 2008 + MDT2010 + WAIK setup using a custom Windows 7 image.

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What's up fellow noobs! Okay, I have a question. The USMT 4.0 migration batch file worked but my Program folders inside the "All Programs" disappeared. Does anybody know why? We don't have SCCM because the company that I work for is poor. We have WDS 2008 + MDT2010 + WAIK setup using a custom Windows 7 image.

 

Are the program folders existent in your custom Windows 7 image? USMT only copies what you tell it to, using the customizable XML files (MigUser, MigApps, MigDocs). USMT does NOT copy entire program installations over to the new OS, however.

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Hi, I am newbie here and would like to ask question if you can help me:

 

I've tried to run scanstate to scan remote PC but it always scan my PC instead. It seems the offline only work with winPE and I have to reboot the remote PC to start the offline scanstate but I don't want to do that, since the remote PCs 200 miles away. Is there anyway that I can do scanstate remotely without using winPE?

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