1. Installing USMT
USMT 4.0 is included in the Windows Automated Installation Kit 2.0 (Windows AIK 2.0). You can download the Windows AIK from the Microsoft Download Center at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads. After downloading and installing the Windows AIK, the USMT source files are in C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\USMT\Platform, where Platform is either amd64 or x86.
You can stage USMT directly
on each client computer or on a network share. If you're using MDT
2010, it can install USMT in deployment shares automatically. MDT 2010
already contains logic for using USMT to save and restore user state
data on each computer.
You use USMT in a number of
ways: on a network share, on Windows PE media, on an MDT 2010 deployment
share, or with Configuration Manager. The last two options enable
migration during LTI and ZTI deployment projects. The following sections
describe each option.
1.1. Network Share
After installing the Windows
AIK on a local computer, you can copy the contents of the C:\Program
Files\Windows AIK\Tools\USMT\ to a network share. Then you can run
ScanState and LoadState remotely on each computer.
1.2. Windows PE Media
USMT 4.0 supports offline
migration. That is, you can run USMT from a Windows PE session to save
user state data without actually starting the old operating system. To
support this scenario, you must copy the USMT binary files to your
Windows PE media.
1.3. Microsoft Deployment Toolkit
Unlike earlier versions of MDT,
MDT 2010 automatically adds USMT to deployment shares when you update
them. It copies the files from the Windows AIK to the USMT folder in the
deployment share. You do not have to do anything additional to install
USMT in a deployment share.
1.4. Configuration Manager
You
can use USMT with Configuration Manager to manage user state migrations
during operating system deployment. For more information, see the
System Center Configuration Manager 2007 documentation.
2. Understanding USMT Components
After downloading and installing the Windows AIK, the USMT source files are in C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\USMT\Platform, where Platform
is either amd64 or x86. The installer copies many files into this
folder, including .dll files, feature manifests, and other application
initialization files. (See Figure 1.) Most of the files support the two main executables: Scanstate.exe and Loadstate.exe.
In addition to ScanState and LoadState, USMT uses three XML migration files—MigApp.xml, MigDocs.xml, and MigUser.xml—to
perform basic file and settings migrations based on default criteria.
You can customize these files, along with custom .xml files, to migrate
additional files and settings or to exclude some of the default files
and settings.
ScanState and LoadState save
and restore user state data, respectively. You can run them directly
from a command prompt. They provide several command-line options that
control their behavior. USMT 4.0 includes an additional utility called UsmtUtils.exe. This utility helps you to determine cryptographic options for your migration. It also helps remove hard-link stores that you cannot delete otherwise due to a sharing lock.
2.1. Scanstate.exe
You use ScanState to save
user state data. By default, this program places user state data into
the data store location as defined by the three migration .xml files.
The following describes an abbreviated syntax of ScanState, and Table 1 describes each command-line option.
Scanstate.exe [Store][/i:[path\]filename] [/config:[path\]file] [/hardlink /nocompress]
[/o] [/p[:file]] [/vsc]
Table 1. Scanstate.exe Command-Line Options
| OPTION | DESCRIPTION |
|---|
| Store | Specifies a path to the data store. |
| /config:[path\]file | Specifies a Config.xml file. |
| /hardlink | Enables the creation of a hard-link migration store at the location specified by Store. You must specify the /nocompress option when using this option. |
| /i:[path\]filename | Identifies a migration .xml file to use when saving state data. You can use this option multiple times. |
| /nocompress | Disables data compression. Use this option only with the /hardlink option or when testing in a lab environment. |
| /o | Overwrites existing data in the data store. |
| /p[:file] | Creates
a size estimate in the path specified. When used without a path, it
creates a size estimate file called USMTsize.txt in the location
specified by Store. |
| /vsc | Enables use of the Volume Shadow Copy service to migrate files that are locked or in use during migration. |
Note:
ScanState supports many
other command-line options. For a complete list of these options, see
the USMT.chm help file in the Windows AIK.
2.2. Loadstate.exe
You use LoadState to restore
user state from the data store. By default, this program restores user
state to the location from which ScanState originally saved it—unless
one of the migration .xml files redirects it. You must specify the same
migration .xml files to LoadState that you did to ScanState. The
following describes an abbreviated syntax of LoadState, and Table 2 describes each command-line option.
Loadstate.exe [Store][/i:[path\]filename] [/hardlink /nocompress]
Table 2. Loadstate.exe Command-Line Options
| OPTION | DESCRIPTION |
|---|
| Store | Specifies a path to the data store. |
| /i:[path\]filename | Identifies a migration .xml file to use when restoring user state data. You can use this option multiple times. |
| /config:[path\]file | Specifies a Config.xml file. |
| /hardlink | Enables the creation of a hard-link migration store at the location specified by Store. You must specify the /nocompress option when using this option. |
| /nocompress | Disables data compression. Use this option only with the /hardlink option or when testing in a lab environment. |
Note:
LoadState supports many other command-line options. For a complete list of these options, see the USMT.chm help file in the Windows AIK.
2.3. Migration Files
Both
ScanState and LoadState use three migration .xml files to control
migrations. In addition to these three files, you can specify one or
more custom .xml files to migrate custom applications or customize the
standard migrations. migration files.
