Convert user status information to Windows XP

Your company has just purchased a new series of computers for employees and is about to "retire" the old Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems. The problem is how you can seamlessly transfer profiles, network connections, applications, documents, Favorites, cookies and more of each old computer to the new system? In other words, how can you convert user status information from old machines to new ones?

To do this, you will need a very useful Microsoft tool called User State Migration Tool (USMT) - which can be found in the ValueaddMsftUsmt folder of the Windows Server 2003 CD (note: USMT version in CD This is 2.5, currently Microsoft has version 2.6 download at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4af2d2c9-f16c-4c52-a203-8daf944dd555&DisplayLang=en).

The main utility this tool offers is reducing downtime, reducing support costs, and making the conversion process smoother. In addition, this tool can be used in situations: format the hard drive on old machines and reinstall Windows XP operating system on it, and replace the old machine with a new one. The only situation that this tool cannot use is an upgrade; however, it is safer to store user status information on the shared network, and in a problematic upgrade situation, you only need to reinstall "fresh install" from the beginning.

Note : If you have used the Windows XP Files and Settings Transfer Wizard, the USMT basically has the same functionality, plus the ability to personalize some other tasks, such as configuration conversions. Specific Registry.

Convert what?

In the default configuration state, USMT will convert the following information from the user computer:

• Internet Explorer configuration, including Favorites and Cookies folders

• Configure Outlook and Outlook Express, including 'store' mail store

• Application configuration of Microsoft Office components and common Office file types

• Desktop folder contents, including My Documents and My Pictures folders.

• Network drive and printer

• Font

• Dial-up connections

• Other configurations: phone and modem; accessibility; mouse and keyboard; select regions; sound; screensaver options

These configurations can be converted from Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows ME, Windows NT, or Windows 2000 Professional (Service Pack 4) to Windows XP Professional (with Service Pack version). You can also convert properties from Windows XP, Windows XP Service Pack 1, or Windows XP Service Pack 2 to another Windows XP machine. These features give the USMT a great ability: create backups of user state information on XP machines and store them on shared networks. In case something goes wrong, you just need to install XP from the beginning and copy all user status information to that computer.

Work

USMT usually includes 2 tools, plus some INF files. These tools include:

• ScanState.exe - used to run on older PCs to copy the status of user information on a shared network.

• LoadState.exe - used to run on new machines to restore user status information from the network share.

The main active INF file is Sysfiles.inf, you can edit this file to determine which application configurations, file types, folders and files are converted when running the two applications. . Other INF files such as Migapp.inf, Miguser.inf, and Migsys.inf can also be adjusted to control the conversion process.

Be careful when adjusting these files because it may change the registry on the target system. Any changes to these files should be checked before you deploy to the conversion process to make sure there are no unexpected problems.

Another great capability of USMT is that the program's EXE file can be run by script to automate the process of converting user configuration from the old machine to the new one.

Conclude

USMT is a great tool to simplify the process of converting user status information from older operating systems to Windows XP to minimize downtime. You can find many useful functions of USMT at the Microsoft TechNet website.