User State Migration Tool (USMT)

Overview

• Purpose: Migrates user settings, documents, and application settings to new Windows 10 machines.
• Suitable for: Large deployments (100s or 1000s of computers).
• Alternative for small deployments: Use Laplink's PC Mover Express for small scale (e.g., <10 computers).

Installation

1. Download ADK: Assessment and Deployment Kit includes USMT.
2. Install Path: Default path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\.
3. Select Components: Choose only USMT from ADK installer.

Key Components of USMT

• ScanState: Captures settings from source machine.
• LoadState: Applies settings to destination machine.
• Important Files:
  • MigApp.xml: Application settings.
  • MigDocs.xml: Document settings.
  • MigUser.xml: User settings.
  • Config.xml: User-generated; excludes specific items.

Setting Up Migration

• File Server Setup:
  • Create a folder (e.g., MigStore) on a file server for storage.
  • Set appropriate NTFS and share permissions.
• Command Prompt:
  • Open as Administrator.
  • Navigate to USMT directory.

Running USMT

ScanState Command

• Syntax: scanstate \\server\MigStore /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml /v:13 /l:scan.log
• Purpose: Saves user state to migration store.
• Common Issues: Errors due to insufficient permissions or improper administrative access.

LoadState Command

• Syntax: loadstate \\server\MigStore /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml /v:13 /l:scan.log
• Purpose: Restores user state to new machine.

Important Considerations

• Network Configuration: Ensure proper network connectivity for accessing migration store.
• Account Management: Migrates settings for all accounts on the machine.
• Exclude Non-essential Data: Avoid migrating large media files to streamline process.

Conclusion

• Successfully install and use USMT for large-scale deployments.
• Plan migration strategies considering storage, permissions, and network.

Additional Resources

• Refer to Microsoft documentation for detailed guidance and troubleshooting.

Links

-Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 10 (Windows ADK) https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/w...

-User State Migration Tool Overview https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wind...

-Getting Started with User State Migration Tool (USMT) https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wind...

-Single PC migrations Microsoft recommended PCmover by Laplink https://pcmover-10.laplink.com/

-Main files for USMT: migapp.xml = migration of application settings migdocs.xml = migration of documents miguser = migration of user-defined settings config.xml = generated with scanstate, used by loadstate to exclude migration data scan.log = logfile generated with scanstate and loadstate

-To migrate settings use scanstate: scanstate \servername\migrationstore /i:migapp.xml /i:migdocs.xml /v:13 /l:scan.log

-To load migration data to the new computer: loadstate \servername\migrationstore /i:migapp.xml /i:migdocs.xml /v:13 /l:scan.log