You can use System Center 2012
Configuration Manager task sequences to capture and restore
the user state data in operating system deployment scenarios where
you want to retain the user state of the current operating system.
For example:
- Side-by-side deployments where you want to
capture the user state from one computer to restore it on another
computer.
- Update deployments where you want to capture
and restore the user state on the same computer.
Use the following sections to manage the user state in
Configuration Manager:
User State Capture and Restore
Workflows
The following illustrations show the actions that are
associated with the capture and restoration of user state for a
computer.
Storing User State Data
When you capture user state, you can store the user
state data on the destination computer (suitable for update
deployments) or on a user state migration point (required for
side-by-side deployment). To store the user state on a user state
migration point, you must use a Configuration Manager site system
server that hosts the state migration point site system role. To
store the user state on the destination computer, you must
configure your task sequence to store the data locally using
links.
 Note |
| The links that are used to store the user state locally are
referred to as hard-links. Hard-links is a USMT 4.0 feature
that scans the computer for user files and settings and then
creates a directory of hard-links to those files. The hard-links
are then used to restore the user data after the new operating
system is deployed. |
 Important |
| You cannot use a state migration point and use hard-links to
store the user state data at the same time. |
To store the user state data on a state migration
point, you must perform the following steps:
- Configure a state migration point to store the user state
data.
- Create a computer association between the source computer and
the destination computer. You must create this association before
you capture the user state on the source computer.
- Add steps to your task sequence that captures the user state
data and then stores it on the state migration point.
- Add steps to your task sequence that retrieves the user state
data from the state migration point and then restores the data on
the destination computer.
To store the user state data on the destination
computer for update deployments, you must perform the following
steps:
- Add steps to your task sequence that capture
and store the user state data to a local folder using links.
- Add steps to your task sequence that restores
the user state using those links.
| Note |
| The user state data that the hard-links reference remains on
the computer after the task sequence removes the old operating
system. This is the data that is used to restore the user state
when the new operating system is deployed. |
How to Configure the State Migration
Point Role
You can use the following methods to configure a state
migration point to store the user state data:
- Use the Create Site System Server Wizard to create a new
site system server for the state migration point.
- Use the Add Site System Roles Wizard to add a state
migration point to an existing server.
When you use these wizards, you are prompted to provide
the following information for the state migration point:
- The folders to store the user state data.
- The maximum number of clients that can store
data on the state migration point.
- The minimum free space for the state
migration point to store user state data.
- The deletion policy for the role. You can
specify that the user state data is deleted immediately after it is
restored on a computer, or after a specific number of days after
the user data is restored on a computer.
- Whether you want the state migration point to
respond only to requests to restore user state data. When you
enable this option, you cannot use the state migration point to
store user state data.
For more information about how to install site system
roles, see the
Install Site System Roles section of the Install and Configure
Site System Roles for Configuration Manager topic.
How to Create a Computer Association
for Side-by-Side Deployment
Create a computer association to define a relationship
between a source computer and a destination computer for
side-by-side deployments. The source computer is an existing
computer that Configuration Manager manages. When you deploy the
new operating system to the destination computer, the source
computer contains the user state that is migrated to the
destination computer.
To create a computer association
-
In the Configuration Manager console, click Assets
and Compliance.
-
In the Assets and Compliance workspace, click
User State Migration.
-
On the Home tab, in the Create group,
click Create Computer Association.
-
On the Computer Association tab of the
Computer Association Properties dialog box, specify the
source computer that has the user state to capture, and the
destination computer on which to restore the user state data.
-
On the User Accounts tab, specify the user
accounts to migrate to the destination computer. Specify one of the
following settings:
- Capture and restore all user accounts:
This setting captures and restores all user accounts. Use this
setting to create multiple associations to the same source
computer.
- Capture all user accounts and restore
specified accounts: This setting captures all user accounts on
the source computer and only restores the accounts that you specify
on the destination computer. In addition, you can use this setting
when you want to create multiple associations to the same source
computer.
- Capture and restore specified user
accounts: This setting captures and restores only the accounts
that you specify. You cannot create multiple associations to the
same source computer when you select this setting.
How to Create a USMT Package
To store the user state data locally or on a state
migration point, you must create a package that contains the USMT
source files that you want to use. This package is specified when
you add the Capture User State step to your task
sequence.
Use the following procedure to create a USMT package by
using the Create Package and Program Wizard. For more information
on the Create Package and Program Wizard, see the How
to Create a Package and Program by using the Create Package and
Program Wizard section of the How to Create Packages
and Programs in Configuration Manager topic.
To create a USMT package
-
On the Package page of the Create Package and
Program Wizard, select This package contains source files
and browse to the USMT folder in the WAIK folder.
Only one USMT package is required for x64 and x86
computers, so browse to the root USMT folder. Typically the path to
the USMT folder is C:\Program Files\WAIK\tools\USMT.
-
On the Program Type page of the wizard, select
Do not create a program.
-
Complete the wizard.
How to Capture and Restore User
State Data
To capture and restore the user state, you must first
create a task sequence, and then edit the task sequence to add the
following task sequence steps:
- Request State Store: This step is needed only if you
store the user state on the state migration point.
- Capture User State: This step captures the user state
data and stores it on the state migration point or locally using
links.
- Restore User State: This step restores the user state
data on the destination computer. It can retrieve the data from a
user state migration point or from the destination computer.
- Release State Store: This step is needed only if you
store the user state on the state migration point. This step
removes this data from the state migration point.
You must use the User State Migration Tool (USMT) to
complete the capture and restore steps. When you migrate user state
from Windows XP to Windows XP, you must use USMT 3.0.1.
For all other supported user state migration scenarios, you must
use USMT 4.0.
Use the following procedures to add the task sequence
steps needed to capture the user state and restore the user state.
For more information about how to create a task sequence and how to
edit a task sequence, see the following sections in the How to Manage Task
Sequences in Configuration Manager topic:
To add task sequence steps to capture
the user state
-
In the Task Sequence list, select a task
sequence, and then click Edit.
-
If you are using a state migration point to store the
user state, add the Request State Store step to the task
sequence. In the Task Sequence Editor dialog box, click
Add, point to User State, and then click Request
State Store. Specify the following properties and options for
the Request State Store step, and then click
Apply.
On the Properties tab, specify the following
options:
- Enter a name and description for the
step.
- Click Capture state from the
computer.
- In the Number of retries box, specify
the number of times the task sequence attempts to capture the user
state data if an error occurs.
- In the Retry delay (in seconds) box,
specify how many seconds that the task sequence waits before it
retries to capture the data.
- Select the If computer account fails to
connect to state store, use the Network Access account check
box to specify whether to use the Configuration Manager Network
Access Account capture the user state data.
For more information about the Network Access Account, see the
Configure the Network Access Account section of the Configuring Content
Management in Configuration Manager topic.
On the Options tab, specify the following
options:
- Select the Continue on error check box
if you want the task sequence to continue to the next step if this
step fails.
- Specify any conditions that must be met
before the task sequence can continue if an error occurs.
-
Add the Capture User State step to the task
sequence. In the Task Sequence Editor dialog box, click
Add, point to User State, and then click Capture
User State. Specify the following properties and options for
the Capture User State step, and then click OK.
| Important |
| When you add this step to your task sequence, also set the
OSDStateStorePath task sequence variable to specify where
the user state data is stored. If you store the user state locally,
do not specify a root folder as that can cause the task sequence to
fail. When you store the user data locally always use a folder or
subfolder. For information about this variable, see Capture
User State Task Sequence Action Variables. |
On the Properties tab, specify the following
options:
- Enter a name and description for the
step.
- Specify the package that contains the USMT
source file used to capture the user state data.
- Specify the user profiles to capture:
- Click Capture all user profiles with
standard options to capture all user profiles.
- Click Customize user profile capture
to specify individual user profiles to capture.
- Select Enable verbose logging to
specify how much information to write to log files if an error
occurs.
- Select Skip files that use the Encrypting
File System (EFS).
- Select Copy by using file system
access to specify the following settings:
- Continue if some files cannot be
captured: This setting allows the task sequence step to
continue the migration process even if some files cannot be
captured. If you disable this option and a file cannot be captured,
the task sequence step fails. This option is enabled by
default.
- Capture locally by using links instead of
by copying files: This setting allows you to use the hard link
migration feature that is available in USMT 4.0. This setting
is ignored if you use versions of USMT that are earlier than USMT
4.0.
- Capture in off-line mode (Windows PE
only): This setting allows you to capture use state from
Windows PE without booting to the existing operating system.
This setting is ignored if you use versions of USMT that are
earlier than USMT 4.0.
- Select Capture by using Volume Copy Shadow
Services (VSS). This setting is ignored if you use versions of
USMT that are earlier than USMT 4.0.
On the Options tab, specify the following
options:
- Select the Continue on error check box
if you want the task sequence to continue to the next step if this
step fails.
- Specify any conditions that must be met
before the task sequence can continue if an error occurs.
Deploy this task sequence to capture the user state on
a destination computer. For information about how to deploy task
sequences, see the How to
Deploy a Task Sequence section in the How to Manage Task
Sequences in Configuration Manager.
To add task sequence steps to restore
the user state
-
In the Task Sequence list, select a task
sequence, and then click Edit.
-
Add the Restore User State step to the task
sequence. In the Task Sequence Editor dialog box, click
Add, point to User State, and then click Restore
User State. This step establishes a connection to the state
migration point. Specify the following properties and options for
the Restore User State step, and then click OK.
On the Properties tab, specify the following
properties:
- Enter a name and description for the
step.
- Specify the package that contains the USMT to
restore the user state data.
- Specify the user profiles to restore:
- Click Restore all captured user profiles
with standard options to restore all user profiles.
- Click Customize user profile capture
to restore individual user profiles.
- Select Restore local computer user
profiles to provide a new password for the restored profiles.
You cannot migrate passwords for local profiles.
| Note |
| When you have local user accounts, and you use the Capture
User State step and select Capture all user profiles with
standard options, you must select the Restore local computer
user profiles setting in the Restore User State step or
the task sequence will fail. |
- Select Continue if some files cannot be
restored if you want the Restore User State step to
continue if a file cannot be restored.
If you store the user state by using local links and the restore is
not successful, the administrative user can manually delete the
hard-links that were created to store the data or the task sequence
can run the USMTUtils tool. If you use USMTUtils to delete the
hard-link, add a Restart
Computer step after you run USMTUtils.
- Select Enable verbose logging to
specify how much information to write to log files if an error
occurs.
On the Options tab, specify the following
options:
- Select the Continue on error check box
if you want the task sequence to continue to the next step if this
step fails.
- Specify any conditions that must be met
before the task sequence can continue if an error occurs.
-
If you are using a state migration point to store the
user state, add the Release State Store step to the task
sequence. In the Task Sequence Editor dialog box, click
Add, point to User State, and then click Release
State Store. Specify the following properties and options for
the Release State Store step, and then click OK.
| Important |
| The task sequence action that runs before the Release State
Store step must be successful before the Release State
Store step is started. |
On the Properties tab, enter a name and
description for the step.
On the Options tab, specify the following
options.
- Select the Continue on error check box
if you want the task sequence to continue to the next step if this
step fails.
- Specify any conditions that must be met
before the task sequence can continue when an error occurs.
Deploy this task sequence to restore the user state on
a destination computer. For information about deploying task
sequences, see the How to
Deploy a Task Sequence section in the How to Manage Task
Sequences in Configuration Manager topic.
How to Restore the User State Data
when the Operating System Deployment Fails
If the operating system deployment fails, use the
USMT 4.0 LoadState feature to retrieve the user states data
was captured during the deployment process. This includes data that
is stored on a state migration point or data that is saved locally
on the destination computer. For more information on this USMT
feature, see LoadState Syntax.
See Also
