Lesson 3: Migrating and Configuring User Data MOAC 70-687: Configuring Windows 8.1

Overview Exam Objective 1.3: Migrate and configure user data Migrate user profiles Configure folder location Configure profiles, including profile version, local, roaming, and mandatory Lecture notes go here © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Configuring User Profiles Lesson 3: Migrating and Configuring User Data Lecture notes go here © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

User Profiles A user profile is a series of folders, associated with a specific user account, that contain personal documents, user-specific registry settings, Internet favorites, and other personalized information—everything that provides a user’s familiar working environment. On a Windows 8.1 computer, user profiles are stored in the Users folder, in subfolders named for the user accounts. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

User Profiles There are three main types of user profiles, as follows: Local user profile Roaming user profile Mandatory user profile Local user profile – A profile that Windows 8 automatically creates when each user logs on at the computer for the first time. The local user profile is stored on the computer’s local hard disk. Roaming user profile – A copy of a local user profile that is stored on a shared server drive, making it accessible from anywhere on the network. Mandatory user profile – A roaming profile that users cannot change. Administrators use mandatory user profiles to enforce particular desktop settings for individuals or for a group of users. A fourth variation, called a super-mandatory profile, requires the user to access the server-based profile or the logon fails. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using Roaming Profiles A roaming user profile is simply a copy of a local user profile that is stored on a network share (to which the user has appropriate permissions), so that the user can access it from any computer on the network. To enable a user to access a roaming user profile, rather than a local profile, you must open the user’s Properties sheet to the Profile tab and specify the location of the roaming profile in the Profile Path field. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using Roaming Profiles For a local user account, you use the Local Users and Groups snap-in – available through the Computer Management console – to access the user’s Properties sheet. For Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) domain users, you use the Active Directory Users and Computers console to access a user’s Properties sheet. The path to the roaming profile folder that you specify on the Profile tab should use Universal Naming Convention (UNC) notation, in the form \\server\share\folder. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using Roaming Profiles To use a single server folder to store profiles for multiple users, you can create subfolders named for the users and add the %username% environment variable to the profile path: Example: \\Fileserver1\Profiles\Users\%username%, For all of your users, and each one will receive a roaming profile in a separate subfolder, named using his or her account, in the Users folder, in the Profiles share, on a server called Fileserver1. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using Roaming Profiles The Profile tab of a domain user’s Properties sheet © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using Mandatory User Profiles A mandatory user profile is simply a read-only roaming user profile. To create a mandatory user profile, you rename the Ntuser.dat file in the folder containing the roaming profile to Ntuser.man. Renaming this file with a .man extension makes it read-only, preventing the client computers from saving changes to the profile when a user logs off. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Managing Profile Compatibility User profiles created with Windows 8/8.1 are not compatible with Windows 7 or earlier versions. If you use a computer running Windows 8/8.1 to access a roaming profile created with Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 automatically upgrades the profile to its new format, rendering it unusable with Windows 7. To control which profile a workstation uses based on the operating system version, you can use a Group Policy setting called Set roaming profile path for all users logging on to this computer. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Managing Profile Compatibility The Set roaming profile path for all users logging on to this computer dialog box © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Migrating User Profiles Lesson 3: Migrating and Configuring User Data Lecture notes go here © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Migrating User Profiles There are two basic methods for deploying Windows 8.1 to a client while retaining the user profile settings: upgrade and migration. Microsoft has created two different tools for migrating files and settings to new computers, which are as follows: Windows Easy Transfer User State Migration Tool © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using Windows Easy Transfer Windows Easy Transfer migrates user profile data from one computer to another in a variety of scenarios. Some of the options you can select are as follows: Number of computers Direct or indirect Storage medium Number of computers – Windows Easy Transfer supports both side-by-side and wipe-and-load migrations. In a side-by-side migration, you have two computers running simultaneously; one is the source computer containing the user profile information you want to transfer, and the other is the destination computer running Windows 8 to which you want to transfer the profile information. In a wipe-and-load migration, you have only one computer, which initially contains the user profile settings you want to transfer. After saving the profile information to a removable storage medium, you perform a clean Windows 8 installation, wiping out all data on the computer’s hard disk, and then transfer the profile data from the removable medium back to the computer. Direct or indirect – When you are performing a side-by-side migration, you can use Windows Easy Transfer with the computers connected together directly, using a cable or a network, or connected indirectly, using a removable storage medium. Storage medium – Windows Easy Transfer can use virtually any storage medium to transfer profile data between computers, as long as it provides sufficient storage space and is accessible by both machines. You can use a writable CD or DVD, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, or a network share. Floppy disks are not supported because they have insufficient capacity . © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using Windows Easy Transfer The most common scenarios are likely to be the following: A user purchases a new computer on which he wants to run Windows 8.1, but he also wants to retain the files and settings from his existing Windows computer. A user wants to install Windows 8.1 on her existing Windows computer and retain all of her files and settings, but she wants to avoid performing an upgrade to maximize her Windows 8.1 performance. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using Windows Easy Transfer The procedure for migrating files: Saving the user profile information on the existing computer Transferring the information to the new computer © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Transferring Data to Windows 8.1 The version of Windows Easy Transfer included with Windows 8.1 is compatible with the Windows 8 and Windows 7 versions as sources. It is not compatible with earlier Windows versions of the tool, even the ones available from the Microsoft Download Center that are designed for Windows 8 compatibility. No matter what data you choose to save when running Windows Easy Transfer on a Windows 7 or Windows 8 source system, the version included with Windows 8.1 can only transfer files It cannot import Windows settings. In addition, the Windows 8.1 version functions only as a transfer destination; it cannot save data for transfer to other systems. The Windows 8.1 version of Windows Easy Transfer only supports migrations using a removable storage device, such as an external hard drive or a USB flash drive. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Transferring Data to Windows 8.1 The What do you want to use to transfer items to your new PC? page © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Using the User State Migration Tool The User State Migration Tool (USMT) has the same basic capabilities as Windows Easy Transfer; however, USMT is a command line program that lacks a graphical interface. USMT includes two separate command line programs: Scanstate.exe, which saves user profile data; and Loadstate.exe, which restores previously-saved user profile data. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Configuring Folder Redirection Lesson 3: Migrating and Configuring User Data Lecture notes go here © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Folder Redirection Folder redirection is a Windows 8.1 feature that is simply a means of storing a copy of certain user profile folders on another computer, usually a file server. To implement folder redirection on Windows 8.1, you must join the workstation to an Active Directory Domain Services domain and create Group Policy settings that specify which folders to redirect and where to store them. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Configuring Folder Redirection The Folder Redirection policies in a GPO © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Configuring Folder Redirection The Properties sheet for a Folder Location policy © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Folder Redirection Group Policy Settings © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Folder Redirection Group Policy Settings © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Lesson Summary A user profile is a series of folders, associated with a specific user account, that contain personal documents, user-specific registry settings, Internet favorites, and other personalized information—everything that provides a user’s familiar working environment. A roaming user profile is simply a copy of a local user profile that is stored on a network share (to which the user has appropriate permissions), so that the user can access it from any computer on the network. A mandatory user profile is simply a read-only roaming user profile. Windows Easy Transfer is a tool that migrates user profile information from an existing Windows computer to a new computer with a clean installation of Windows 8.1. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Lesson Summary The User State Migration Tool (USMT) has the same basic capabilities as Windows Easy Transfer. The primary difference between the two is that USMT is a command line program that lacks a graphical interface. Folder redirection is a Windows 8.1 feature that is simply a means of storing a copy of certain user profile folders on another computer, usually a file server. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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