You can find more information about automating LTI deployment in the Windows 7 Resource Kit from Microsoft Press. I'm the lead author for this Resource Kit and I also maintain the Unofficial Support Site for the Windows 7 Resource Kit where you will find the latest updates and other useful information.
In the previous article of this series, we examined how MDT 2010 together with USMT 4.0 can be used to manually migrate a Windows XP computer to Windows 7 while maintaining the user settings and data on the computer. In this article we are going to fully automate the migration process.
To do this, use the Deployment Workbench on your MDT computer to open the properties of your deployment share. If you have worked through the previous article of this series then the Bootstrap.ini file for this share will look like this:
[Settings]
Priority=Default
[Default]
DeployRoot=\\SEA-DC1\DeploymentShare$
UserID=Administrator
UserDomain=CONTOSO
UserP***word=Pa$$w0rd
KeyboardLocale=en-US
SkipBDDWelcome=YES
This is fine as is. We do not need to modify Bootstrap.ini any further.
Now examine the CustomSettings.ini file for your deployment share, which should currently look like this:
[Settings]
Priority=Default
Properties=MyCustomProperty
[Default]
OSInstall=YES
SkipAdminP***word=YES
SkipApplications=YES
SkipAppsOnUpgrade=YES
SkipBDDWelcome=YES
SkipBitLocker=YES
SkipCapture=YES
SkipComputerName=NO
SkipComputerBackup=NO
ComputerBackup**********AUTO
SkipDeploymentType=NO
SkipDomainMembership=YES
JoinDomain=CONTOSO
DomainAdmin=Administrator
DomainAdminDomain=CONTOSO
DomainAdminP***word=Pa$$w0rd
SkipFinalSummary=NO
SkipLocaleSelection=YES
KeyboardLocale=en-US
UserLocale=en-US
UI********=en-US
SkipPackageDisplay=YES
SkipProductKey=YES
SkipSummary=NO
SkipTaskSequence=NO
SkipTimeZone=YES
TimeZoneName=Central Standard Time
SkipUserData=NO
UserData**********AUTO
Here is where we need to make several changes in order to automate the migration process.
First, change this line:
SkipComputerName=NO
to the following:
SkipComputerName=YES
Doing this means you won't be prompted to rename the computer during the migration.
Next, change these two lines:
SkipComputerBackup=NO
ComputerBackup**********AUTO
to the following:
SkipComputerBackup=YES
ComputerBackup**********NONE
Of course, not backing up the computer before migrating it is not a good idea, but we will do this to speed up the walkthrough.
Next, change this line:
SkipDeploymentType=NO
to this:
SkipDeploymentType=YES
and add the following line below it:
DeploymentType=*******
Doing this means that you won't be prompted to choose the type of deployment scenario to perform.
Next, change this line:
SkipTaskSequence=NO
to this:
SkipTaskSequence=YES
Then under this line add another line specifying the task sequence you will use for the migration, which in my own lab environment is the following:
TaskSequenceID=XP_TO_W7
Next, change this line:
SkipUserData=NO
to this:
SkipUserData=YES
Leave this line unchanged:
UserData**********AUTO
This will cause user state information to be captured and restored using hard-line migration.
Finally, change these two lines:
SkipFinalSummary=NO
SkipSummary=NO
to read as follows:
SkipFinalSummary=YES
SkipSummary=YES
Doing this will hide the final summary screen of the Windows Deployment Wizard from the computer's user.
Having made all of these changes, your CustomSettings.ini file should now look like this:
[Settings]
Priority=Default
Properties=MyCustomProperty
[Default]
OSInstall=YES
SkipAdminP***word=YES
SkipApplications=YES
SkipAppsOnUpgrade=YES
SkipBDDWelcome=YES
SkipBitLocker=YES
SkipCapture=YES
SkipComputerName=YES
SkipComputerBackup=YES
ComputerBackup**********NONE
SkipDeploymentType=YES
DeploymentType=*******
SkipDomainMembership=YES
JoinDomain=CONTOSO
DomainAdmin=Administrator
DomainAdminDomain=CONTOSO
DomainAdminP***word=Pa$$w0rd
SkipFinalSummary=YES
SkipLocaleSelection=YES
KeyboardLocale=en-US
UserLocale=en-US
UI********=en-US
SkipPackageDisplay=YES
SkipProductKey=YES
SkipSummary=YES
SkipTaskSequence=YES
TaskSequenceID=XP_TO_W7
SkipTimeZone=YES
TimeZoneName=Central Standard Time
SkipUserData=YES
UserData**********AUTO
Before you perform the deployment, make sure that you have customized the users’ computer, for example, by copying a photo file to the My Pictures folder in her user profile as we did in the previous article of this series.
Now log onto the user's computer as Administrator, open a command prompt, and type the following command to launch the Windows Deployment Wizard on the computer:
\\SEA-DC1\DeploymentShare$\******s\LiteTouch.vbs
Instead of having to respond to various prompts of the wizard, the progress bar will immediately be displayed indicating that the user state information on the computer is being captured...
User state information is being captured
After a short time, the computer will reboot and MDT will begin applying the Windows 7 image to the computer. Once Windows 7 has been installed and the computer reboots for the last time, the progress bar will indicate that the captured user state information is being restored...
User state information is being restored
Once this is done, the user can log onto her *******ed computer and when she opens her Pictures library, she sees that the photo is still present, which indicates that her user state information has been successfully migrated...
The migration succeeded
Considerations when Migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7:
Before you jump in and begin migrating all your Windows XP computers to Windows 7, you need to consider a few things.
First, if your Windows XP computers are old and do not have the hardware to properly support running Windows 7 on them, consider using the Replace Computer deployment scenario instead of the ******* Computer scenario. In the Replace Computer scenario, MDT first uses USMT to capture user state information and save it to a network share. Then MDT performs a clean installation of Windows 7 on a brand-new computer. Finally, MDT uses USMT to restore the user state information to the new computer. In this scenario, the user gets a new computer and a new operating system but retains her existing user settings and data. Afterwards you send the users' old computers to the recycle mart.
Second, if your Windows XP computers have older applications that aren't compatible with Windows 7 then you'll need to use the application compatibility tools and strategies outlined in part 12 of this series before you can consider migrating the computers to Windows 7.
Third, if you plan on upgrading the applications on your Windows XP computers to newer versions of these applications, and if all important user data is redirected for storage on the network, then maybe you shouldn't migrate the computers at all. Instead, consider using the New Computer deployment scenario to deploy Windows 7 together with new applications onto either new or existing hardware, and forget about migrating user settings and data. After all, what better time to start from scratch than when you are migrating your desktop computers from an operating system that is approaching end of life?
Finally, if you want to customize which user settings and data are migrated and which are not migrated (for example to avoid migrating settings for older applications that are no longer needed) then you need to learn how to customize the XML migration files that govern how USMT works. In this case, you can begin learning more by reading Chapter 7 of the Windows 7 Resource Kit from Microsoft Press. This will give you a good introduction to how USMT can be customized, and if you need to dig deeper into this topic then see the User State Migration Tool 4.0...
Introduction to USMT 4.0
Windows® User State Migration Tool (USMT) 4.0 is a ******able command-line tool that provides a highly-customizable user-profile migration experience for IT professionals. USMT includes two components, ScanState and LoadState, and a set of modifiable .xml files: MigApp.xml, MigUser.xml, and MigDocs.xml. In addition, you can create custom .xml files to support your migration needs. You can also create a Config.xml file to specify files or settings to exclude from the migration.
Benefits:
USMT 4.0 provides the following benefits to businesses that are deploying Windows® operating systems:
Safely migrates user accounts, operating system and application settings.
Lowers the cost of deploying Windows® by preserving user state
Reduces end-user downtime required to customize desktops and find missing files
Reduces help-desk calls
Reduces the time needed for the user to become familiar with the new operating system
Increases employee satisfaction with the migration experience.
Limitations
USMT is intended for administrators who are performing large-scale automated deployments. If you are only migrating the user states of a few computers, you can use Windows Easy Transfer for computers running Windows Vista® or Windows® 7...
In the previous article of this series, we examined how MDT 2010 together with USMT 4.0 can be used to manually migrate a Windows XP computer to Windows 7 while maintaining the user settings and data on the computer. In this article we are going to fully automate the migration process.
To do this, use the Deployment Workbench on your MDT computer to open the properties of your deployment share. If you have worked through the previous article of this series then the Bootstrap.ini file for this share will look like this:
[Settings]
Priority=Default
[Default]
DeployRoot=\\SEA-DC1\DeploymentShare$
UserID=Administrator
UserDomain=CONTOSO
UserP***word=Pa$$w0rd
KeyboardLocale=en-US
SkipBDDWelcome=YES
This is fine as is. We do not need to modify Bootstrap.ini any further.
Now examine the CustomSettings.ini file for your deployment share, which should currently look like this:
[Settings]
Priority=Default
Properties=MyCustomProperty
[Default]
OSInstall=YES
SkipAdminP***word=YES
SkipApplications=YES
SkipAppsOnUpgrade=YES
SkipBDDWelcome=YES
SkipBitLocker=YES
SkipCapture=YES
SkipComputerName=NO
SkipComputerBackup=NO
ComputerBackup**********AUTO
SkipDeploymentType=NO
SkipDomainMembership=YES
JoinDomain=CONTOSO
DomainAdmin=Administrator
DomainAdminDomain=CONTOSO
DomainAdminP***word=Pa$$w0rd
SkipFinalSummary=NO
SkipLocaleSelection=YES
KeyboardLocale=en-US
UserLocale=en-US
UI********=en-US
SkipPackageDisplay=YES
SkipProductKey=YES
SkipSummary=NO
SkipTaskSequence=NO
SkipTimeZone=YES
TimeZoneName=Central Standard Time
SkipUserData=NO
UserData**********AUTO
Here is where we need to make several changes in order to automate the migration process.
First, change this line:
SkipComputerName=NO
to the following:
SkipComputerName=YES
Doing this means you won't be prompted to rename the computer during the migration.
Next, change these two lines:
SkipComputerBackup=NO
ComputerBackup**********AUTO
to the following:
SkipComputerBackup=YES
ComputerBackup**********NONE
Of course, not backing up the computer before migrating it is not a good idea, but we will do this to speed up the walkthrough.
Next, change this line:
SkipDeploymentType=NO
to this:
SkipDeploymentType=YES
and add the following line below it:
DeploymentType=*******
Doing this means that you won't be prompted to choose the type of deployment scenario to perform.
Next, change this line:
SkipTaskSequence=NO
to this:
SkipTaskSequence=YES
Then under this line add another line specifying the task sequence you will use for the migration, which in my own lab environment is the following:
TaskSequenceID=XP_TO_W7
Next, change this line:
SkipUserData=NO
to this:
SkipUserData=YES
Leave this line unchanged:
UserData**********AUTO
This will cause user state information to be captured and restored using hard-line migration.
Finally, change these two lines:
SkipFinalSummary=NO
SkipSummary=NO
to read as follows:
SkipFinalSummary=YES
SkipSummary=YES
Doing this will hide the final summary screen of the Windows Deployment Wizard from the computer's user.
Having made all of these changes, your CustomSettings.ini file should now look like this:
[Settings]
Priority=Default
Properties=MyCustomProperty
[Default]
OSInstall=YES
SkipAdminP***word=YES
SkipApplications=YES
SkipAppsOnUpgrade=YES
SkipBDDWelcome=YES
SkipBitLocker=YES
SkipCapture=YES
SkipComputerName=YES
SkipComputerBackup=YES
ComputerBackup**********NONE
SkipDeploymentType=YES
DeploymentType=*******
SkipDomainMembership=YES
JoinDomain=CONTOSO
DomainAdmin=Administrator
DomainAdminDomain=CONTOSO
DomainAdminP***word=Pa$$w0rd
SkipFinalSummary=YES
SkipLocaleSelection=YES
KeyboardLocale=en-US
UserLocale=en-US
UI********=en-US
SkipPackageDisplay=YES
SkipProductKey=YES
SkipSummary=YES
SkipTaskSequence=YES
TaskSequenceID=XP_TO_W7
SkipTimeZone=YES
TimeZoneName=Central Standard Time
SkipUserData=YES
UserData**********AUTO
Before you perform the deployment, make sure that you have customized the users’ computer, for example, by copying a photo file to the My Pictures folder in her user profile as we did in the previous article of this series.
Now log onto the user's computer as Administrator, open a command prompt, and type the following command to launch the Windows Deployment Wizard on the computer:
\\SEA-DC1\DeploymentShare$\******s\LiteTouch.vbs
Instead of having to respond to various prompts of the wizard, the progress bar will immediately be displayed indicating that the user state information on the computer is being captured...
User state information is being captured
After a short time, the computer will reboot and MDT will begin applying the Windows 7 image to the computer. Once Windows 7 has been installed and the computer reboots for the last time, the progress bar will indicate that the captured user state information is being restored...
User state information is being restored
Once this is done, the user can log onto her *******ed computer and when she opens her Pictures library, she sees that the photo is still present, which indicates that her user state information has been successfully migrated...
The migration succeeded
Considerations when Migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7:
Before you jump in and begin migrating all your Windows XP computers to Windows 7, you need to consider a few things.
First, if your Windows XP computers are old and do not have the hardware to properly support running Windows 7 on them, consider using the Replace Computer deployment scenario instead of the ******* Computer scenario. In the Replace Computer scenario, MDT first uses USMT to capture user state information and save it to a network share. Then MDT performs a clean installation of Windows 7 on a brand-new computer. Finally, MDT uses USMT to restore the user state information to the new computer. In this scenario, the user gets a new computer and a new operating system but retains her existing user settings and data. Afterwards you send the users' old computers to the recycle mart.
Second, if your Windows XP computers have older applications that aren't compatible with Windows 7 then you'll need to use the application compatibility tools and strategies outlined in part 12 of this series before you can consider migrating the computers to Windows 7.
Third, if you plan on upgrading the applications on your Windows XP computers to newer versions of these applications, and if all important user data is redirected for storage on the network, then maybe you shouldn't migrate the computers at all. Instead, consider using the New Computer deployment scenario to deploy Windows 7 together with new applications onto either new or existing hardware, and forget about migrating user settings and data. After all, what better time to start from scratch than when you are migrating your desktop computers from an operating system that is approaching end of life?
Finally, if you want to customize which user settings and data are migrated and which are not migrated (for example to avoid migrating settings for older applications that are no longer needed) then you need to learn how to customize the XML migration files that govern how USMT works. In this case, you can begin learning more by reading Chapter 7 of the Windows 7 Resource Kit from Microsoft Press. This will give you a good introduction to how USMT can be customized, and if you need to dig deeper into this topic then see the User State Migration Tool 4.0...
Introduction to USMT 4.0
Windows® User State Migration Tool (USMT) 4.0 is a ******able command-line tool that provides a highly-customizable user-profile migration experience for IT professionals. USMT includes two components, ScanState and LoadState, and a set of modifiable .xml files: MigApp.xml, MigUser.xml, and MigDocs.xml. In addition, you can create custom .xml files to support your migration needs. You can also create a Config.xml file to specify files or settings to exclude from the migration.
Benefits:
USMT 4.0 provides the following benefits to businesses that are deploying Windows® operating systems:
Safely migrates user accounts, operating system and application settings.
Lowers the cost of deploying Windows® by preserving user state
Reduces end-user downtime required to customize desktops and find missing files
Reduces help-desk calls
Reduces the time needed for the user to become familiar with the new operating system
Increases employee satisfaction with the migration experience.
Limitations
USMT is intended for administrators who are performing large-scale automated deployments. If you are only migrating the user states of a few computers, you can use Windows Easy Transfer for computers running Windows Vista® or Windows® 7...
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