A+: Moving Data with the User State Migration Tool

An alternative for moving data is the User State Migration Tool (USMT), a command-line tool that can be used to migrate user files and settings for one or more computers. The program can be downloaded from www.microsoft.com. When installed, two different tools are used: Scanstate.exe saves all the files and settings of the user (or users) on a computer, known as the user state; and loadstate.exe transfers that data to the destination computer(s). There are many options when using the scanstate and loadstate commands, including the ability to select which users are migrated and whether the store of data is uncompressed, compressed, or compressed and encrypted. By utilizing scripting programs, the transfer of files to multiple computers can be automated over the network. For more information on how to transfer files and settings with USMT, see the following TechNet link:

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc722032(WS.10).aspx.