Capture and Deploy the User State
This article is about the process of backing up and restoring user data from the Computer Management view in the SmartDeploy Console. Through this process, it is possible to back up user data from one endpoint and restore it to another, as long as both endpoints have the SmartDeploy Client installed, and have a healthy connection to the SmartDeploy console.
It is also possible to back up and restore user data from the same computer during a reimaging operation (OS refresh scenario). See Step 10 in Create an Answer File for details.
This article contains screenshots of the SmartDeploy Web Console (click here for more info).
The actions described can also be performed in the desktop console.
Start the User State Capture
- In the Computer Management section of the SmartDeploy Web Console, identify the computer that you want to capture user files from.
Clients that appear in the Computer Management workspace in a gray or faded text indicate that the device is off or there's another issue preventing a full connection between the console host and client. User state captures and deployments won't work when clients are in this state. Please see the Advanced Configuration and Troubleshooting section for more information.
- Click to select the target client, and then click Actions, and under User State, click Capture.
- Select which Distribution Point you want the migration file to be saved in. Click the check boxes for the various settings and files that you want migrated.
The user state package is first copied to the local network file share of the local distribution point, and then copied to your cloud distribution point.
-
If the target computer is ready, has had the SmartDeploy Client installed, and is present in the SmartDeploy Console, click the Deploy the migration file after capture check box, and then select the target client to have the user files automatically deployed after capture.
- Click Confirm to capture the user state.
- A banner confirms that the User state was deployed successfully.
Deploy the User State
- In the Computer Management section of the SmartDeploy Web Console, identify the computer that you want to deploy the user state to.
Clients that appear in the Computer Management workspace in a gray or faded text indicate that the device is off or there's another issue preventing a full connection between the console host and client. User state captures and deployments won't work when clients are in this state. Please see the Advanced Configuration and Troubleshooting section for more information.
-
Click to select the target client, and then click Actions, and under User State, click Deploy.
-
Select which Distribution Point, then which captured user state to deploy. Once selected, hit Confirm to deploy the user state.
- You should now see a banner at the top stating the job was created, and the user state task appear in your message history on the device.
Troubleshoot User State Capture and Deploy Issues
SmartDeploy's User State Capture and Deploy actions are built on Microsoft's User State Migration Tool (USMT). If a capture or deploy fails or behaves unexpectedly, the USMT log for the scenario you used will usually show what went wrong, and any return code in that log can be looked up for the specific cause and fix.
USMT Logs
C:\Windows\Debug\Scanstate.logC:\Windows\Temp\Loadstate.log
C:\Windows\Temp\Scanstate.log
C:\Windows\Temp\Loadstate.log
For what a specific USMT return code in one of these logs means, see Microsoft's User State Migration Tool (USMT) return codes reference.
