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Active Directory : Tech-Pages
Migrating User Desktop Settings
Author Mark N. Goedert
mgoedert@uic.edu
Introduction
This page will guide you through the process of restoring a user's desktop after they are moved into the UIC-AD.
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
- The workstation must be in the ad.uic.edu domain.
- You (as the Administrator) must have a Local Administrator account on the PC that you are migrating the data.
- The Local Administrator must be different from the source or target account you wish to migrate. That is, you need three different accounts to perform this migration.
- You must have enough disk space to copy the contents of your old user profile into the new user profile.
Adding a Workstation into the UIC-AD
The following web page outlines how to add a workstation into the UIC-AD. Click here to reference the technical document.
Active Directory Tech Page:
Adding a Workstation into Active Directory
Have the user login to the UIC-AD
After the workstation is added into the UIC-AD the user should login with their NetID and common (email) password. This initial login will take several minutes as a new set of user desktop settings, files and folders are created. The collection of user settings is known as the "user profile". Every account on a PC has a user profile regardless if it is in the UIC-AD or a local account. After the user successfully logs into the workstation you will notice that the desktop is the generic windows desktop that appears when the workstation is started for the first time.
Reboot the PC
After the user has successfully logged in you must reboot the PC before attempting the next step. A reboot is required to remove all file locks on user profiles in the system. If you simply logout, the profile copy in the next step will fail.
Login as a Local Administrator
The first step in copying files is to have a local account with full administrative rights to the workstation. Login to the workstation with your Local Administrator account. This cannot be the user account that existed before they were moved into the UIC-AD, it must be a seperate Local Administrator.
Run the Profile Wizard
You can locate the user profile wizard on a Windows XP workstation;
Right Click "My Computer"
Select Properties | Advanced Tab
In the "User Profiles" section, click the "Settings" button
A new window will appear listing all of the user profiles stored on the workstation.
Select the old user name in the list and click the "Copy To" button
Navigate to the location of the new user profile and click "ok" to copy the files.
The copy will take several minutes, especially if the user has a lot of saved files or a large browser cache. You must have enough available disk space to perform the copy otherwise the migration will fail.
Verify Migration of Desktop Settings
Have the user login with their NetID and common (email) password. All of the old desktop settings will now appear under the UIC-AD login.
- Mark N. Goedert
Last Modified 11/17/2006
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