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Manage Administrative Backup and Restore in UE-V (Windows 10)

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As an administrator of User Experience Virtualization (UE-V), you can restore application and Windows settings to their original state. You can also restore more settings when a user adopts a new device.

Restore Settings in UE-V when a User Adopts a New Device

To restore settings when a user adopts a new device, you can put a settings location template in a backup or roam (default) profile using the Set-UevTemplateProfile PowerShell cmdlet. This setup lets computer settings sync to the new computer, in addition to user settings. Templates assigned to the backup profile are backed up for that device and configured on a per-device basis. To back up settings for a template, use the following cmdlet in Windows PowerShell:

Set-UevTemplateProfile -ID <TemplateID> -Profile <backup>
  • <TemplateID> is the UE-V Template ID
  • <backup> can either be Backup or Roaming

When a user's device is being replaced, UE-V automatically restores settings if the user's domain, username, and device name all match. All synchronized and any backup data is restored on the device automatically.

You can also use the Windows PowerShell cmdlet, Restore-UevBackup, to restore settings from a different device. To clone the settings packages for the new device, use the following cmdlet in Windows PowerShell:

Restore-UevBackup -ComputerName <Computer name>

where <ComputerName> is the computer name of the device.

Templates such as the Office 2013 template that include many applications can either all be included in the roamed (default) or backed up profile. Individual apps in a template suite follow the group. Office 2013 in-box templates include both roaming and backup-only settings. Backup-only settings can't be included in a roaming profile.

As part of the Backup/Restore feature, UE-V added last known good (LKG) to the options for rolling back to settings. In this release, you can roll back to either the original settings or LKG settings. The LKG settings let users roll back to an intermediate and stable point ahead of the pre-UE-V state of the settings.

How to Backup/Restore Templates with UE-V

Here are the key backup and restore components of UE-V:

  • Template profiles
  • Settings packages location within the Settings Storage Location template
  • Backup trigger
  • How settings are restored

Template Profiles

A UE-V template profile is defined when the template is registered on the device or post registration through the PowerShell/WMI configuration utility. The profile types include:

  • Roaming (default)
  • Backup
  • BackupOnly

All templates are included in the roaming profile when registered unless otherwise specified. These templates synchronize settings to all UE-V enabled devices with the corresponding template enabled.

Templates can be added to the Backup Profile with PowerShell or WMI using the Set-UevTemplateProfile cmdlet. Templates in the Backup Profile back up these settings to the Settings Storage Location in a special Device name directory. Specified settings are backed up to this location.

Templates designated BackupOnly include settings specific to that device that shouldn't be synchronized unless explicitly restored. These settings are stored in the same device-specific settings package location on the settings storage location as the Backedup Settings. These templates have a special identifier embedded in the template that specifies they should be part of this profile.

Settings packages location within the Settings Storage Location template

Roaming Profile settings are stored on the settings storage location. Templates assigned to the Backup or the BackupOnly profile store their settings to the Settings Storage Location in a special Device name directory. Each device with templates in these profiles has its own device name. UE-V doesn't clean up these directories.

Backup trigger

Backup is triggered by the same events that trigger a UE-V synchronization.

How settings are restored

Restoring a user's device restores the currently registered Template's settings from another device's backup folder and all synchronized settings to the current machine. Settings are restored in these two ways:

  • Automatic restore

    If the user's UE-V settings storage path, domain, and Computer name match the current user then all of the settings for that user are synchronized, with only the latest settings applied. If a user signs in to a new device for the first time and these criteria are met, the settings data is applied to that device.

    Note

    Accessibility and Windows Desktop settings require the user to sign in again to Windows to be applied.

  • Manual Restore

    If you want to assist users by restoring a device during a refresh, you can choose to use the Restore-UevBackup cmdlet. This command ensures that the user's current settings become the current state on the Settings Storage Location.

Restore Application and Windows Settings to Original State

WMI and Windows PowerShell commands let you restore application and Windows settings to the settings values that were on the computer the first time that the application started after the UE-V service was enabled. This restoring action is performed on a per-application or Windows settings basis. The settings are restored the next time that the application runs, or the settings are restored when the user signs in to the operating system.

To restore application settings and Windows settings with Windows PowerShell for UE-V

  1. Open the Windows PowerShell window.

  2. Enter the following Windows PowerShell cmdlet to restore the application settings and Windows settings.

    Windows PowerShell cmdlet Description
    Restore-UevUserSetting -<TemplateID> Restores the user settings for an application or restores a group of Windows settings.

To restore application settings and Windows settings with WMI

  1. Open a Windows PowerShell window.

  2. Enter the following WMI command to restore application settings and Windows settings.

    WMI command Description
    Invoke-WmiMethod -Namespace root\Microsoft\UEV -Class UserSettings -Name RestoreByTemplateId -ArgumentList <template_ID> Restores the user settings for an application or restores a group of Windows settings.

Note

UE-V doesn't provide a settings rollback for Windows apps.

Administering UE-V with Windows PowerShell and WMI Administering UE-V