LoadState syntax
The LoadState.exe command is used with the User State Migration Tool (USMT) 10.0 to restore a store previously captured by the ScanState.exe command onto a destination computer. This article discusses the LoadState.exe command syntax and the options available with it.
Before you begin
Before you run the LoadState.exe command, note the following items:
To ensure that all operating system settings migrate, we recommend that you run the
LoadState.execommands in administrator mode from an account with administrative credentials.For information about software requirements for running the
LoadState.execommand, see USMT requirements.You should sign out after you run the
LoadState.execommand. Some settings, such as example, fonts, wallpaper, and screensaver settings, won't take effect until the next time the user logs in.Unless otherwise specified, you can use each option only once when running a tool on the command line.
LoadState doesn't require domain controller access to apply domain profiles. This functionality is available without any additional configuration. It isn't necessary for the source computer to have had domain controller access when the user profile was gathered using ScanState. However, domain profiles are inaccessible until the destination computer is joined to the domain.
The Incompatible command-line options table lists which options you can use together and which command-line options are incompatible.
Syntax
This section explains the syntax and usage of the command-line options available when you use the LoadState.exe command. The options can be specified in any order. If the option contains a parameter, you can specify either a colon or space separator.
The LoadState.exe command's syntax is:
LoadState.exe StorePath [/i:[Path\]FileName] [/v:VerbosityLevel] [/nocompress] [/decrypt /key:KeyString|/keyfile:[Path\]FileName] [/l:[Path\]FileName] [/progress:[Path\]FileName] [/r:TimesToRetry] [/w:SecondsToWait] [/c] [/all] [/ui:[DomainName|ComputerName\]UserName] [/ue:[[DomainName|ComputerName\]UserName] [/uel:NumberOfDays|YYYY/MM/DD|0] [/md:OldDomain:NewDomain] [/mu:OldDomain\OldUserName:[NewDomain\]NewUserName] [/lac:[Password]] [/lae] [/config:[Path\]FileName] [/?|help]
For example, to decrypt the store and migrate the files and settings to a computer, type the following command:
LoadState.exe \\server\share\migration\mystore /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml /v:13 /decrypt /key:"mykey"
Storage options
USMT provides the following options that you can use to specify how and where the migrated data is stored.
| Command-Line Option | Description |
|---|---|
| StorePath | Indicates the folder where the files and settings data are stored. You must specify StorePath when using the LoadState.exe command. You can't specify more than one StorePath. |
| /decrypt /key:KeyString or /decrypt /key:"Key String" or /decrypt /keyfile:[Path]FileName |
Decrypts the store with the specified key. With this option, you'll need to specify the encryption key in one of the following ways:
KeyString can't exceed 256 characters. The /key and /keyfile options can't be used on the same command line. The /decrypt and /nocompress options can't be used on the same command line. Important Use caution when using the /key or keyfile options. For example, anyone who has access to scripts that run the LoadState.exe command with these options will also have access to the encryption key.For example: LoadState.exe /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml \server\share\migration\mystore /decrypt /key:mykey |
| /decrypt:"encryption strength" | The /decrypt option accepts a command-line parameter to define the encryption strength specified for the migration store encryption. For more information about supported encryption algorithms, see Migration Store Encryption. |
| /hardlink | Enables user-state data to be restored from a hard-link migration store. The /nocompress parameter must be specified with /hardlink option. |
| /nocompress | Specifies that the store isn't compressed. You should only use this option in testing environments. We recommend that you use a compressed store during your actual migration. This option can't be used with the /decrypt option. For example: LoadState.exe /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml \server\share\migration\mystore /nocompress |
Migration rule options
USMT provides the following options to specify what files you want to migrate.
| Command-Line Option | Description |
|---|---|
| /i:[Path]FileName | (include) Specifies an .xml file that contains rules that define what state to migrate. You can specify this option multiple times to include all of your .xml files ( MigApp.xml, MigSys.xml, MigDocs.xml and any custom .xml files that you create). Path can be either a relative or full path. If you don't specify the Path variable, then FileName must be located in the current directory. For more information about which files to specify, see the "XML files" section of the Frequently Asked Questions article. |
| /config:[Path]FileName | Specifies the Config.xml file that the LoadState.exe command should use. You can't specify this option more than once on the command line. Path can be either a relative or full path. If you don't specify the Path variable, then the FileName must be located in the current directory. This example migrates the files and settings based on the rules in the Config.xml, MigDocs.xml, and MigApp.xml files: LoadState.exe \server\share\migration\mystore /config:Config.xml /i:MigDocs.xml /i:MigApp.xml /v:5 /l:LoadState.log |
| /auto:"path to script files" | This option enables you to specify the location of the default .xml files and then launch your migration. If no path is specified, USMT will use the directory where the USMT binaries are located. The /auto option has the same effect as using the following options: /i:MigDocs.xml /i:MigApp.xml /v:5. |
Monitoring options
USMT provides several command-line options that you can use to analyze problems that occur during migration.
| Command-Line Option | Description |
|---|---|
| /l:[Path]FileName | Specifies the location and name of the LoadState log. You can't store any of the log files in StorePath. Path can be either a relative or full path. If you don't specify the Path variable, then the log will be created in the current directory. You can specify the /v option to adjust the verbosity of the log. If you run the LoadState.exe command from a shared network resource, you must specify the l option, or USMT will fail with the error:USMT was unable to create the log file(s) To fix this issue, make sure to specify the /l option when running LoadState.exe from a shared network resource. |
/v:<VerbosityLevel> |
(Verbosity) Enables verbose output in the LoadState log file. The default value is 0. You can set the VerbosityLevel to one of the following levels:
For example: LoadState.exe \server\share\migration\mystore /v:5 /i:MigDocs.xml /i:MigApp.xml |
| /progress:[Path]FileName | Creates the optional progress log. You can't store any of the log files in StorePath. Path can be either a relative or full path. If you don't specify the Path variable, then FileName will be created in the current directory. For example: LoadState.exe /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml \server\share\migration\mystore /progress:Progress.log /l:loadlog.log |
| /c | When this option is specified, the LoadState.exe command will continue to run, even if non-fatal errors occur. Any files or settings that cause an error are logged in the progress log. For example, if there's a large file that won't fit on the computer, the LoadState.exe command will log an error and continue with the migration. Without the /c option, the LoadState.exe command will exit on the first error. You can use the new <ErrorControl> section in the Config.xml file to specify which file or registry read/write errors can be safely ignored and which might cause the migration to fail. This error control enables the /c command-line option to safely skip all input/output (I/O) errors in your environment. In addition, the /genconfig option now generates a sample <ErrorControl> section that is enabled by specifying error messages and desired behaviors in the Config.xml file. |
/r:<TimesToRetry> |
(Retry) Specifies the number of times to retry when an error occurs while migrating the user state from a server. The default is three times. This option is useful in environments where network connectivity isn't reliable. While restoring the user state, the /r option won't recover data that is lost due to a network-hardware failure, such as a faulty or disconnected network cable, or when a virtual private network (VPN) connection fails. The retry option is intended for large, busy networks where connectivity is satisfactory, but communication latency is a problem. |
/w:<SecondsBeforeRetry> |
(Wait) Specifies the time to wait, in seconds, before retrying a network file operation. The default is 1 second. |
| /? or /help | Displays Help on the command line. |
User options
By default, all users are migrated. The only way to specify which users to include and exclude is by using the following options. You can't exclude users in the migration .xml files or by using the Config.xml file. For more information, see Identify Users.
| Command-Line Option | Description |
|---|---|
| /all | Migrates all of the users on the computer. USMT migrates all user accounts on the computer, unless you specifically exclude an account with the /ue or /uel options. For this reason, you don't need to specify this option on the command line. However, if you choose to use the /all option, you can't also use the /ui, /ue or /uel options. |
| /ui:DomainName UserName or /ui:"DomainName User Name" or /ui:ComputerName LocalUserName |
(User include) Migrates the specified user. By default, all users are included in the migration. Therefore, this option is helpful only when used with the /ue option. You can specify multiple /ui options, but you can't use the /ui option with the /all option. DomainName and UserName can contain the asterisk (*) wildcard character. When you specify a user name that contains spaces, you'll need to surround it with quotations marks ("). For example, to include only User2 from the Corporate domain, enter: /ue:* /ui:corporate\user2Note If a user is specified for inclusion with the /ui option and also specified to be excluded with either the /ue or /uel options, the user will be included in the migration.For more examples, see the descriptions of the /uel, /ue, and /ui options in this table. |
/uel:<NumberOfDays> or /uel: <YYYY/MM/DD> or /uel:0 |
(User exclude based on last logon) Migrates only the users that logged onto the source computer within the specified time period, based on the Last Modified date of the Ntuser.dat file on the source computer. The /uel option acts as an include rule. For example, the /uel:30 option migrates users who logged on, or whose user account was modified, within the last 30 days from the date when the ScanState.exe command is run. You can specify the number of days or you can specify a date. You can't use this option with the /all option. USMT retrieves the last sign-in information from the local computer, so the computer doesn't need to be connected to the network when you run this option. In addition, if a domain user has signed into another computer, that sign-in instance isn't considered by USMT. Note The /uel option isn't valid in offline migrations.Examples:
For example: LoadState.exe /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml \server\share\migration\mystore /uel:0 |
| /ue:DomainName\UserName or /ue "DomainName\User Name" or /ue:ComputerName\LocalUserName |
(User exclude) Excludes the specified users from the migration. You can specify multiple /ue options but you can't use the /ue option with the /all option. DomainName and UserName can contain the asterisk (*) wildcard character. When you specify a user name that contains spaces, you'll need to surround it with quotation marks ("). For example: LoadState.exe /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml \server\share\migration\mystore /ue:contoso\user1 For more examples, see the descriptions of the /uel, /ue, and /ui options in this table. |
| /md:OldDomain:NewDomain or /md:LocalComputerName:NewDomain |
(Move domain) Specifies a new domain for the user. Use this option to change the domain for users on a computer or to migrate a local user to a domain account. OldDomain may contain the asterisk () wildcard character. You can specify this option more than once. You may want to specify multiple /md options if you're consolidating users across multiple domains to a single domain. For example, you could specify the following to consolidate the users from the Corporate and FarNorth domains into the Fabrikam domain: /md:corporate:fabrikam and /md:farnorth:fabrikam. If there are conflicts between two /md commands, the first rule that you specify is applied. For example, if you specify the /md:corporate:fabrikam and /md:corporate:farnorth commands, then Corporate users would be mapped to the Fabrikam domain. Note If you specify an OldDomain that didn't exist on the source computer, the LoadState.exe command will appear to complete successfully, without an error or warning. However, in this case, users won't be moved to NewDomain but will remain in their original domain. For example, if you misspell contoso and you instead specify /md:contso:fabrikam, the users will remain in contoso on the destination computer.For example: LoadState.exe /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml \server\share\migration\mystore /progress:Progress.log /l:LoadState.log /md:contoso:fabrikam |
| /mu:OldDomain OldUserName:[NewDomain]NewUserName or /mu:OldLocalUserName:NewDomain NewUserName |
(Move user) Specifies a new user name for the specified user. If the store contains more than one user, you can specify multiple /mu options. You can't use wildcard characters with this option. For example: LoadState.exe /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml \server\share\migration\mystore /progress:Progress.log /l:LoadState.log /mu:contoso\user1:fabrikam\user1 |
| /lac:[Password] | (Local account create) Specifies that if a user account is a local (non-domain) account, and it doesn't exist on the destination computer, USMT will create the account on the destination computer but it will be disabled. To enable the account, you must also use the /lae option. If the /lac option isn't specified, any local user accounts that don't already exist on the destination computer won't be migrated. Password is the password for the newly created account. An empty password is used by default. Caution Use the Password variable with caution because it's provided in plain text and can be obtained by anyone with access to the computer that is running the LoadState.exe command. Also, if the computer has multiple users, all migrated users will have the same password. For example: LoadState.exe /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml \server\share\migration\mystore For instructions, see Migrate user accounts. |
/lae |
(Local account enable) Enables the account that was created with the /lac option. You must specify the /lac option with this option. For example: LoadState.exe /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml \server\share\migration\mystore /progress:Progress.log /l:LoadState.log /lac:password /lae For instructions, see Migrate user accounts. |
Examples for the /ui and /ue options
The following examples apply to both the /ui and /ue options. You can replace the /ue option with the /ui option to include, rather than exclude, the specified users.
| Behavior | Command |
|---|---|
| Exclude the user named User One in the Corporate domain. | /ue:"corporate\user one" |
| Exclude the user named User1 in the Corporate domain. | /ue:corporate\user1 |
| Exclude the local user named User1. | /ue:%computername%\user1 |
| Exclude all domain users. | /ue:Domain |
| Exclude all local users. | /ue:%computername% |
| Exclude users in all domains named User1, User2, and so on. | /ue:\user |
Using the options together
You can use the /uel, /ue and /ui options together to migrate only the users that you want migrated.
The /ui option has precedence over the /ue and /uel options. If a user is included using the /ui option and also excluded using either the /ue or /uel options, the user will be included in the migration. For example, if you specify /ui:contoso\* /ue:contoso\user1, then User1 will be migrated, because the /ui option takes precedence over the /ue option.
The /uel option takes precedence over the /ue option. If a user has logged on within the specified time period set by the /uel option, that user's profile will be migrated even if they're excluded by using the /ue option. For example, if you specify /ue:contoso\user1 /uel:14, the User1 will be migrated if they've logged on to the computer within the last 14 days.
| Behavior | Command |
|---|---|
| Include only User2 from the Fabrikam domain and exclude all other users. | /ue:* /ui:fabrikam\user2 |
| Include only the local user named User1 and exclude all other users. | /ue:* /ui:user1 |
| Include only the domain users from Contoso, except Contoso\User1. | This behavior can't be completed using a single command. Instead, to migrate this set of users, you'll need to specify the following options:
|
| Include only local (non-domain) users. | /ue: /ui:%computername%* |
Incompatible command-line options
The following table indicates which command-line options aren't compatible with the LoadState.exe command. If the table entry for a particular combination is blank, the options are compatible, and you can use them together. The X symbol means that the options aren't compatible. For example, you can't use the /nocompress option with the /encrypt option.
| Command-Line Option | /keyfile | /nocompress | /genconfig | /all |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /i | ||||
| /v | ||||
| /nocompress | N/A | X | ||
| /key | X | X | ||
| /decrypt | Required* | X | X | |
| /keyfile | N/A | X | ||
| /l | ||||
| /progress | X | |||
| /r | X | |||
| /w | X | |||
| /c | X | |||
| /p | X | N/A | ||
| /all | X | |||
| /ui | X | X | ||
| /ue | X | X | ||
| /uel | X | X | ||
| /genconfig | N/A | |||
| /config | X | |||
| StorePath | ||||
| /md | ||||
| /mu | ||||
| /lae | ||||
| /lac |
Note
You must specify either the /key or /keyfile option with the /encrypt option.
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