Identifying User Data to Migrate
Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2
When identifying what data to migrate, consider these questions:
Do users save their files in a single folder or in files scattered across a hard disk?
Which data files do the users work with regularly?
One way to determine which user data to migrate is to identify folders to migrate based on known locations. These can be locations that the system is aware of, such as the My Documents folder and Favorites, or locations that the organization-specifies, such as \EngineeringDrafts or C:\Data.
Another way is to identify the applications that the users use and then look for files with corresponding file types. Organizations commonly use an e-mail package and productivity suite such as Microsoft Office. These applications typically use specified file name extensions. For example, Microsoft® Word primarily uses the .doc file name extension. However, Word also uses file types such as templates (.dot files) and hypertext files (.htm files).
If you use this method to identify files to migration, create a list of important file types based on applications that your organization uses. A good starting point for identifying the file types to migrate is to look at the registered file types on the standardized desktop image that you will install. The registered file types are listed in Folder Options.
To view a list of registered file types
Double-click the My Computer icon on the desktop.
On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
Click the File Types tab to display the registered file types.
Important
- Do not attempt to migrate the applications associated with the files. Instead, reinstall the applications from a software distribution point, or include them in the standard desktop image.