Overview or the Windows User State Migration Tool 4.0

Applies To: Windows 7

Microsoft® Windows® User State Migration Tool (USMT) 4.0 is a scriptable command-line tool that is included as part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7 (Windows AIK). You can use USMT 4.0 to automate migration of files and settings during large deployments of Windows® 7. For more information, see User State Migration Tool 4.0 or the USMT 4.0 User's Guide (usmt.chm) that you can download with the Windows AIK.

USMT 4.0 supports scanning files and settings from a computer running Windows XP, Windows Vista®, or Windows® 7 and loading the files onto a computer running Windows Vista or Windows 7. For more information about supported operating systems for the ScanState and the LoadState tools, see the Requirements topic in the USMT 4.0 User's Guide.

Several changes have been made to USMT 4.0 to improve automated user-state migration during deployment. New functionality has been added, including the ability to create a Hard-Link Migration Store. Using a hard-link migration store drastically improves migration performance and significantly reduces use of hard-disk space. For more information about new features and changes in USMT 4.0, see What's New in USMT 4.0 in the USMT 4.0 User's Guide.

For more Windows 7 resources, articles, demos, and guidance, see the Springboard Series for Windows 7