Common Issues

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General guidelines

User account problems

  • I am having problems creating local accounts on the destination computer.
  • All of the user accounts were not migrated to the destination computer.
  • User accounts that I excluded were migrated to the destination computer.

Command-line problems

  • I received the following error "Usage Error: You cannot specify a file path with any of the command-line options that exceeds 256 characters."
  • I received the following error: "USMT was unable to create the log file(s). Ensure that you have write access to the log directory."

XML file problems

  • I used /genconfig to create a Config.xml file, but I only see a few applications and components that are in MigApp.xml. Shouldn't Config.xml contain all the same applications?
  • I am having problems with a custom .xml file that I have authored and I cannot verify that the syntax is correct.

Migration problems

  • I migrated encrypted files to the destination computer. The files and the certificates migrated successfully, but now the files are unreadable.
  • Files that I specified to exclude are still being migrated.
  • I have specified rules to move a folder to specific location on the destination but it is not migrated correctly.
  • Some application settings are not migrating.
  • After LoadState completes, the new wallpaper does not appear on the destination computer.
  • Yahoo messenger does not work properly after I migrate settings from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

General guidelines

When you encounter a problem or error during migration, you can use the following guidelines to help determine the source of the problem.

  • For a list of the known issues with this product, see the release notes.
  • Examine the ScanState and LoadState logs, and obtain the exact error message and event ID. In most cases, the event logs indicate why USMT is not working. You should run ScanState and LoadState with the /v:13 option to create a detailed log file. Although this option makes the log large, it is helpful for identifying where something went wrong.
  • Create a progress log using the /progress option to help you monitor your migration.
  • For the source and destination computers, you should obtain operating system information, and the versions of applications such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and any other relevant programs. Then verify the exact steps that are needed to reproduce the problem. This information might help you to better understand what specifically is wrong, and help you to reproduce the issue in your testing environment.
  • Log off after you run LoadState**.** Some settings (for example, fonts, wallpaper, and screensaver settings) will not take effect until the next time the user logs on. For this reason, you should log off after you run LoadState.
  • Close all applications before running ScanState or LoadState. If some applications are running during ScanState or LoadState, USMT may not migrate some data. For example, if Outlook is open, USMT may not migrate .pst files.

Note

USMT will fail if it cannot migrate a file or setting unless you specify /c. When you specify /c, USMT will ignore the errors, and log an error each time it encounters a file that is in use that did not migrate.

User account problems

  • Problem: I'm having problems creating local accounts on the destination computer.
    Resolution: For more information about creating accounts and migrating local accounts, see Migrating local and domain accounts and How To Migrate User Accounts.
  • Problem: All of the user accounts were not migrated to the destination computer.
    **Causes:**There are two possible causes for this problem:
    • When running ScanState and LoadState on Windows Vista, you need to run the tools in “Administrator” mode from an account with administrative credentials to ensure that all specified users are migrated. This is because User Access Control (UAC) is turned on in Windows Vista. To run in this mode, click the start button, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, click Run as administrator, and then specify your LoadState or ScanState command. If you do not run USMT in “Administrator” mode, only the user profile that is logged on will be included in the migration.
    • If there are user accounts on the computer that have not been logged onto, then the user account will not be migrated. For example, if you add User1 to the computer, but User1 never logs on, then USMT will not migrate the account.
  • Problem: User accounts that I excluded were migrated to the destination computer.
    **Cause:**The command that you specified may have had conflicting /ui and /ue options. If a user is specified with /ui, and is also specified to be excluded with either /ue or /uel, the user will be included in the migration. For example, if you specify /ui:domain1\* /ue:domain1\user1, then User1 will be migrated because /ui takes precedence.
    Resolution: For more information about how to use the options together, see /ue, and /ui examples.

Command-line problems

  • Problem: I received the following error "Usage Error: You cannot specify a file path with any of the command-line options that exceeds 256 characters."
    Cause: You may receive this error in some cases even if you do not specify a long store or file path. This is because the path length is calculated based on the absolute path. For example, if you run scanstate.exe /o store from C:\Program Files\USMT30, then each character in "C:\Program Files\USMT30" will be added to the length of “store” to get the length.
    Resolution: Ensure that the total path length (store path plus the current directory) does not exceed 256 characters.
  • Problem: I received the following error: "USMT was unable to create the log file(s). Ensure that you have write access to the log directory."
    Cause: If you are running ScanState or LoadState from a shared network resource, you will receive this error if you do not specify /l.
    Resolution: To fix this issue in this scenario, specify /l:scan.log or /l:load.log and USMT will not fail with this error.

XML file problems

  • Problem: I used /genconfig to create a Config.xml file, but I only see a few applications and components that are in MigApp.xml. Why does Config.xml not contain all the same applications?
    Cause: Config.xml will only contain operating system components, applications and the user document sections that are in both the .xml files and installed on the computer when you run /genconfig. Otherwise these applications and components will not show up in Config.xml.
    Resolution: Install all of the desired applications on the computer before running /genconfig. Then run ScanState with all of the .xml files. For example, if the destination computer is running Windows Vista, run the following:
    scanstate /genconfig:config.xml /i:miguser.xml /i:migapp.xml /v:13 /l:scanstate.log
  • Problem: I am having problems with a custom .xml file that I have authored and I cannot verify that the syntax is correct.
    Resolution: You can load the XML schema (MigXML.xsd) that is included with USMT 3.0 into your XML authoring tool. (For examples, see Visual Studio at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=74513). Then, load your XML file in this editor to see if there is a syntax error. In addition, see XML Elements Reference for more information about using the .xml elements.

Migration problems

  • Problem: I migrated encrypted files to the destination computer. The files and the certificates migrated successfully but now the files are unreadable.
  • Cause: Encrypted files are unreadable when Symantec AntiVirus 10.2 is installed on the computer.
  • Resolution: To workaround this issue, disable Symantec AntiVirus on the destination computer and you will be able to open the files. For information from Symantec about this issue, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=88412.
  • Problem: Files that I specified to exclude are still being migrated.
    **Cause:**There may be another rule that is including the files. If there is a more specific rule or a conflicting rule, the files will be included in the migration.
    Resolution: For more information see Conflicts and Precedence.
  • Problem: I have specified rules to move a folder to specific location on the destination computer, but it has not migrated correctly.
    Cause: There may be an error in the XML syntax.
    Resolution: You can use the USMT XML schema (MigXML.xsd) to write and validate migration .xml files. Also see the examples in the following topics:
  • Problem: Some application settings are not migrating.
    Cause: USMT only migrates settings that have been used and/or modified by the user. If there is an application setting that was not touched by the user on the source computer, the setting may not migrate.
  • Problem: After LoadState completes, the new wallpaper does not appear on the destination computer.
    There are two typical causes for this issue.
    • Cause #1: The first cause is because some settings like fonts, wallpaper, and screensaver settings are not applied by LoadState until after the destination computer has been restarted.
      Resolution: To fix this issue, log off and then log back in to see the migrated wallpaper.
    • Cause #2: Another cause is if the source computer was running Windows XP and the wallpaper was stored in the Drive:\WINDOWS\Web\Wallpaper folder (which is the default folder where wallpaper is stored in Windows XP). If the wallpaper is in this directory it will not be migrated and the destination computer will have the default Windows Vista wallpaper. This will occur even if the wallpaper was a custom picture that was added to the Drive:\WINDOWS\Web\Wallpaper folder. However, if the user set a picture as the wallpaper that was saved in another location (for example, My Pictures), then the wallpaper will migrate.
      Resolution: Ensure that the wallpaper images that you want to migrate are not inDrive:\WINDOWS\Web\Wallpaper folder on the source computer.
    • Cause #3: Another cause is if ScanState was not run on Windows XP from an account with administrative credentials. In this case, some operating system settings will not migrate — for example, wallpaper settings, screen saver selections, modem options, media player settings, and Remote Access Service (RAS) connection phone book (.pbk) files and settings.
      **Resolution:**Run ScanState (and LoadState) from within an account with administrative credentials.
  • Problem: Yahoo Messenger does not work properly after I migrate settings from Windows XP to Windows Vista.
    Cause: Yahoo Messenger cannot connect to the Internet. A common cause of this is if the source and destination computers reside on different networks. Sometimes the connection settings that were migrated are not correct for the destination computer.
    **Resolution:**To fix this, open Yahoo Messenger, click Messenger, click Connection Preferences, and click Connection on the left side. Then change the connection settings to align with the network of the destination computer. For example, change the setting to No proxies, Use proxies, Firewall with no proxies, or No network detection based on your needs.