Migrating user profiles between workgroups or domains

When migrating users to a new Windows domain or upgrading from an existing workgroup to an Active Directory domain, user profiles can be a headache to manage. When user accounts are setup in the new environment, even if the user names are identical, Windows views them as separate entities because the accounts' Security Identifiers or SIDs are different. As a result, when your users attempt to login to the new security context, they will be unable to access all of their previous user data, stored in their user profiles.

User profiles are typically stored in C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\. This folder is configured with both NTFS filesystem permissions and Windows registry permissions on the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry hive, loaded from the NTUSER.DAT file in the profile path. This means that an attempt to simply copy the profile from one path to another will fail to move the entire profile. Even if the copied files inherit the permissions of the new user, the registry will fail to load and the user will receive a blank copy of the registry from the Default User profile. Migrating a profile by manually copying and updating permissions in this way typically requires physical access to the PC, multiple logins under different accounts, a certain minimum level of technical expertise to understand the process, and is a generally time-consuming process.

Alter-Ego from Winterfrost Systems Ltd. is an automated profile migration tool which accomplishes all of these steps from a single console. Network deployment and a simple graphical interface means PC visits are eliminated or significantly reduced and no scripting expertise is required. In addition to this, Alter-Ego will also migrate PCs between domains or workgroups -- all without leaving your desk.

If you are considering an upgrade from a workgroup to a Windows Active Directory domain, are moving PCs from one domain to another, or are merging two or more domains, we recommend Alter-Ego.

A free evaluation is available for download here: Alter-Ego Demo

Author: ASAK
Created: May 25 2007 (last modified Sep 14 2007)
Categories: Alter-Ego - Windows 2000 Professional - Windows 2000 Server - Windows 2003 Server - Windows XP Professional
TechByte #152

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