Users are at the heart of every organization, and data is seldom held on a device. Users often invest a lot of time and effort in configuring their Windows environment. This can include customizing their apps, such as developing templates and toolbars.
Losing app data and personalized settings can significantly affect the productivity and even the morale of users. By migrating their Windows and app settings, you will likely reduce the number of help desk calls and avoid user downtime required to customize their desktops and find missing files.
Most user data is contained in a profile, and the user folders are synchronized to a cloud-based location by using a solution such as Enterprise State Roaming in Azure Active Directory.
When devices contain data, you might want to transfer or migrate that data to a new device. Microsoft supports this migration process using the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) tools. These tools and processes require specialist knowledge and often add significant time and cost to the rollout project.
Preserving user state data
When you upgrade to Windows 11, unless you perform an in-place upgrade, you might overlook the migration of the user’s app data and Windows settings.
You should aim to migrate user settings, which are often contained in their user profiles, during your Windows 11 deployment project.
Following are the two traditional methods of upgrading to Windows 11 that don’t involve an in-place upgrade:
- Side-by-side migration This type of migration is used when the source and destination computers for the upgrade are different machines. You install a new computer with Windows 11 and then migrate the data and user settings from the computer running the older operating system to the new computer.
- Wipe-and-load migration In this scenario, the source and destination computers are the same. You back up the user data and settings to an external location and then install Windows 11 on the user’s existing computer. Afterward, you restore user data and settings.