Datasheet

20 Chapter 1
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Planning for the Installation of Windows 7
Wipe-and-Load Migration vs. Side-by-Side Migration
The majority of this section has covered an in-place migration. A common scenario is
where a Windows XP system has the hardware to support Windows 7. Windows 7 is
installed, and the user’s data and settings are then migrated from the
Windows.old folder.
However, there are some scenarios where the existing system needs to be wiped clean or
completely replaced. In these scenarios, you can still use the USMT commands to capture
the files and settings and then later restore them, but the process is a little different. The
two possible scenarios are a wipe-and-load migration or a side-by-side migration.
Wipe-and-load migration A wipe-and-load migration uses the same hardware but
removes all data on the partitions. A simple example would be a system that has multiple
partitions that aren’t needed in Windows 7, so the drive is reconfigured as a single parti-
tion. Repartitioning the disk will result in the loss of all the data, so before this is done
ScanState is run to capture all the files and settings. The ScanState data can be stored on
a server, as shown in Figure 1.2, stored on an external USB drive, or even stored on a USB
flash drive if the user doesn’t have much data. After Windows 7 is installed,
LoadState
is executed to restore these settings from the server (or the external USB or flash drive).
Figure 1.2 shows a wipe-and-load migration.
FIGURE 1.2 Wipe-and-load migration
Original
Computer
File
Server
Side-by-side migration In a side-by-side migration, a user has an older computer system
that will be replaced.
ScanState is run on the older system, and this older system is then
decommissioned. The
ScanState data can be stored on a server, as shown in Figure 1.2,
stored on an external USB drive, or stored on a USB flash drive if the user doesn’t have
much data. A newer system with Windows 7 is provided, and
LoadState is executed on it
to restore the files and settings. Figure 1.3 shows a side-by-side migration.
FIGURE 1.3 Side-by-side migration
Original
Computer
File
Server
New
Computer
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