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How to use USMT 4 hardlinking in a Configuration Manager 2007 Task Sequence | S...
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How to use USMT 4 hardlinking in a Configuration
Manager 2007 Task Sequence
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June 30, 2010 by J.C. Hornbeck // 19 Comments
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Suppose you want to use the USMT 4 feature of hardlinking in a System

Center Configuration Manager 2007 Task Sequence, but you notice that
the “Capture User State“/”Capture User Files and Settings” and “Restore User
State“/”Restore User Files and Settings” tasks do not have any options to
perform a local capture with hardlinking. What’s up with that?
Well what’s going on is that USMT 4, which introduced hardlinking, shipped after ConfigMgr 2007
so the hardlinking option was not available in ConfigMgr 2007. However, USMT 4 support was
added in ConfigMgr 2007 SP2, and via the OSDMigrateAdditionalCaptureOptions and OSDMigrate-
AdditionalRestoreOptions variables, a hardlink user migration can be accomplished in a ConfigMgr
2007 SP2 Task Sequence.
Out of the box, ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 only supports USMT 4 online captures, or captures that take
place while in the full Windows OS. ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 does not support USMT 4 offline captures,
or captures that take place while in WinPE. Offline captures are possible using the UDI feature of
MDT 2010 Update 1 when it is integrated with ConfigMgr 2007 SP2.
With that said, there are several ways that a USMT 4 hardlink migration can be accomplished in a
ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence, including:
1. Create a new ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence that supports USMT 4 hardlinking.
2. Modify an existing ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence that have the “Capture User State” and
“Restore User State” tasks to support USMT 4 hardlinking.
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/configurationmgr/2010/06/30/how-to-use-usmt-4-... 03-02-2018
How to use USMT 4 hardlinking in a Configuration Manager 2007 Task Sequence | S... Page 2 of 22
Since USMT 4 support was not added until SP2 of ConfigMgr 2007, SP2 of ConfigMgr 2007 is re-
quired for hardlinking.
USMT 4 is supported in the following refresh scenarios:
Windows XP –> Windows Vista
Windows XP –> Windows 7
Windows Vista –> Windows Vista
Windows Vista –> Windows 7
Windows 7 –> Windows 7
USMT 4 is not supported for Windows XP –> Windows XP scenarios.
The first step is to ensure that the USMT 4 package is created:
Create the USMT 4 Package
When ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 is installed on the site server, the Windows Automated Installation Kit
2.0 (WAIK 2.0) is automatically installed. USMT 4 is part of WAIK 2.0 and its binaries can be found
within the WAIK 2.0 installation folder.
1. In the ConfigMgr 2007 Admin console on the site server, navigate to the “Computer
Management” –> “Software Distribution” –> “Packages” node.
2. Right click on the “Packages” node and select “New” –> “Package“.
3. In the “General” window, fill out the appropriate fields. The name of the package should
describe it as the USMT 4 package. Click on the “Next >” button.
4. In the “Date Source” window:
Check the option “This package contains source files”
Click on the “Set…” button under “Source directory“.

Click on the option “Local drive on site server”
Click on the “Browse…” button under “Source directory: ”

Navigate to and select C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\USMT folder and click on
the “OK” button. Make sure to select the root of the USMT folder. DO NOT directly
select either the amd64 or x86 folders. When running, the Task Sequence will
automatically choose the appropriate binaries.
Click on the “OK” button.
Click on the “Next >” button.

5. In the “Data Access” window, click on the “Next >” button.
6. In the “Distribution Settings” window, click on the “Next >” button.
7. In the “Reporting” window, click on the “Next >” button.
8. In the “Security” window, click on the “Next >” button.
9. In the “Summary” window, click on the “Next >” button.
10. In the “Wizard Complete” window, click on the “Close” button.

11. In the ConfigMgr 2007 Admin console, navigate to the “Computer Management” –>
“Software Distribution” –> “Packages” node and find the newly created USMT 4 package.
12. Expand the USMT 4 package and then right click on “Distribution Points” and select “New
Distribution Points“.
13. Go through the “New Distribution Points Wizard” and make sure that the USMT 4 package is
placed on some Distribution Points.
Notes:
It is not required to create a Program as part of the USMT 4 package.
In Step 5, if the WAIK 2.0 is installed on a different drive or directory, make sure to adjust
the path C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\USMT accordingly.
It is recommended that the above steps be taken in a ConfigMgr 2007 console running on
the site server where the WAIK 2.0 is installed. However, the above steps can be taken in a
ConfigMgr 2007 admin console that is not running on the site server. In Step 5 , instead of
selecting the option “Local drive on site server“, select the option “Network path (UNC
name)” and browse to a network share that has the WAIK 2.0 installed or the USMT 4 binary
source files.
Please remember that the USMT 4 source files should contain BOTH the amd64 and x86
directories. The package should point to the root of the USMT 4 directory. It should NOT
point directly to either the amd64 and x86 directories.
After creating the USMT 4 package, select the method below to enable USMT 4 hardlinking in a
Task Sequence.
Method 1: Create a new ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence that supports USMT 4 hardlinking
“Operating System Deployment” –> “Task Sequences” node.
2. Right click on the “Task Sequences” node and choose “New” –> “Task Sequence“.
3. In the “Create a New Task Sequence” window, select the option “Install an existing image
package” and click on the “Next >” button.
4. In the “Task Sequence Information” window:
Next to “Task Sequence name:” text box, give the Task Sequence the desired name.
Click on the “Browse…” button next to “Boot Image:” and choose an appropriate Boot
Image.
5. In the “Install the Windows Operating System” window:
Click on the “Browse…” button next to “Image package:” and select the Operating System
Image that is desired to be deployed.
Next to the “Image:” drop down box, make sure the desired image is selected.
UNCHECK the option “Partition and format the target computer before installing the
operating system“.
If desired, enter the product key next to the “Product Key:” text box. If using a KMS
activation server, this field should be left blank when deploying Windows Vista or
Windows 7.
If desired, select the option “Always use the same administrator password” and specify
the password in the “Password:” and “Confirm password:” text boxes.

6. In the “Configure the Network” window, select “Join a domain” and fill out the appropriate
fields. Click on the “Next >” button.
7. In the “Install the ConfigMgr client” window, click on the “Browse” button and choose a
package that contains the ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 install files. Make sure that the package is an
SP2 installer of the ConfigMgr 2007 client. Selecting a package that contains either the RTM
or SP1 client install files will cause the “Restore User State” task to fail since clients that are
not SP2 do not support USMT 4. Click on the “Next >” button.
8. In the “Configure State Migration” window:
Click on the “Browse…” button next to the “USMT Package:” field. Select the USMT 4
package and then click on the “OK” button.
Select the option “Save user settings locally“. If this option is grayed out, the option
“Partition and format the target computer before installing the operating system” was not
unchecked in Step 5.
If desired, leave the options “Capture network settings” and “Capture Microsoft Windows
settings” checked.
9. In the “Include Updates in Image” window, select whether or not to install updates during
the Task Sequence, and then click on the “Next >” button.
10. In the “Install Software Packages” window, add any packages that are desired to be installed
during the Task Sequence, and then click on the “Next >” button.
11. In the “Summary” window, click on the “Next >” button.

12. In the “Wizard Complete” window, click on the “Close” button.
14. Right click on the newly created Task Sequence and choose “Edit“.
15. Click on the “Set Local State Location” task. Next to the “Value:” text field, change it from %
_SMSTSUserStatePath% to %SystemDrive%\UserState.
16. Make sure that the “Set Local State Location” task is still selected and go to “Add” –>
“General” –> “Set Task Sequence Variable“. This should create a “Set Task Sequence Variable”
task in after the “Set Local State Location” and before “Capture User Files and Settings” tasks.
17. In the newly created “Set Task Sequence Variable Task“:

Next to the “Name:” text box, enter in:
Set USMT Additional Capture Options
Next to the “Task Sequence Variable:” text box, enter in:

OSDMigrateAdditionalCaptureOptions
Next to the “Value:” text box, enter in:

/nocompress /hardlink
18. Click on the “Capture User Files and Settings” task to select it:
Check the option “Enable verbose logging”

Click on the “Options” tab and then uncheck the option “Continue on error“.
19. Click on the “Restore User Files and Settings” task and then go to “Add” –> “General” –> “Set
Task Sequence Variable“. This should create a “Set Task Sequence Variable” task after the
“Restore User Files and Settings” group and before the “Restore User Files and Settings” task.
Next to the “Name: ” text box, enter in:

Set USMT Additional Restore Options

OSDMigrateAdditionalRestoreOptions

21. Click on the “Restore User Files and Settings” task to select it and then click on the option
“Enable verbose logging“.
22. Click on the “OK” or “Apply” button to save the task sequence.
Please make sure to look at the notes section at the end of this post for detailed explanations on
some of the above actions.
Method 2: Modify an existing ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence that has the “Capture User
State” and “Restore User State” tasks in it
If a ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence that was used with USMT 3 or USMT 4 exists and was setup for
either network capture with a State Migration Point (SMP) or for local capture on the hard drive
without hardlinking, it can be modified to support USMT 4 local capture with hard linking.
The below instructions assume that there is already a “Capture User State“/”Capture User Files and
Settings” and “Restore User State“/”Restore User Files and Settings” tasks in the appropriate spots in
the Task Sequence. If these tasks do no already exist in the Task Sequence, it is recommended to
create a new Task Sequence using the method detailed above.
The below instructions are also not valid for a ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence that was created us-
ing the MDT 2010/MDT 2010 Update 1 “Create Microsoft Deployment Task Sequence” Wizard.
Please see the section “More Information” for additional information regarding Task Sequences cre-
ated using the MDT 2010/MDT 2010 Update 1 “Create Microsoft Deployment Task Sequence” Wiz-
ard:
2. Right click on the affected Task Sequence and choose “Edit“.
3. Find any “Request State Store“/”Request User State Store” and “Release State Store“/”Release
User State Storage” tasks and disable them. They can be disabled by clicking on the
individual tasks, clicking on the “Options” tab, and then clicking on the option “Disable this
step“. If none of these tasks exist in the Task Sequence, continue to Step 4.
4. Find any “Format and Partition Disk“/”Partition Disk“/”Partition Disk 0” tasks and disable
them. They can be disabled by clicking on the individual tasks, clicking on the “Options” tab,
and then clicking on the option “Disable this step“. If none of these tasks exist in the Task
Sequence, continue to Step 5.
5. If a task “Set Local State Location” already exists before the “Capture User State“/”Capture
User Files and Settings” task, skip to Step 6. Otherwise, click on the “Capture User
State“/”Capture User Files and Settings” task to select it and then go to “Add” –> “General”
–> “Set Task Sequence Variable“. This should create a “Set Task Sequence Variable” task
before the “Capture User State“/”Capture User Files and Settings” task.

Set Local State Location
Next to the “Task Sequence Variable:” text box, enter in

OSDStateStorePath
%SystemDrive%\UserState
If there was already a “Set Task Sequence Variable Task” task in the Task Sequence that
sets the OSDStateStorePath variable, make sure that it is configured to the above value.
7. Click on the “Capture User State“/”Capture User Files and Settings” task to select it and then
go to “Add” –> “General” –> “Set Task Sequence Variable“. This should create a “Set Task
Sequence Variable” task before the “Capture User State“/”Capture User Files and Settings”
task and after the “Set Local State Location”.


OSDMigrateAdditionalCaptureOptions

If there was already a “Set Task Sequence Variable Task” in the Task Sequence that
defined the variable OSDMigrateAdditionalCaptureOptions with some options, such
as /ue, then add the additional options /nocompress /hardlink in the “Value:” text box
after the options that already exist. Make sure that there is a space between each option.
9. Click on the “Capture User Files and Settings“/”Capture User State” task to select it:
Ensure that the package under “User state migration tool package:” is a USMT 4
package.
Check the option “Enable verbose logging“.
Click on the “Options” tab and then uncheck the option “Continue on error“.
10. Click on the “Setup Windows and ConfigMgr” task. Ensure that the package selected next to
the “Package” field is a package that installs the SP2 version of the ConfigMgr 2007 client.
RTM and SP1 versions of the client will not work with USMT 4.
11. Click on the “Restore User State“/”Restore User Files and Settings” task and then go to “Add”
–> “General” –> “Set Task Sequence Variable“. This should create a “Set Task Sequence
Variable” task before the “Restore User State“/”Restore User Files and Settings” task.
Next to the “Name: ” text box, enter in:


OSDMigrateAdditionalRestoreOptions

If there was already a “Set Task Sequence Variable Task” in the Task Sequence that
defined the variable OSDMigrateAdditionalRestoreOptions with some options, such
as /lac, then add the additional options /nocompress /hardlink in the “Value:” text box
after the options that already exist. Make sure that there is a space between each option.
13. Click on the “Restore User Files and Settings“/”Restore User State” task:
Ensure that the package under “User state migration tool package:” is a USMT 4 package.
Check the option “Enable verbose logging“.

Notes on the two above methods:
A “Format and Partition Disk” task is not desired in the above Task Sequences. If a format
and partition of the disk occurred, it would wipe all data on the drive, including the State
Store, and the captured data would be lost. Instead, to erase content off of the drive in
preparation to install the new Windows OS, during the “Apply Operating System
Image“/”Apply Operating System” task, a recursive delete of all files and directories occurs on
the drive minus a few protected folders.
The protected folders that are not deleted include

the Task Sequence cache folder and the State Store
folder. The Task Sequence cache folder path is stored
in the variables _SMSTSMDataPath , _SMSTSCli-
entCache, and _SMSTSNewClientCachePathToClean-
up and usually resolves to the path
C:\_SMSTaskSequence. The State Store path is stored
in the variable OSDStateStorePath. The protected
folders that will not be wiped are stored in the varia-
ble _SMSTSProtectedPaths.
In the SMSTS.log you will see the recursive delete
and wipe process logged as something similar to the
following:
Wiping
C:\
ApplyOperatingSystem
Set “C:\_SMSTaskSequence” to not be
wiped ApplyOperat-
ingSystem
Set “%OSDStateStorePath%” to not be
wiped ApplyOperat-
ingSystem
Set “%_SMSTSClientCache%” to not be
wiped ApplyOperat-
ingSystem
Set “%_SMSTSNewClientCachePathToCleanup%” to
not be wiped ApplyOperatingSystem
Skipping C:\_SMSTaskSequence for
wipe ApplyOperat-
ingSystem
Calculating expected free
space. Ap-
plyOperatingSystem
Reporting deletion pro-
gress.
Successfully wiped
C:\
In Step 15 (Method 1) and Step 6 (Method 2), the State Store path location is changed from
%_SMSTSUserStatePath% to %SystemDrive%\UserState. The _SMSTSUserStatePath variable
normally resolves to the path C:\_SMSTaskSequence\UserState. The C:\_SMSTaskSequence
folder is the Task Sequence cache folder. This is done to fix several issues that can be caused
by saving the State Store in the Task Sequence cache folder. These problems include:
1. Whether or not a Task Sequence succeeded, the Task Sequence usually exits cleanly.
When the Task Sequence exists cleanly, it deletes the Task Sequence cache folder of
C:\_SMSTaskSequence. This can be a problem if the Task Sequence fails for whatever
reason before the captured user data is restored.
If the Task Sequence fails but exists cleanly before the user data is restored, then the
cache folder of C:\_SMSTaskSequence is deleted, which will cause the
C:\_SMSTaskSequence\UserState user State Store folder located within the
C:\_SMSTaskSequence folder to also be deleted. The captured data will then be deleted
and lost before it can be restored.
If instead the State Store is specified to be a folder outside of the Task Sequence cache
folder, such as C:\UserState, when the Task Sequence exists cleanly, it will not
automatically delete the State Store since it is no longer within the Task Sequence cache
How to use USMT 4 hardlinking in a Configuration Manager 2007 Task Sequence |... Page 10 of 22
folder. The Task Sequence cache folder will still be deleted, but the State Store will not.
In case of Task Sequence failures before user data is restored, user data can still be
restored from the State Store using manual methods.
See KB958808 for additional information:
User data from the USMT may be deleted unexpectedly by the task sequence engine during
the operating system deployment process in System Center Configuration Manager 2007
SP1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958808
Note: KB958808 does not have to be installed in ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 as this hotfix is
already included as part of SP2.
2. Given the following scenario on a PC:

1) PC has two (or multiple) drives or partitions
2) User profiles and Windows are located on the first drive or partition (assume drive
letter C:)
3) Second drive or partition has more available free space than the first (assume drive
letter D:)
then the Task Sequence cache folder will probably be created on the second
drive/partition (D:).
In these scenarios the variable _SMSTSUserStatePath would resolve to the path
D:\_SMSTaskSequence\UserState. This is a problem when using USMT 4 hardlinking
because the hardlink store has to be on the same drive/partition as Windows and the
user profiles. In the above scenario, Windows and the user profiles would be on C:, but
the State Store would be created on D:. USMT 4 will actually capture the data in this
scenario and not cause any errors, but the captured data will be invalid and it will not be
able to be properly restored.
By making sure that we save the State Store to the drive that contains Windows and user
profiles via the variable SystemDrive, we make sure that this problem does not occur.
3. There are known scenarios when going from a Windows OS with UAC off to a Windows
OS with UAC on that will cause permissions not to be set properly on the State Store if
the State Store is located within the Task Sequence cache folder. In these scenarios, user
data is restored successfully, but the user will receive an “Access Denied” error message
when trying to access their files. Saving the State Store outside of the Task Sequence
cache folder will resolve the problem.
Even though in Step 15 (Method 1) and Step 6 (Method 2) it is recommended that the State
Store be saved to a location outside of the Task Sequence cache folder so that it is not
automatically deleted, it is still advisable to delete the State Store at some point after the
Task Sequence has completed and the user state has been verified that it has been restored
successfully. This can be done properly via the usmtutils.exe utility included with USMT 4. To
properly remove the State Store, run the command:
usmtutils.exe /rd <Path_to_State_Store>
where <Path_to_State_Store> is the path as specified

in the OSDStateStorePath variable via the “Set Local
State Location” task (without the brackets <>).
Not deleting the State Store can cause the following
problems:
If an administrator tries to access the State Store, it may change the permissions of all of the
user files in the State Store to the administrator’s permissions. This may cause users not to
be able to access their files and they may receive “Access Denied” error messages. For this
reason it is recommended that an administrator not try to access the State Store directly.
A user deleting files in their profile will not cause the actual file to be deleted since a second
link exists to the file in the State Store. Although the user will no longer see the file in their
profile, the link to the file will still exist in the State Store, and disk space will not be freed
up.
In Step 18 (Method 1) and Step 9 (Method 2), the option “Continue on Error” is disabled.
This option is originally enabled because with USMT 3, USMT 3 could report a lot of false
positive errors, causing the task to un-necessarily fail. However this has been improved in
USMT 4 and this situation should rarely happen with USMT 4.
If the option is left checked and the USMT 4 state capture fails for some reason, the Task
Sequence will continue and eventually wipe the drive at the “Apply Operating System
Image“/”Apply Operating System” task, causing all user files and settings to be deleted and
lost. For this reason it is safer to leave this option unchecked when using USMT 4. Leaving
the option unchecked will cause the Task Sequence to fail in the event that users’ files are
not captured successfully, which is a desired outcome.
In Steps 18 and 21 (Method 1) and Steps 9 and 13 (Method 2), the option “Enable verbose
logging” is enabled. This is optional, but it is advisable to leave this option enabled to help
troubleshoot USMT 4 capture and restore failures. Enabling verbose logging will cause the
capture and restore tasks to take a bit longer, but will the add the benefit of having more
detailed logs to help resolve problems.
The tasks “Request State Store” and “Release State Store” are not needed in the Task
Sequences that performs local capture with hardlinking because these tasks are only used
when a State Migration Point (SMP) is being used. An SMP is only used when the State Store
is saved to a network location. When using hardlinking, the State Store is always saved to
the local hard drive and an SMP is not used.
In Steps 17 and 20 (Method 1) and Steps 8 and 12 (Method 2), please make sure to make
the distinction between the variables specified in the tasks “Set USMT Additional Capture
Options” and “Set USMT Additional Restore Options“. The variables have similar names but
they are different. One is OSDMigrateAdditionalCaptureOptionsand the other is
OSDMigrateAdditionalRestoreOptions.
More Information
What is a hardlink and why use the USMT 4 feature of hardlinking?
Hardlinking is a feature of NTFS where multiple links can exist to one file on the hard drive. As long
as one link exists, the file is not deleted. When a file has multiple links to it, the file will appear to
exist in different locations in the file system, but the file only exists once on the hard drive. When
the file is deleted from one location, as long as other links to the file still exist, the file is not actual-
ly deleted, and the file will still appear in the other locations that it has links to. The file is not delet-
ed until it has been deleted from all of the locations that it has links to.
When USMT local capture is used without hardlinking, files are copied from their original location
into the local State Store. For this reason, there has to be sufficient space on the hard drive to store
all of the captured files. Even when compression is used, this can mean needing enough space on
the hard drive somewhere in the area of almost double the amount of space taken up by the origi-
nal files. If the original files take 30GB of space, then the hard drive will need about 30GB of free
space on it.
When USMT 4 with hardlinking is used, instead of a file being copied to the local State Store, a se-
cond link to the file is created in the local State Store. The time taken to create the link to the file in
the State Store is almost instantaneous, does not vary with the size of the file, and is much faster
than trying to copy the file to the local State Store. The time it takes to capture 30GB of data will
only take a bit longer than the time it takes to capture 1GB of data. When not using hardlinking,
the amount of time taken to capture 30GB of data would be significantly longer than capturing
1GB of data.
Additionally hardlinking requires almost no additional hard drive space. The only additional hard
drive space taken by USMT 4 with hardlinking are administrative files that keep track of where the
files need to be restored to. This usually only takes a few MB of disk space vs. the potential GB of
disk space taken when hardlinking is not used.
When USMT 4 with hardlinking is used in a ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 Task Sequence via the “Capture
User State” task and the OSDStateStorePath
and OSDMigrateAdditionalCaptureOptions variables, during the “Capture User State” task, new links
are created for the captured files in the State Store location . All of the original links to the files are
then deleted during the “Apply Operating System Image” task via recursive delete and wipe of the
hard drive. However, because a second link exists in the State Store, and because the State Store is
not deleted or wiped during the “Apply Operating System Image” task, the original files remains in-
tact and are not deleted. Later in the Task Sequence via the “Restore User State” task and the
OSDStateStorePath and OSDMigrateAdditionalRestoreOptions variables, the original links to the files
are recreated back to their original location.
USMT 4 hardlinking also has the advantage over saving the State Store on a network location, such
as a State Migration Point (SMP), in that it does not have to take the time to copy the files up to
the network share, bandwidth is not used, and a server with plenty of disk space for saving the
State Stores is not needed.
To summarize, USMT 4 with hardlinking has the following advantages:
1. It is significant faster than either copying the captured files to the local State Store or a State
Store located on a network share (SMP).
2. It requires only a few additional MB of disk space vs potential GB of disk space, whether on
the local hard drive or on a network share on a server (SMP).
3. It saves network bandwidth when opting to use hardlinking over a network share (SMP).
The only disadvantage that hardlinking has is that it could potentially run into problems if there is
file corruption on the hard drive, the hard drive has bad sectors, or the hard drive is having some
other type of problems. However these problems would also be exposed when using local capture
without hardlinking. In these scenarios, running a CHKDSK /R on the hard drive is advisable, and a
full format of the drive may also be advisable. A network share (SMP) may be needed in these cas-
es.
Why are the two above methods not valid when using a ConfigMgr 2007 Task
Sequence created with the MDT 2010/MDT 2010 Update 1 “Create Microsoft
Deployment Task Sequence” Wizard?
The above methods are not valid when using a ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence created with the
MDT 2010/MDT 2010 Update 1 “Create Microsoft Deployment Task Sequence” Wizard because the
Task Sequences created using the Wizard already have hardlinking enabled by default.
If a ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence created with the MDT 2010/MDT 2010 Update 1 “Create Mi-
crosoft Deployment Task Sequence” Wizard is inspected, it will be missing the “Set Task Sequence
Variable” tasks that set the variables OSDStateStorePath, OSDMigrateAdditionalCaptureOptions, and
OSDMigrateAdditionalRestoreOptions. So if the Task Sequence is missing the steps that sets these
variables, and these variables are required to do hardlinking, how does the Task Sequence accom-
plish hardlinking?
It does this via the task “Determine Local or Remote UserState” task and the MDT script ztiuser-
state.wsf. If the USMT 3 package is selected at the “Determine Local or Remote UserState” task, the
ztiuserstate.wsf script determines if there is enough space on the hard drive to do a local capture
(without hardlinking since it is USMT 3), and if not, it will perform a network capture via a State Mi-
gration Point (SMP). Based on which capture method determined by the ztiuserstate.wsf script is
used, it defines the appropriate variables, OSDStateStorePath, OSDMigrateAdditionalCaptureOp-
tions, and OSDMigrateAdditionalRestoreOptions, and along with conditions set on the relevant
tasks, the Task Sequence will perform the appropriate capture.
However if the USMT 4 package is selected at the “Determine Local or Remote UserState” task, since
disk space is not an issue, the ztiuserstate.wsf script will always default to local capture with hard-
linking. It will then set the appropriate variables for the Task Sequence to perform a hardlink mi-
gration.
There is one problem though with using the ztiuserstate.wsf script. The ztiuserstate.wsf script de-
faults the State Store to the subdirectory StateStore within the Task Sequence cache folder. For the
reasons stated in the notes above about saving the State Store within the Task Sequence cache
folder, it is not always desirable to save the State Store within the Task Sequence cache folder.
The Task Sequence created by the MDT 2010/MDT 2010 Update 1 “Create Microsoft Deployment
Task Sequence” Wizard actually works around the first issue (State Store is deleted even if the data
was not restored) by moving the State Store out of the Task Sequence cache folder via the
ztimovestatestore.wsf script and the “Move State Store” task. The State Store is moved whether or
not the Task Sequence succeeds or fails. However the other two problems can still happen.
To resolve the other two problems and save the State Store outside of the Task Sequence cache
folder when using a Task Sequence created with the MDT 2010/MDT 2010 Update 1 “Create Mi-
crosoft Deployment Task Sequence” Wizard, follow the below steps:
2. Right click on the affected Task Sequence created using the MDT Wizard and choose “Edit“.
3. Click on the “Determine Local or Remote UserState” task and then go to “Add” –> “General”
–> “Set Task Sequence Variable“. This should create a “Set Task Sequence Variable” task after
“Determine Local or Remote UserState” task but before the “Request State Store” task.

Next to the “Task Sequence Variable:” text box, enter in

OSDStateStorePath

%SystemDrive%\StateStore
The above steps resets the variable OSDStateStorePath to a path outside of the Task Sequence
cache folder after the “Determine Local or Remote UserState” task and the ztiuserstate.wsf script sets
it to the StateStore subdirectory within the Task Sequence cache folder.
Can an existing ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence that does not have any USMT tasks
including the “Capture User State” and “Restore User State” tasks be modified to do
USMT 4 hardlinking?
Yes, but the order of the steps and where they are placed in the Task Sequence are critical. The five
tasks that need to be added, and the order that they need to run in are as follows:

Capture User State
Restore User State
In addition, any “Format and Partition Disk” tasks need to be disabled.
The first three tasks, Set Local State Location, Set USMT Additional Capture Options, and Capture
User State, have to run in the original full Windows OS before the Task Sequence boots into WinPE.
This is usually before a “Restart Computer” task, such as the “Restart in Windows PE” task. The tasks
also have to be placed into a group that has a condition where it only runs in the full Windows OS
and not in WinPE. This can be accomplished by setting a condition on the group where the Task
Sequence variable _SMSTSInWinPE equals false. The prevents the tasks from running in Bare Metal
scenarios where the PCs are booted directly into WinPE and state capture is not needed.
The last two tasks, Set USMT Additional Restore Options and Restore User State, have to run in the
newly deployed full Windows OS at some point after the “Setup Windows and ConfigMgr” task,
preferably towards the end of the Task Sequence after all applications have been installed.
The Capture User State and Restore User State tasks are built in tasks of ConfigMgr 2007. They can
be found under the “Add” –> “User State” menu in a Task Sequence.
The Set Local State Location, Set USMT Additional Capture Options, and Set USMT Additional Restore
Options are all actually Set Task Sequence Variable tasks. For instructions on how to properly set up
these tasks, see the two above methods.
As a general guide and template to modifying the existing Task Sequence, Method 1 above can be
used to create a Task Sequence that serves as the template and guide to modifying the existing
Task Sequence.
Frank Rojas | System Center Support Escalation Engineer
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Tags ConfigMgr 2007 Hardlinking How to SP2 Task Sequence
Anonymous 48 years ago
This is really a great information.Thanks
Bit more info to my USMT not bringing over wallpaper and IE favorites, etc…. I have
tried both "restore all captured user profiles with standard options" and the "Cus-
tomize how user profies are restored" and enter in migapp.xml and miguser.xml
Machine is XP sp3, on a domain—> Win 7 on Domain. Win 7 image was prepared

with MDT 2010, but I am not deploying it (atm) with a MDT task sequence….I used
your Method 1 method.
I am going to test a manual run of USMT from command prompt and see if it
works…if so then a batch file/command prompt TS will have to be run. I can't think
of any other way around resolving this issue.
Beautiful and well detailed article! Would be nice some screenshots..
I followed this exactly. This is the best article I have found on USMT and
SCCM/MDT2010. I am having a weird "bug" with the USMT not bringing over wall-
paper, IE favorites/settings, and I think app settings also aren't coming over. I have
only found one mention of this on google, but nobody has replied to the guy. Any
thoughts?
Daan Stam 8 years ago
Nice article, but I miss Bitlocker in this story. What if you want to use Hardlink on a pc
with Bitlocker enabled?
Then you need to add two steps:
The first step of the tasksequence must suspend/disable bitlocker. Add a command-
line step with the command 'cscript manage-bde.wsf -protectors -disable c:' (if c: is
the encrypted drive). Select as dir C:WindowsSystem32.
The last step of the tasksequence enables Bitlocker again.
Add a commandline step with the command 'cscript manage-bde.wsf -protectors

-enable c::' (if c: is the encrypted drive)
Daan
nike rift 8 years ago
I adore your site, looks excellent and full of good info. Keep it up.
Allan Meske 8 years ago
I tried the steps above exactly, and I still get an "Error 50: The request is not support-
ed" during the Task Sequence.
tom 8 years ago
I am not using SCCM to do this, just a Deployment Share….how can I modify the the
ZTIUserState.wsf to default to %windir%statestore?
DB 7 years ago
Is there any "how to " guides on the ability to use the "Offline captures are possible
using the UDI feature of MDT 2010 Update 1 when it is integrated with ConfigMgr
2007 SP2." you mention ?
Nick Sullivan 7 years ago
I used your process under Method 1: Create a new ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence
that supports USMT 4 hardlinking. Works wonderful! I'm just having an issue with
Restoring the data. My SCCM task sequence just skips over the action "Restore User
Files and Settings". I have my User state migration tool package selected. Also i
have tried to use both "Restore all captured user profiles with standard options" and
Customizing a xml from the USMT pacakge. In both cases my task sequence doest
restore any data. When i look on my C root I find a directory called "User state".
Any ideas as to what I should do to get this working?
Ahmed Ali 7 years ago
Hi i have a problem actually i used Method 1 and all thing is great all data copied to
USMT at C but i need to restore data to original place for example i need the user
when logon on his machine see all data at desk top for example and so on can you
advice me.
Tushar 7 years ago
I have create a fresh task seqence as per above mentioned procedure , but when
ever i deploy it it shows fail . any help …
skidrow1 7 years ago
restore user profiles is failing. I can restore local accounts but not domain accounts.
LiranCohen 6 years ago
Hi J.C
I suggest you to add reference to your own article support.microsoft.com/…/2018593
Steve 6 years ago
I am not able to copy Favorites properly to user's profiles when using Method 1 go-
ing from XP SP3 x86 or Windows 7 Ent x86 to Windows 7 Ent x86. I've applied the fix
from support.microsoft.com/…/2018593. Favorites do seem to appear when migrat-
ing from x64 fine. I can still copy the Favorites from C:UserState in x86, but I would
rather not do that. Any ideas?
Francky 6 years ago
Thank you for your guide, it helps me a lot.
I have a system partiion C and a data partition D; How can i exclude the D from the
scanning ? Now USMT creates a D:UserState but I don't need to scan the D.
Thank you.
David Best 6 years ago
Great article! You were clear and concise and didn't leave out any "unimportant de-
tails".
I set up my task sequence and it works. Thanks
vishnuprasad 6 years ago
Hi i tried config manager task sequence it was working but still i am not clear about
difference between 2 task sequences.
someone explain me with screen shoot MDT task sequence for hardling
Michael A 5 years ago
When The Task Sequence is finish I have an issue. Instead of restoring the profile to
C:users It leaves the profile in the UserState folder. Can anyone help me with this
Comments are closed.
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How to use USMT 4 hardlinking in a Configuration Manager 2007 Task Sequence | S...

this use. Learn more

System Center: Configuration

June 30, 2010 by J.C. Hornbeck // 19 Comments

Suppose you want to use the USMT 4 feature of hardlinking in a System

USMT 4 is supported in the following refresh scenarios:

Windows XP –> Windows Vista

Windows XP –> Windows 7

Windows Vista –> Windows Vista

Windows Vista –> Windows 7

Windows 7 –> Windows 7

USMT 4 is not supported for Windows XP –> Windows XP scenarios.

The first step is to ensure that the USMT 4 package is created:

Create the USMT 4 Package

4. In the “Date Source” window:

Check the option “This package contains source files”

Click on the “Set…” button under “Source directory“.

Click on the “Browse…” button under “Source directory: ”

Click on the “Next >” button.

7. In the “Reporting” window, click on the “Next >” button.

8. In the “Security” window, click on the “Next >” button.

9. In the “Summary” window, click on the “Next >” button.

10. In the “Wizard Complete” window, click on the “Close” button.

It is not required to create a Program as part of the USMT 4 package.

Click on the “Next >” button.

5. In the “Install the Windows Operating System” window:

Click on the “Next >” button.

8. In the “Configure State Migration” window:

Click on the “Next >” button.

11. In the “Summary” window, click on the “Next >” button.

17. In the newly created “Set Task Sequence Variable Task“:

Next to the “Task Sequence Variable:” text box, enter in:

Next to the “Value:” text box, enter in:

Check the option “Enable verbose logging”

20. In the newly created “Set Task Sequence Variable Task“:

Next to the “Name: ” text box, enter in:

Next to the “Task Sequence Variable:” text box, enter in:

Next to the “Value:” text box, enter in:

2. Right click on the affected Task Sequence and choose “Edit“.

6. In the newly created “Set Task Sequence Variable Task“:

Next to the “Name:” text box, enter in:

Next to the “Task Sequence Variable:” text box, enter in

8. In the newly created “Set Task Sequence Variable Task“:

Next to the “Name:” text box, enter in:

Next to the “Task Sequence Variable:” text box, enter in:

Next to the “Value:” text box, enter in:

Check the option “Enable verbose logging“.

12. In the newly created “Set Task Sequence Variable Task“:

Next to the “Name: ” text box, enter in:

Next to the “Task Sequence Variable:” text box, enter in:

Next to the “Value:” text box, enter in:

Check the option “Enable verbose logging“.

Notes on the two above methods:

The protected folders that are not deleted include

2. Given the following scenario on a PC:

usmtutils.exe /rd <Path_to_State_Store>

where <Path_to_State_Store> is the path as specified

To summarize, USMT 4 with hardlinking has the following advantages:

Next to the “Name:” text box, enter in:

Next to the “Task Sequence Variable:” text box, enter in

Next to the “Value:” text box, enter in:

5. Click on the “OK” or “Apply” button to save the task sequence.

Set Local State Location