Migration of User Profiles Goal: Old machine with NT 4.0SP6 running as a primary domain controller (PDC) is to be replaced by a new Linux server running samba 2.2.7a. The samba version I used was a precompiled rpm package from SuSE. Environment: 14 Windows 2000 Professional (SP1-SP3) Workstations with 1-2 User accounts 3 Windows NT 4.0 WS (SP6) Workstations with 1-2 User accounts All these are German versions in case it matters for anyone, but I will try use the English equivalents for folder names and the like where ever possible. After invesigating the workstations I found out that all user profiles were local (not roaming) so no profiles on the PDC. Further investigation revealed that 4 users had 350MB - 2.4GB data under C:\Documents and Settings\USER\ which to some extent explains why they didn't use roaming profiles. Like on many other computers I have seen in the past people just get into the habit of creating files and folders on their Desktop for convenience. No average user however is aware that their Desktop is actually physically located in 'C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Desktop' (or in case of WinNT 'C:\WINNT\Profiles\USER\Desktop') and therefore, if roaming profiles are used, will slow down especcially every logoff process, since all these data stored on the desktop have to be copied over to the server. There are ways to prevent this but introducing proper user policies is the better choice. Educate your users and you (and even they) will be happier once they stick to these rules. Now for the migration process. 1. Log on to your old PDC as administrator and create a public share to store the local profiles of all workstations, let's call it temp_profiles. As an alternative you can store them on the local workstation as well but for savety reasons I wanted to make sure I had a copy on the server. 2. Log on as local Administrator to each of your W2K/WinNT workstations, right click on 'My Computer', then select the tab labelled 'User Profiles'. Select a user profile you want to migrate and click on it. In my case user profiles are labelled PCxx\username (xx were numbers from 01 to 26). Click on 'Copy To' and in the following box labelled 'Copy Profile to' enter the path to the temporary folder (i.e. \\old_server\temp_profiles). Make sure you also click on the button labelled 'Change' in the 'Permitted to use' box and add the group 'everyone'. If you skip this step chances are high that certain programs wont work later. Click 'OK' to save the user profile on the server (or if you perfer you can save them locally on each workstation - should not make a difference but is untested). 3. Next you leave the DOMAIN and join a temporary WORKGROUP (in my case I choose the same name for both). On W2K you can find this by right-clicking on 'My Computer' -> 'Properties' and in the next box click the tab labelled 'Network Identification'. Click the button 'Properties' and you'll see where you can change from domain to workgroup logon. Then reboot. This you have to do for each client of course. Under WinNT the process is slightly different and is left as an exercise for the user. 4. Disable your old NT PDC and start the samba server with PDC functionality enabled. By this time you should have created all your user accounts including a special root account (i.e. you must add root to smbpasswd as explained in the samba documentation). The root account is needed for joining the domain. Also make sure you have set up machine accounts, either manually or with the 'add user script' option in smb.conf. 5. Log on as local administrator to all your workstations again and now join the new samba domain. Under W2K a box will appear asking you for a username and password. Use 'root' as user and the password you set in smbpasswd for root. When everthing goes right you will see something like 'Welcome to the domain ...' Reboot again. 6. You can now log on to the workstations as regular user. Log off again right away, and you will find a freshly created profile for each user on the samba server and each workstation under 'C:\Documents and Settings\USER.DOM\'. 7. Log on to each workstation as administrator again, make sure you have access to the temporary location with the previously saved user profiles and now copy all the contents over the fresh profiles which were just created. So you are actually overwriting the local AND the serverbased profiles. 8. Now you can log on as a regular user on each workstation and will find your beloved 'old' settings including all program settings, desktop icons, wallpapers and other more or less useful details. In my case this included settings for MS Office, several Adobe and Autodesk products. Even MS Outlook worked again since the *.PST files were located on the server already in the old environment. Users have not reported any errors so far except they now have to provide a password to log on to the domain which was not necessary before ;-) My thank goes to John H Terpstra for providing alot of essential information and even offering to call me in case I got stuck :-) Hopefully this little document can help some others who are trying to achive the same or a similar goal. I am aware that this is maybe not the only solution for this particular problem but it has worked well for me so it might work for others. Regards, Erwin Zierler
On 17 Jan 2003 at 10:27, Also Sprach Erwin Zierler:> Migration of User Profiles<snip most excellent post!>> and now copy all the contents over the fresh profiles which were just created. > So you are actually overwriting the local AND the serverbased profiles.Does this mean the samba needs logon home and logon path and the profiles share setting up? I did have them but after trying to match samba with the old NT PDC which didn't have roaming, I removed them from the samba setup.> Hopefully this little document can help some others who are trying to > achive the same or a similar goal.Yup. Thanks for your time, you've saved me a load of work! John -- Shamus, n. [Yiddish]: A shamus is a guy who takes care of handyman tasks around the temple, and makes sure everything is in working order. A shamus is at the bottom of the pecking order of synagog functionaries, and there's a joke about that: A rabbi, to show his humility before God, cries out in the middle of a service, ''Oh, Lord, I am nobody!'' The cantor, not to be bested, also cries out, ''Oh, Lord, I am nobody!'' The shamus, deeply moved, follows suit and cries, ''Oh, Lord, I am nobody!'' The rabbi turns to the cantor and says, ''Look who thinks he's nobody!'' -- Arthur Naiman, ''Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish''
At 11:01 17.01.2003 +0000, you wrote:>On 17 Jan 2003 at 10:27, Also Sprach Erwin Zierler: > > > Migration of User Profiles > ><snip most excellent post!> > > > and now copy all the contents over the fresh profiles which were just > created. > > So you are actually overwriting the local AND the serverbased profiles. > >Does this mean the samba needs logon home and logon path and the profiles >share >setting up? I did have them but after trying to match samba with the old >NT PDC >which didn't have roaming, I removed them from the samba setup.I am pretty sure I do have both 'logon home' and 'logon path' in smb.conf but I will let you know later today once I have access to this perticular server again. If you need my smb.conf I can send it to you in a private email (also later today).> > Hopefully this little document can help some others who are trying to > > achive the same or a similar goal. > >Yup. Thanks for your time, you've saved me a load of work!Good, that was the purpose of my posting :-)>John >--Erwin