Can you copy a Windows 8.1 standard User account and load it on another PC

[dazthorp]

Can you copy a Windows 8.1 standard User account and load it on another PC.

 

Problem:

 

I have 300 Windows 8.1 Netbooks and need to put a standard user account an all of them with a customized desktop, Profile Picture and Internet settings etc.

 

Can this be done by creating a master standard user account on one Netbook and then loading onto the other 300 PC's.

 

Imaging is not an option.

 

If this cannot be done can you save the profile of the user I create (desktop pic, internet settings etc.) and load this on new accounts I create on the other Netbooks.

[themightymrp]

Are all of these netbooks going to be sitting on your network/domain? If so you can do all of this centrally via group policy. You can create local accounts via the GPO Preferences and you can have a centrally held user profile which you would point all of the users to.

[dazthorp]

No I should have said that all the devices are all standalone and not joined to any domains. There are 30 each in each school.

[themightymrp]

Hmmm its going to be hard then. You can write a script that would create the user account for you but I'm not sure about the profile bit. Might be worth looking into the User State Migration Tool (USMT) to see if you can accomplish what you need?

[dazthorp]

Thought so was just hoping for a magic wand.

 

Just wanted to gain some time as this will take roughly 15-20 minutes per Netbook against imaging each one then doing post install tasks on those new images.

 

I am doing this as the account I want to change on the Netbooks have been used through an academic year and I want a quick way of restoring this account to how it was minus documents, customisation changes etc. as the Netbooks are going to be used by somebody else.

[pow]

You can do it by setting up the default profile on the image

[dazthorp]

Thanks Pow but as I said any imaging solutions is not an option as the Netbooks have all now been rolled out.

[disk]

You could give this a try.

 

ForensiT Move Computer

 

I have used it in the past and it works quite well. You will need to buy a license however if you want scripting capabilities (it is very inexpensive though). USMT is also doable but depending on what program settings you want to capture, can be a bit of work.

[dazthorp]

Thanks disk

 

Just quickly looked at the blurb and if it does what it says it should be what I'm looking for.

 

Ill let you know how I get on

[cpjitservices]

Could make a default account, set it up how you want.... and then use this: Fab's Corner

 

Fabs AutoTech backup - its not free but its a damn handy tool to have!! Once youve used this tool, to backup the user profile simply restore the profile to the machines... it will restore even the wallpaper that you have set.

Edited October 22, 2014 by cpjitservices

[dazthorp]

Hi Disk

Just quicklytried Forensit and from what I can see you can only migrate a user profile tothe same PC? I need to copy a profile from one PC and load that to other PCs

[dazthorp]

Hi

Will theAutotech BackUp copy a profile from one PC and then can I load it on other(300) Windows 8.1 PC’s?

[cpjitservices]

Hi

Will theAutotech BackUp copy a profile from one PC and then can I load it on other(300) Windows 8.1 PC’s?

 

Yes we use it for customers... we would backup the profiles from there old PC's and transfer it to a new one for them. Its a cheap program to buy too. Its cross platform too we've used it going from XP to 7 and 7 to 8.1.

[dazthorp]

Giving the trial version a go now :-)

[cpjitservices]

Giving the trial version a go now :-)

 

I guarantee it'll work.

[dazthorp]

Struggling a bit, do you have to create the user account first on the target PC as when I create an account using the software the profile does not copy over to the new account created but it does copy over to the Admin Account?

[cpjitservices]

It works like this, any existing Users accounts on the C: drive will be picked up by Fabs AutoBackup... Then back it up. Go to new machine log on as user whoever and restore the profile.

[disk]

The free version of Forensit can only do one user at a time. The paid version allows you to do as many as you want and also allows for scripting.