Migrating Computers Using a Crossover Cable and Altiris PC Transplant Solution

Altiris PC Transplant Solution version 6.8 provides customers with the ability to transfer data, applications, and applications settings from one computer to another using a variety of methods. One of the lesser used features is the ability to use a crossover cable to transfer profiles. This document demonstrates one example of how this can be accomplished.

Keep in mind that while the use of a crossover cable is supported by Altiris technical support, it is not generally recommended. Furthermore, this specific method is not supported so use this at your own risk.

Common scnearios where this feature is beneficial include customers that have large amounts of data to transfer but limited bandwidth available. This method might also be appropriate if there is no need to keep a backup of the original computer stored on the network or on another location.

In this method we will demonstrate how to use the crossover cable to transfer the profile of Domain Based users.

To get started, it helps to understand the logic behind PC Transplant Solution. It is highly recommended that users read through several important Altiris documents about the solution. These are listed in the order recommended:

• PC Transplant Release Notes found in Altiris KB 34051
  
  https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=34051&p...
• PC Transplant Reference Guide found in Altiris KB 32524
  
  https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=32524&p...
• PC Transplant Help found in Altiris KB 32523
  
  https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=32523&p...
• Other KB's of interest would include:
  • Known Issue with Desktop theme changes after PCT is executed found in Altiris KB 33628
    
    https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=33628&p...
  • Minimum file set needed for a PC Transplant Capture found in Altiris KB 20379
    
    https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=20379&p...

Once this information has been read, use the following guide to migrate PCs using a crossover cable:

1. Download the most recent version of PC Transplant Solution. As of this writing, this was PC Transplant Solution 6.8 SP1.
2. Using KB 20379 from the list above, transfer the necessary files for PC Transplant to a USB drive or a CD-ROM
3. Set up a Personality Build Template (PBT) per the environment's requirements, or use the default PBT
4. Acquire a known working Ethernet Cat5e Crossover Cable. Note that it's also possible to use a FireWire Crossover network.
5. At this point it is necessary to know the local Windows administrator account name and password on both computers. Even though the end result will be a transfer of domain accounts, the computers will not be connecting to the domain controller during this process.
6. On both computers, the network cards in use must be set to the exact same speed and duplex settings. Do not rely on the auto detected network speed. If Gigabit network cards are in use, it might be necessary to set these to 100 MB/Full Duplex in order for them to work properly.
7. Remember that the purpose is to move the data from a source computer to a destination computer using the crossover cable. This next step involves running a VBScript on both of the computers.
   
   1. On the source computer, save the following code as SOURCEPC.VBS and run it. An explanation of what the script does is provided after the code listing.
      

      Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") strComputer = "."
      Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
      Set colNetAdapters = objWMIService.ExecQuery _ ("Select * from Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration where IPEnabled=TRUE") strIPAddress = Array("10.0.0.1")
      	strSubnetMask = Array("255.0.0.0")
      	strGateway = Array("10.0.0.254")
      	strGatewayMetric = Array(1)
      	For Each objNetAdapter in colNetAdapters
      	errEnable = objNetAdapter.EnableStatic(strIPAddress, strSubnetMask)
      	errGateways = objNetAdapter.SetGateways(strGateway, strGatewaymetric)
      	Next
      	WScript.Echo "The OLD PC Is Ready For Migration"
      	objShell.Run "pctwiz.exe -user:*\*;+orphanusers -usercontext:<LOCAL ADMIN ACCOUNT> -password:<PASSWORD> -p:pctreal.pbt -rt:network=10.0.0.2 -nonetworkfiles -keepprofilepaths -errorlog:error.log -errorlevel:3 -summary:summary.log -migratelog:migrate.log -d -q"
      		
      

      In this VBScript, the file assigns the Network Card's IP address, Mask, Gateway and metric to the network adapters. It also display's a dialog prior to starting the PC Transplant executable asking the user to click OK to start the PC Transplant program. The actual syntax used in the PCTWIZ.exe is explained later.

   2. On the Destination computer login using the local administrators account and save the following code as LISTENERPC.VBS. An explanation of what the script does is provided after the code listing.
      

      Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") strComputer = "."
      Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
      Set colNetAdapters = objWMIService.ExecQuery _ ("Select * from Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration where IPEnabled=TRUE") strIPAddress = Array("10.0.0.2")
      strSubnetMask = Array("255.0.0.0")
      strGateway = Array("10.0.0.254")
      strGatewayMetric = Array(1)
      For Each objNetAdapter in colNetAdapters
      	errEnable = objNetAdapter.EnableStatic(strIPAddress, strSubnetMask)
      	errGateways = objNetAdapter.SetGateways(strGateway, strGatewaymetric)
      Next
      WScript.Echo "The NEW PC Is Ready For Migration"
      objShell.Run "PCTRTDestAgent.exe
      
      

      In this VBScript, the file assigns the Network Card's IP address, Mask, Gateway, and metric to the network adapters, display's a dialog box prior to starting the PC Transplant destination listener agent, and after clicking OK, starts the agent on the destination computer.

      Take special note that in the VBScripts above, the IP address was changed for all of the network cards to 10.0.0.x. It is not necessary to reset all of this network cards to using the same IP information. Ideally, any network adapter installed other than the one where the cable is being plugged in should be disabled. In this example we have decided to protect the less experienced desktop technician performing this procedure from a common mistake of forgetting to disable a nic, or more simply to just speed up the process. And if DHCP is not in use, take notes on what the existing IP addresses are for all of the network cards on the computers before you make the change.

8. With the prep work completed, begin the transfer by running SOURCEPC.VBS on the source PC, clicking OK and then running LISTENERPC.VBS on the destination server. The PC Transplant icon will be displayed in the system tray on both machines after clicking the OK button.
9. When the migration is complete remember to set the network cards speed and duplex settings on both computers back to the appropriate setting and to enable appropriate network connections and re-enable DHCP where appropriate.
10. Congratulations. The migration has been completed.

Other notes:

1. If there is a problem anywhere in the transfer, it's best to reboot both computers prior to starting again.
2. Keep in mind that the USB drive and/or CD-ROM used to store the PCT files must remain attached to the source computer during the migration. If this is a problem, copy the files from the drive or disc plus the PBT Template to a temporary directory on the destination computer and start the process from there.
3. Logging through this mechanism is not very detailed but to get the most out of what is available, the script above sets the errorlogging to the verbose setting. This was achieved in the pctwiz.exe line with the string "errorlevel "3" and "-d"
4. For more information about the command lines used in the VBScript the syntax is explained below:
   
   1. Users => *\*;+orphanusers
      
      This will migrate all local and domain users. +orphanusers will migrate older domain users.
      
      Note: Do not forget the semicolon plus sign combination.
   2. -usercontext:<LOCAL ADMIN ACCOUNT>
      
      Specify your local admin account that will be used on the destination computer.
   3. -password:<PASSWORD>
      
      Specify the user's password in the above item.
   4. -p:pctreal.pbt
      
      This is the name of the PC Transplant template file that will be used.
   5. -rt:network=10.0.0.2
      
      This specifies the address for the real-time computer. The PCT wizard will search the network to find the listener but with a crossover and to ensure a more reliable process the address of the nic was specified.
5. During the migration, The PC Transplant wizard screen will display two dialogs during the first pass and three dialogs for the second pass. If a second phase after "analyzing" is not displayed, there is a problem. To diagnose this, begin by checking the user ID and password combination in the pctwiz.exe command and/or a syntax problem with the PC Transplant Solution command in general.
6. HTTP Timeout errors in the migration log usually indicate a faulty cable. Replace the cable, reboot both PCs and try again.