Zak's IT Blog

This is an issue I've had a few times and when you look around on the forums you see multiple answers. I found the right one on an obscure forum that I can't think of right now. The quick answer is this: Use the correct version of DISM to service the image . They must be in the same "generation". For Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 this version is : 6.3.9600.16384 For Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 and below this version is : 6.2.9200.16384 Background and Setup: I have a Windows Server 2012 box running System Center Configuration Manager 2012 R2. We are in the process of switching our primary OS for new systems to Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64. As I build my images the old fashioned I tend to forget a few things from time to time. In this case I built the image without installing the .NET feature. The instructions to do that are here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn482069.aspx So I'm following the instructions to get a refresher on...

In the past posts I have explained how to create a task sequence to update / refresh computers to Windows 7 from Windows XP.  Most of the time this all works fine and I can just sit back and watch as the computers refresh themselves. Sometimes, though, that is not always the case as I will explain. Sometimes my task sequences will fail at the 'Restore User Files and Settings' group. It usually happens on laptops. From what I have seen it's because the laptops have went into hibernation, powered down, or have lost network connectivity at this step. What this means is that the State Store has been saved to the State Migration Point, but the data is encrypted and you can't really do anything with it. You have a bare metal Windows 7 install with no user data. I've read a few ways to accomplish retrieving your data from the State Store, and I'll cover them here. Use MigRecover found  here . This method did not work for me at all . I tried both versions to no a...