Situation:
In a very small environment i have no ad server, only a share on an windows7 client which is used like a fileserver.
Now i want to do thinks a bit more proffessional and bought a little HPE Server with Vmware Hypervisor (free) and an Windows Server Essentials 2016 VM on it.
So i have nearly prepared everything and want to join the productiv clients (4x Windows 7 / 2x Windows 10) the new domain now.
Problem is that i want to convert their existing local user profile into their new ad profile. Severals settings are set in the local profile and the users aren't very "it-talented". So i want to give them the experience that not so much changed for them. In the User Profile are e.g. Outlook 2010 settings for an IMAP Mail-Account which sould not be changed.
Whats the best way to do this?
I found this post but i think its a bit old and from a time befor Windows 10 and Server 2016. So i don't know if the "correct answer" would be the "correct answer" also in the year 2018.
How to join domain and still maintain settings from unjoined user profile?
Best Answer
Here's a few articles on migrating local user accounts to domain. It's a fairly straightforward process. This should get you started...
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/24026.windows-step-by-step-migrate-local-user-profile-to-domain-user-profile-with-all-settings.aspx
http://www.itswapshop.com/tutorial/windows-7-migrate-local-profiles-domain-profiles-5-steps-and-5-minutes-using-registry-tweak
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/1404c6ec-6605-49c2-8e4b-6b32c76673b1/converting-local-users-to-domain-users?forum=winserverMigration