Preserve user-profile disk paths during an RDS file-server move

Source facts

For a collection with its UVHD template enabled, Microsoft directs administrators to update the User Profile Disks location when the file server moves. The profile disks must remain available at the same relative path within the new location. Microsoft Learn.

Applicability

Confirm whether the collection actually uses the documented user-profile disk arrangement. Identify the existing location, target file server, and relative disk paths before moving data. Review the wider RDS migration prerequisites separately; this check addresses the profile-storage handoff after that plan is established.

DSE recommendation

Create a source-to-destination path map and have the RDS and storage owners review it together. Record the collection property that will change and preserve its initial value. Use representative test users and a recoverable profile set during the pilot. Agree on the migration window and the way to restore the previous path if acceptance fails. Keep ordinary user data out of the change record.

Verification

Inspect the target profile-disk layout against the recorded relative paths, then verify the updated collection property. Sign in with the approved test users and confirm their expected profile content and application settings. Repeat after sign-out and a new session. Record inaccessible or unexpected profiles individually and resolve the path discrepancy before retiring the old location.

Official references

Microsoft Learn: Migrate your Remote Desktop Services deployment. Source reviewed September 8, 2026.