Pre-upgrade scan tool

The pre-upgrade scan tool is used to scan the sites in SPS 2003, before they are upgraded to MOSS 2007. The tools helps to find any errors/issues that might occur during the upgrade process. Two main reasons for which this tool is run is to:

1. parse and save list definitions with associated lists
2. report common issues that will result in failed upgrade

User running this tool must be member of Admin group on local server.

This tool should be run during planning & upgrade process. If a user attempts to run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration wizard without successfully running this tool, the wizard exits and prompts the user to run the tool.

The pre-upgrade scan tool can be run from the command line by using the following command:

prescan.exe /c preupgradescanconfig.xml /all

The above command scans all servers in the server farm. After the scan has completed, the location of reports (_log.txt & _summary.txt) is displayed in the command-line window.

Issues reported by the pre-upgrade scan tool:
The reported issues include the existence of the following objects:

1. Customized site templates:
   An administrator need to know which site templates have been customized for a particular site, so that he can verify the customizations again after the upgrade.
2. Orphaned objects:
   There may be some objects that exist but are not associated with a particular site. These types of objects are orphaned objects. Orphaned objects may be list items, lists, documents, Web sites, and site collections. Because orphaned objects do not work in the previous version, they would not work after the upgrade. If an in-place upgrade is performed, the orphaned items will still exist but will not work. If a gradual upgrade is performed, orphaned items will not be copied to the new site. It is recommended that any orphaned objects should be cleaned up before upgrading.
3. Custom Web Parts:
   The existence of custom Web Parts is reported to the appropriate site administrator or developer before upgrading.
4. Missing components (language packs, user controls):
   If a Web site is based on a language template pack that is not currently installed on the front-end Web servers, or a Web site uses controls that are not currently installed on the front-end Web servers, the missing language packs or controls should be installed before upgrading.