Deep Freeze is an Operating System state management tool. It is used to "reset" the OS to a defined state. The function has an effect much like restoring a virtual machine "snapshot."

It is a software based solution that works in the following fashion: The OS is configured to the desired state, and the Deep Freeze software is installed. They call this "Freezing the Machine", and what happens from that point on is actually quite simple. In fact, there are many other products, both hardware and software based, that perform this same function.

When a frozen computer boots up and the user interacts with the machine, any changes made to the machine or any data that is added to the machine is written to a virtual file that is placed on unused portions of the data drive. This temporary virtual file will continue to grow depending on the amount of changes that are made. The user works in a transparent, but somewhat "virtual" environment. When a computer is rebooted, this virtual file is simply re-set.

The Management Console is fairly under powered, and the flexibility to co-exist with management tools, users' profiles, and data does not exist, although they have attempted workarounds.