Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 manual Establishing User Profiles - An Overview, User Profile Structure

ESTABLISHING USER PROFILES – AN OVERVIEW

A Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 User Profile describes the Windows NT configu- ration for a specific user, including the user’s environment and preference settings. A User Profile can be local, roaming, or mandatory. A local profile is specific to a given computer. A user who creates a local profile on a particular computer can gain access to that profile only while logged on to that computer. Conversely, a roaming profile is stored on a network share and can be ac- cessed from any networked computer. A user who has a roaming profile can log on to any networked computer for which that profile is valid and access the profile. A mandatory profile is a preconfigured roaming profile that the user cannot change. As a system administrator, you may want to use mandatory profiles for a group of people who require a common interface and standard configuration.

One of the primary goals of User Profiles is to allow a user’s system and desktop customizations to travel with the user from computer to computer, without requiring the user to reconfigure any settings. When a user logs on to any computer that supports his or her roaming profile, the desktop appears— just as the user left it the last time he or she logged off. With roaming user sup- port, users can share computers, but each user has his or her personal desktop on any computer in the network (both roaming and mandatory profiles support this functionality).

Creating and Administering User Profiles

User Profiles can be created and administered in several different ways as will be described next. Note that as a system administrator, you determine whether users can modify their profiles.

∙You create a User Profile that is not modifiable for a particular user or group (this is a mandatory profile).

∙You establish a network Default User Profile that applies to all new users on Windows NT 4.0 computers. After downloading this default profile and logging on, the user can customize the profile (provided that it is not man- datory).

∙You allow a new user to use the local Default User Profile on the Windows NT 4.0 computer where the user logs on. After logging on, the user can customize the profile (provided that it is not mandatory).

∙You copy a template User Profile, and assign the copy to a user. The user can then customize the profile (provided that it is not a mandatory profile).

Profiles can be stored on a network server or cached on the local machine. (Cached profiles are located in the \%systemroot%\Profiles directory.) Caching a profile reduces the total time to log on and load the profile; however, in a roaming user or kiosk environment, this approach may not be optimal. This option is controlled by the administrator.

User Profile Structure

A User Profile is comprised of a Windows NT registry hive and a set of profile directories. The registry is a database used to store machine- and user-specific

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