Chapter 8 Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles MICROSOFT EXAM OBJECTIVES COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER  Configure and manage user profiles.  Manage hardware profiles. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com U ser profiles store users’ Desktop configurations. A user profile can contain a user’s Desktop arrangement, program items, personal program groups, network and printer connections, screen colors, mouse settings, and other personal preferences. User profiles are stored locally by default, but they can be accessed through the network if you configure roaming profiles. If you don’t want users to be able to change their user profiles, you can configure mandatory profiles. Hardware profiles store different hardware configurations for a com- puter. Hardware profiles are useful when a single computer has multiple hardware configurations. This chapter covers how to create and manage user profiles and hardware profiles. We will begin with an overview of the configuration information stored in user profiles. Reviewing User Profile Configuration Options U ser profiles store many of the personal configuration options for Windows 2000 Professional. For example, say user Kevin has logged on and customized his Desktop by changing the wallpaper, adding shortcuts, adding items to the Startup folder, and changing the mouse pointer. All of this infor- mation will be saved in Kevin’s user profile when he logs off. The next time he logs on, his Desktop customizations will be restored. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com Reviewing User Profile Configuration Options 347 If the configuration option is a personal preference, it is most likely a part of the user profile. Configuration options that relate to the computer are not a part of the user profile. For example, the mouse driver is not a part of a user profile. However, the properties of the mouse configuration—such as the speed, pointer, and mouse button settings—reflect the user’s personal pref- erences and are a part of a user profile. Table 8.1 lists some of the settings that are saved by user profiles. TABLE 8.1 User Preferences Saved in User Profiles Settings From Items Stored in User Profile Windows Explorer View of Windows Explorer, mapped network drives, types of files that are displayed Control Panel Screen appearance, accessibility options, and mouse and keyboard preferences Printer settings Network printer connections Taskbar All settings, including program items and their properties Accessories Preference settings for programs, such as Calcula- tor, Command Prompt, and Notepad Online Help book- marks Any bookmarks that the user has set in the Windows 2000 Help program Windows 2000– based applications User configuration settings for applications that support such settings Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com 348 Chapter 8  Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles Creating and Managing User Profiles U ser profiles are particularly useful when multiple users share the same computer. If each user has a profile, his or her Desktop preferences will be maintained and loaded when that user logs on to the computer. User profiles can be used by a single user or by a group of users. If you assign a user profile to a group of users, you can ensure that all users in the group maintain a consistent Desktop. This makes it easier to train users and to troubleshoot problems. By default, user profiles are created locally on the computer that the user account logs on to, but you can create roaming profiles that are available from the network. Roaming profiles allow users to access their customized Desktop from any computer they log on to within the network. By default, users can change their own profiles, but Administrators can create and assign mandatory, or read-only, profiles. Users cannot modify mandatory profiles. The following sections describe how to create local, roaming, and man- datory user profiles. Using Local User Profiles Each time you log on to a Windows 2000 Professional computer, the sys- tem checks to see if you have a local user profile in the Documents and Set- tings folder, which was created on the boot partition when you installed Windows 2000 Professional. The first time users log on, they receive a default user profile. A folder that matches the user’s logon name is created for the user in the Documents and Settings folder. The user profile folder that is created holds a file called NTUSER.DAT , as well as subfolders that contain directory links to the user’s Desktop items.  Microsoft Exam Objective Configure and manage user profiles. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com Creating and Managing User Profiles 349 In Exercise 8.1, you will create new users and set up local user profiles. EXERCISE 8.1 Using Local Profiles 1. Using the Local Users and Groups utility, create two new users: Liz and Tracy . (See Chapter 6, “Managing Users,” for details on creating user accounts.) Deselect the User Must Change Password at Next Logon option for each user. 2. Select Start  Programs  Accessories  Windows Explorer. Expand My Computer, then Local Disk (C:), then Documents and Set- tings. Notice that this folder does not contain user profile folders for the new users. 3. Log off as Administrator and log on as Liz. When the Getting Started with Windows 2000 dialog box appears, deselect the Show This Screen at Startup option and then click the Exit button. 4. Right-click an open area on the Desktop and select Properties. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab. Select the color scheme Red, White, and Blue (VGA), click the Apply button, and then click the OK button. 5. Right-click an open area on the Desktop and select New  Shortcut. In the Create Shortcut dialog box, type CALC . Accept CALC as the name for the shortcut and click the Finish button. 6. Log off as Liz and log on as Tracy. Notice that user Tracy sees the Desktop configuration stored in the default user profile. 7. Log off as Tracy and log on as Liz. Notice that Liz sees the Desktop configuration you set up in steps 3, 4, and 5. 8. Log off as Liz and log on as Administrator. Select Start  Programs  Accessories  Windows Explorer. Expand My Computer, then Local Disk (C:), then Documents and Settings. Notice that this folder now contains user profile folders for Liz and Tracy. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com 350 Chapter 8  Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles The drawback of local user profiles is that they are available only on the computer where they were created. For example, suppose that all of your Windows 2000 Professional computers are a part of a domain and you use only local user profiles. User Rick logs on at Computer A and creates a cus- tomized user profile. When he logs on to Computer B for the first time, he will receive the default user profile, rather than the customized user profile he created on Computer A. For users to be able to access their user profile from any computer they log on to, you need to use roaming profiles, as described in the next section. Using Roaming Profiles A roaming profile is stored on a network server and allows users to access their user profile, regardless of the client computer that they have logged on to. Roaming profiles provide users who move around with a consistent Desktop, no matter which computer they access. If the server that stores the roaming profile is unavailable, the user can log on using a local profile. To create a roaming profile, take the following steps: 1. Create the profile that will be used as the roaming profile. 2. Create a folder on a network server and share the folder. (Creating shared folders is covered in Chapter 10, “Accessing Files and Folders.”) 3. Copy the profile to the network share. To copy a profile, use the Copy To button in the User Profiles tab of the System Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 8.1. To access this dialog box, select Control Panel  System and click the User Profiles tab. (You can also access the System Properties dialog box by right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties.) Click the Copy To button and specify the share folder and profile name in the Copy To dialog box. When you go through the Copy To button in the User Profiles tab of the Sys- tem Properties dialog box, the process copies the NTUSER.DAT file, as well as all of the folders associated with the profile. You should always use this method to copy a profile to a network share, rather than using other file-copy options. 4. Open the Local Users and Groups utility and access the properties of the user who will be assigned the roaming profile. Click the Profile tab in the user Properties dialog box. In the Profile Path text box, specify Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com Creating and Managing User Profiles 351 the UNC (Universal Naming Convention) path for the roaming pro- file, as shown in Figure 8.2. FIGURE 8.1 The User Profiles tab of the System Properties dialog box FIGURE 8.2 The Profile tab of the user Properties dialog box Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com 352 Chapter 8  Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles If you need to reapply the default user profile for a user, you can delete the user’s profile through the System icon in Control Panel, User Profiles tab. In Exercise 8.2, you will simulate the process of creating a roaming pro- file. This is just a simulation because, in order for roaming profiles to work on a Windows 2000 Professional computer, roaming profiles must be con- figured on a Windows 2000 Server computer. EXERCISE 8.2 Using Roaming Profiles In this exercise, you will set up a roaming profile, which is a four-part process. Then you will test the profile. Creating a Profile 1. Using the Local Users and Groups utility, create a user named Tester . Deselect the User Must Change Password at Next Logon option. 2. Log on as Tester. Right-click an open area on the Desktop and select New  Shortcut. In the Create Shortcut dialog box, type EXPLORER . Accept EXPLORER as the name for the shortcut and click the Finish button. 3. Right-click an open area on the Desktop and select Properties. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab. Select the color scheme Maple, click the Apply button, and then click the OK button. Creating a Network Share for User Profiles 1. Log off as Tester and log on as Administrator. 2. Select Start  Programs  Accessories  Windows Explorer. Expand My Computer, then Local Disk (C:). 3. Select File  New  Folder. Name the new folder Profiles . 4. Right-click the Profiles folder and select Sharing. In the Sharing dia- log box, click the Share This Folder radio button and leave all of the other values at their default settings. Click the OK button. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com Creating and Managing User Profiles 353 Using Mandatory Profiles A mandatory profile is a profile that can’t be modified by the user. Only members of the Administrators group can manage mandatory profiles. You might consider creating mandatory profiles for users who should maintain consistent Desktops. For example, suppose that you have a group of 20 salespeople, who know enough about system configuration to make changes, but not enough to fix any problems they create. For ease of support, you could use mandatory profiles. This way, all of the salespeople will always have the same profile and will not be able to change their profiles. You can create mandatory profiles for a single user or a group of users. A mandatory profile is stored in a file named NTUSER.MAN. A user with a mandatory profile can set different Desktop preferences while logged on, but those settings will not be saved when the user logs off. Copying the User Profile to the Network Share Folder 1. Select Start  Settings  Control Panel  System and click the User Profiles tab. 2. In the User Profiles tab of the System Properties dialog box, high- light the computername\Tester profile and click the Copy To button. 3. In the Copy To dialog box, specify C:\Profiles\Tester and click the OK button. Click the OK button to close the System Properties dialog box. Configuring the User Properties to Use a Roaming Profile 1. Open the Local Users and Groups utility and expand the Users folder. 2. Double-click user Tester to open the user Properties dialog box and click the Profile tab. 3. In the Profile Path text box, type \\computername\Profiles\Tester, replacing computername with the unique name of your computer. Click the Apply button and then click the Close button. Testing the Roaming Profile 1. Log off as Administrator and log on as Tester. You should see the profile that was created for Tester. 2. Log off as Tester and log on as Administrator. EXERCISE 8.2 (continued) Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com 354 Chapter 8  Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles To create a mandatory profile, take the following steps: 1. Rename the user profile from NTUSER.DAT to NTUSER.MAN. 2. Copy the profile to a network share. As with roaming profiles, you should use the Copy To button in the User Profiles tab of the System Properties dialog box to copy the appropriate files. 3. In the Local Users and Groups utility, access the properties of the user who will be assigned the roaming profile and specify the location of the mandatory profile. This path must be a UNC path for the manda- tory profile to work. Only roaming profiles can be used as mandatory profiles. Mandatory profiles do not work for local user profiles. In Exercise 8.3, you will simulate the process of creating a mandatory pro- file. As with the sample roaming profile you created in Exercise 8.2, the man- datory profile will not actually work. This is because you must first configure roaming profiles on a Windows 2000 Server computer. EXERCISE 8.3 Using Mandatory Profiles In this exercise, you will set up a mandatory profile, which is a four-part process. Then you will test the profile. Creating a Profile 1. Using the Local Users and Groups utility, create a user named Sales User. Deselect the User Must Change Password at Next Logon option. 2. Log off as Administrator and log on as Sales User. 3. Select Start  Settings  Control Panel  Mouse. Click the Pointers tab and select Conductor from the Scheme drop-down list. Click the Apply button, then click the OK button. Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA. www.sybex.com [...]... specify C: \Profiles\ Sales User and click the OK button Click the OK button to close the System Properties dialog box Configuring the User Properties to Use a Mandatory Profile 1 Open the Local Users and Groups utility and expand the Users folder Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com 355 356 Chapter 8 Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles EXERCISE 8.3 (continued) 2 Double-click user Sales... a new user, then copy the new user s user profile to Bette’s folder in the Profiles folder Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com 368 Chapter 8 Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles Answers to Review Questions 1 B The default location for user profiles is the \Documents and Settings folder in Windows 2000 In Windows NT 4, the default location for user profiles was \WINNT \Profiles. .. right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties.) In the System Properties dialog box, click the Hardware tab and then click the Hardware Profiles button The options in the Hardware Profiles dialog box are described in Table 8.2 FIGURE 8.3 The Hardware Profiles dialog box Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com 358 Chapter 8 Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles TABLE 8.2 Hardware Profile... and restart your computer When the computer restarts, you will see the hardware profile selection options Select a profile to load it Summary This chapter described how to create and manage user profiles and hardware profiles We covered the following topics: The configurations stored in user profiles, which include most user preference settings How to create local user profiles, roaming profiles, and. .. www.sybex.com Creating and Managing Hardware Profiles 357 hardware profile (without network settings) to load when the computer is undocked Microsoft Exam Objective Manage hardware profiles When you set up hardware profiles, you specify different hardware configurations that can be accessed when Windows 2000 Professional is started You manage hardware profiles through the Hardware Profiles dialog box,... Questions 1 Where are user profiles stored by default on a Windows 2000 Profes- sional computer? A \WINNT \Profiles B \Documents and Settings C \WINNT \User Profiles D \User Profiles 2 What is the default filename for user profiles in Windows 2000 Professional? A NTUSER.PRO B NTUSER.DAT C PROFILE.DAT D PROFILE.USR 3 Which of the following steps would you need to take in order to specify that a user profile is... for user Rick on the domain SALES, computer SERVER, share PROFILES, subfolder RICK What path should you specify for Rick’s profile path? A \\SALES\SERVER \PROFILES\ RICK B \\SERVER \PROFILES\ RICK C \\SALES \PROFILES\ RICK D \\SERVER \PROFILES Copyright © 2000 SYBEX Inc., Alameda, CA www.sybex.com 364 Chapter 8 Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles 10 You are trying to create a mandatory profile for user. .. CA www.sybex.com 360 Chapter 8 Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles EXERCISE 8.4 (continued) 4 Highlight Profile 1 (Current) and click the Rename button Rename the profile to Docked and click the OK button 5 Highlight Docked and click the Properties button Select the The Computer Is Docked radio button Click the OK button 6 Click the OK button to close the Hardware Profiles dialog box Close any... could specify \\Server1 \Profiles\ Tester However, if the client is a Windows NT 3.x computer, you must include the user profile name in the Profile Path setting For example, you could specify \\Server \Profiles\ Tester\NTUSER.MAN Creating and Managing Hardware Profiles H ardware profiles store hardware configurations for a computer Using hardware profiles allows you to manage multiple hardware configurations... Document and Settings folder You can perform this copy operation through Control Panel, System, User Profiles tab 19 C You specify the profile, in this case mandatory, that the user will use through the user s properties in the Local Users and Groups utility 20 B You can replace an existing user profile with the default user profile by deleting the user profile through Control Panel, System, User Profiles . Chapter 8  Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles Summary This chapter described how to create and manage user profiles and hardware profiles. We. Chapter 8  Using User Profiles and Hardware Profiles Creating and Managing User Profiles U ser profiles are particularly useful when multiple users share