Within Windows 2008 and Windows 7 profile location have been redesigned from what was previously on offer within Windows 2003 and Windows XP.
This information provides you with the new locations of the main items you will require to configure the desktop interface.
It also provides details upon a couple of common mistakes that can occur.
- User Data
The windows 2008 location of user data is C:Users
All Users (Applied to all users settings)
Warning
All user settings (unless part of the default user settings) will get applied to all user profiles upon the server and will be applied at the point of being changed to active users.
- Desktop
C:userspublicpublic desktop
You also will also need to modify the Default Desktop to stop certain items from being added to a users profile when they first log on. The location of the default users desktop is as follows:
C:usersdefaultdesktop
NOTE: The Default folder is a hidden system folder you will need to change the folder options in the control panel to allow systems files to be visible
- Start Menu
C:Program DataMicrosoftWindowsStart Menu
NOTE: The Program Data folder is a hidden system folder and you will need to change the folder options within the control panel to allow systems files to be visible
You also will need to modify the default users start menu to stop things like CMD prompt from being added to a users profile when they first log on. The location of the default users start menu is as follows:-
C:usersdefaultappdataroamingmicrosoftwindowsstart menu
NOTE : The Default and Appdata folders are hidden system folders and you will need to change the folder options in the control panel to allow systems files to be visible
Default Users Profile (Applied to all new users who do not have a roaming or local profile already created)
- Desktop
The location for the default users desktop is as follows:
C:UsersDefaultDesktop
NOTE: The Default folder is a hidden system folder and you will need to change the folder options in the control panel to allow systems files to be visible
- Start menu
You also will need to modify the Default Users start menu to stop things like CMD prompt from being added to a users profile when they first log on. The location of the default users start menu is as follows:
C:usersdefaultappdataroamingmicrosoftwindowsstart menu
NOTE: The Default and Appdata folders are hidden system folders and you will need to change the folder options in the control panel to allow systems files to be visible
- Send To (note this can only be set in the default users profile)
You will need to modify the Default Users Sendto to stop items from being added to a users profile when they first log on. The location of the default users start menu is as follows:
C:usersdefaultappdataroamingmicrosoftwindowssendTo
NOTE: The Default and Appdata folders are hidden system folders and you will need to change the folder options in the control panel to allow systems files to be visible
- Quick Launch (note this can only be set in the default users profile)
The new location for the All users quick launch for roaming users is as follows:
C:UsersDefaultAppDataRoamingMicrosoftinternet explorerquick launch
NOTE: The Default and Appdata folders are hidden system folders and you will need to change the folder options in the control panel to allow systems files to be visible
Common mistakes
- When creating a user the default user settings get applied and then you modify the default user settings but the user does not get updated.
Default user settings only get applied once and they only get applied under certain circumstances.
- When a user creates a local or roaming user profile for the first time.
- It does not get created amended to a user if either of these already exist on the server you are logging into as a local profile user or if you have never logged on and created a roaming user profile.
- Modifying the default users NTUSER.DAT file and then experience issues which suggest group policy is being applied when the user is not in an OU with group policy applying.
You should avoid modifying the NTUSER.DAT file and use group policy instead, the reason why that it appears that group policy does not get applied/removed correctly is that the default users NTUSER.DAT file (users registry hive) has been created in an OU with group policies already applied.
When the file is copied the registry hive will still have these settings applied. So if you move a user out of an OU with group policy applied into an OU without group policy applied, the settings are still present within the users registry hive from the previously applied policy that was applied at the point when the NTUSER.DAT file was created.
You could modify the user account in an OU that has no policy applied and then copy over the NTUSER.DAT file but this is not advisable as it will only create confusion later on.
