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Articles on setting up roaming profiles?


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Posted

Hello,

 

I don't know anything about enabling or setting up roaming profiles - are

there any tutorials or articles about how to set it up?

 

Thanks

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Guest Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]
Posted

Re: Articles on setting up roaming profiles?

 

boe <boe_d@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hello,

>

> I don't know anything about enabling or setting up roaming profiles -

> are there any tutorials or articles about how to set it up?

>

> Thanks

 

Here's what I do -

 

General tips:

 

1. Set up a share on the server. For example - d:\profiles, shared as

profiles$ to make it hidden from browsing. Make sure this share is *not* set

to allow offline files/caching! (that's on by default - disable it)

 

2. Make sure the share permissions on profiles$ indicate everyone=full

control. Set the NTFS security to administrators, system, and users=full

control.

 

3. In the users' ADUC properties, specify \\server\profiles$\%username% in

the profiles field

 

4. Have each user log into the domain once from their usual workstation

(where their existing profile lives) and log out. The profile is now

roaming.

 

5. If you want the administrators group to automatically have permissions to

the profiles folders, you'll need to make the appropriate change in group

policy. Look in computer configuration/administrative templates/system/user

profiles - there's an option to add administrators group to the roaming

profiles permissions.

 

Notes:

 

* Make sure users understand that they should not log into multiple

computers at the same time when they have roaming profiles (unless you make

the profiles mandatory by renaming ntuser.dat to ntuser.man so they can't

change them). Explain that the

last one out wins,

when it comes to uploading the final, changed copy of the profile.

 

* Keep your profiles TINY. Via group policy, redirect My Documents at the

very least - to a subfolder of the user's home directory or user folder.

Also consider redirecting Desktop & Application Data similarly..... so the

user will have:

 

\\server\home$\%username%\My Documents,

\\server\home$\%username%\Desktop,

\\server\home$\%username%\Application Data.

 

Alternatively, just manually re-target My Documents to

\\server\home$\%username% (this is not optimal, however!)

 

If you aren't going to also redirect the desktop using policies, tell users

that

they are not to store any files on the desktop or you will beat them with a

stick. Big profile=slow login/logout, and possible profile corruption.

 

* Note that user profiles are not compatible between different OS versions,

even between W2k/XP. Keep all your computers. Keep your workstations as

identical as possible - meaning, OS version is the same, SP level is the

same, app load is (as much as possible) the same.

 

* Do not let people store any data locally - all data belongs on the server.

 

* The User Profile Hive Cleanup Utility should be running on all your

computers. You can download it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1B286E6D-8912-4E18-B570-42470E2F3582&displaylang=en


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