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Win2000 Pro and profiles

R

Robor

Elite Member
We're currently in an NT4 domain (about 50 users) with mostly Win9x clients and we're moving to Win2000 Pro/Server in the very near future. From now on all of the workstation boxes (Dell Optiplex) I get are going to be loaded with Win2000 Pro. To make the process simple I'd like to take one of these new machines and install the necessary software and configure it the way I like it then create an image of that pre-configured box with Ghost and dump it on our server. BTW, should I run "sysprep" after it's the way I want it and before creating the image?

I want to make it as simple as possible when I go to use the image on a new PC. The problem I'm running into is when I'm ready to roll the box out to a user and I sign on with their login they get a new profile that isn't setup the way I want it. Then I have to resetup their desktop icons, Office shortcut bar, backround, display settings, screen saver, etc. Is there a way I can use a preconfigured profile that's already setup how I want it? I think I could do it with roaming profiles but my company doesn't want to use them. Is this possible?

Thanks!

Rob
 
Think this would be the option that you are looking for. Copied out of the help section:

To copy a user profile

Open System in Control Panel.
On the User Profiles tab, and under Profiles stored on this computer, click the user profile you want to copy, and then click Copy To.
In the Copy To dialog box, under Copy profile to, type the location for the new profile, or click Browse to select the path.
Click Change to open the Choose User dialog box, click a new user from the Names list, and then click Add. The new user name will appear in Add Name. Click OK to add the user as a new user profile on your computer.
Notes

You must be logged on as an administrator to the local computer to copy user profiles.
To open a Control Panel item, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click the appropriate icon.
Related Topics

This sounds like it will let you copy a profile to a server and then whenever you get a new box you can just open it up, import and rename it to the new user name. You will still have to modify stuff (outlook usernames and stuff) but it will be quicker. Oh, and if you check the "user must change password at next login" it will be easier.

LUCK!!!
 
Win98 can log on to a workgroup or domain.
Its an option in the network config.
 
Okay, I can copy the profile out to a shared drive on my server but how can I import that profile back to a freshly imaged box? (answered below but still more questions)

Edit: Nevermind on this one... I found that if I log in as the user I want to create I get the default profile. Then I log back out and log back in as the admin and copy my customized profile from the server to the \Documents and Settings\User folder. I logged back in as the created user and it worked fine.

Thinking ahead, would there be a disadvantage to copying this profile to the "Default User" and/or "All Users" folder(s) so if this box changes hands (we do have turnover) a new login would get the settings I want?

Edit again: Seems I spoke too soon. When I copied the customized profile back to the system and logged in everything looked fine. All of my settings were retained and everything looked great. However, when I tried to go into Outlook I got an error saying my storage folder had moved. I was prompted to browse to or create another. Neither worked, I got an error saying I didn't have rights to access the Personalized Folder I was trying to access. Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Rob
 
I think I found a workaround to this Outlook problem. The box came from DELL with Win2000 Pro installed. I installed and configured Office2000 and our AntiVirus software (myCIO) and setup the machine with the IE5 desktop settings I want. Then I created a group profile to import our proxy settings into IE5, prevent Active Desktop, and prevent Display Changes. After I was happy with the profile I copied the \machine\Administrator profile over the "Default User" folder.

I signed off and logged into the domain as a new user. All of my desktop settings were there and everything worked fine except when I went into Outlook. It gave me an error message about the storage folder changing. It prompted me to locate the old one or create a new one. When I attempted to create it under the new users account it allowed it but when I clicked "personal folders" I got an error about not being allowed to view the Administrator folder.

My solution was to delete the \Documents and Settings\Default User\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\outlook.pst file. Now when I log in as a new user and start Outlook it prompts me that the storage folder is missing but does not give the error when I create and access it because it's not pointing to the Administrator's path. I haven't tested this enough to declare victory but I'm going to roll the box out to a user today. Hopefully this works... 🙂

Rob
 
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