Tech Tips / Windows NT / Users and Groups
Windows NT automatically creates user profiles that store user-specific information such as desktop settings, shortcuts, mapped drives, printer configurations, and more. NT supports three types of profiles: local, roaming, and mandatory.
Local profiles are stored only on the workstation. This might be the only type of profile you will need if users never log on to any workstation other than their own. This profile involves no server storage and hence no bandwidth issues.
Roaming profiles are stored on a server so users will be able to have their customized settings available to them no matter where they log on. If you have to support users who log on at various workstations, this is a definite convenience, since they'll always have their configuration no matter what machine they're using. However, this option does generate some extra work for you, as the location of each stored profile must be configured in User Manager For Domains.
The third type of profile is really just a different type of roaming profile. This is the mandatory profile, and it represents one way by which you can control the user environment. A mandatory profile is also stored on a server and again, the location of the stored profile must be configured in User Manager For Domains. However, to enable mandatory profiles, the file that stores the user profile, named by default Ntuser.dat, must be renamed to Ntuser.man. In essence, this makes Ntuser a read-only file and prevents users from making any changes.
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