1. You can create separate accounts for each person that will be using the computer which allows each user to have their own document folders and settings such as the wallpaper, Start menu, visual style, and so forth. You can create and configure user accounts with the "User Accounts [Q279783]" tool in Control Panel, but is not available on a computer that is a member of a Domain.
2. For a thorough understanding, please read through the TechNet article, "User Data and Settings Management - User Profile Structure" that also includes the "Step-by-Step Guide to User Data and User Settings.
3. "You Cannot Select the "Make This Folder Private" Option (Q307286)," that occurs for either of the following reasons:
• The folder is not in your user profile (Drive_letter:\Documents and Settings\User_name, where Drive_letter is the drive on which Windows XP is installed and User_name is your user name). The Make this folder private option is available only for files in your user profile (the My Documents folder and its subfolders, and the Cookies, Desktop, Start Menu, or Favorites folders).
• The Windows folder is located on a drive that is formatted with the FAT or FAT32 file systems. The "Make this folder private" option requires the NTFS file system.
4. "HOW TO: Assign a Mandatory User Profile in Windows XP (Q307800)."
Note: When a user with an assigned mandatory profile logs off from a computer any changes to the profile are lost.
5. After upgrading a system from Win9x or Millennium Edition to WinXP Home or Pro and if user accounts were not set up initially, the "Fast User Switching" feature is not turned on by default.
6. Your attention is specifically directed to the article "How to perform advanced clean-boot troubleshooting in Windows XP (Q316434)."
7. The article [Q308577] discusses and describes the process of how to set up hardware profiles which is a set of instructions that tells Windows which devices to start when you start your computer or which settings to use for each device. By default, every device that is installed on your computer when you install Windows is enabled in the Profile 1 hardware profile. If there is more than one hardware profile on your computer, you can designate a default profile that is used every time you start your computer. You can also have Windows prompt you for which profile to use when you start your computer. After you create a hardware profile, you can use "Device Manager" to disable and enable devices that are in the profile. When you disable a device in a hardware profile, the device drivers for the device are not loaded when you start your computer with that profile.
8. "Delprof.exe" is a command-line utility that can be downloaded and which you can use to delete user profiles on a local or remote computers running Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, when using the graphical interface proves futile. You must be logged on as administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to delete user profiles.
9. The article [Q332003] states that when Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Service Pack 1a (SP1a) has been installed, Windows adds a new feature that is named "Set Program Access and Defaults" to the Add or Remove Programs tool. You can use this feature to change the default programs that you use for certain activities on your computer, such as surfing the Internet, sending e-mail messages, playing CDs, or talking with friends by using an instant messaging program. You can also specify which programs are available from the Start menu, the desktop, and other locations.
Caveat: You cannot specify different defaults for different users. The Set Program Access and Defaults feature applies to all users and you cannot specify different default programs for different users or remove access to programs for only some users.
10. The article [Q837115] describes the symptom of slow logging off a computer with user profiles (which can occur if Windows or third-party programs such as printer drivers or virus scanners do not stop and release resources when logged off), that you may find certain recorded event messages in the event log, and suggests that users experiencing this problem download and install the User Profile Hive Cleanup Service module:
A roaming profile does not reconcile.
You reach the registry size limit (RSL).
You take a long time to log off, and you receive the following message:
Saving settings . . .
11. If you are a member of the Administrators group, you can use the "Set Program Access and Defaults (820291)" feature to specify the default program for certain activities, such as Web browsing, sending e-mail messages, or playing media files. You can also control how the program's icons, shortcuts, and menu entries appear. For additional information about how to specify default programs, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
"How to Change Your Default Programs and to Enable or Remove Access to Microsoft Windows and Non-Microsoft Programs (Q332003)."
12. Supplemental reading:
Note: If you created a new user account and you are logged on as the new user, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms since being logging on as the new user, the account logged on to will not be displaying the expected information without first having been setup completely (click Start, Log off, and then log on as the original user account for the usual display):
• Your desktop wallpaper may be missing, and icons that used to be on your desktop may also be missing.
• Your custom sounds may not play when events occur that previously used your custom sounds.
• Your Microsoft Outlook Express e-mail messages may be missing. If you search for your e-mail messages by searching for .dbx files, you may be unable to find these files on your computer.
• Your Microsoft Internet Explorer favorites may be missing.
a. "Mail Folders, Address Book, and E-mail Messages Are Missing After You Upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP (Q313055)."
b. "How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile (Q811151)."
c. "How to Create and Copy Roaming User Profiles (Q31447
."
d. "HOW TO: Create a Custom Default User Profile (Q319974)."
e. "Error Message: "Windows Cannot Load the Locally Stored Profile" (Q812339)."
f. "Availability of the CopyProfile command-line tool to copy a Windows user profile on a Windows XP-based or a Windows Server 2003-based computer."
g. "The Desktop.ini File Does Not Work Correctly When You Create a Custom Default Profile (Q321281)."