How to Create and Copy Roaming User Profiles in Windows XP

You may have reason to copy a defined user profile to a number of users. This presents each user with an identical initial profile at logon. Each user can then modify this profile as required.

This article explains how to copy a profile to another location. It may be difficult to determine the correct syntax to use in the Copy To dialog box for the destination path when you attempt to create a roaming profile. This article addresses this issue.

Create a Roaming Profile

To create a roaming profile, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu that appears.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under User Profiles.
3. In the Profiles stored on this computer list, click the profile that you want.
4. To change the type of profile, click Change Type, click Roaming profile, and then click OK.

Copy a User Profile

To copy an existing user profile to another user's account, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu that appears.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under User Profiles.
3. In the Profiles stored on this computer list, click the profile that you want to copy.
4. Click Copy To.
5. In the Copy To dialog box, do one of the following:
   • In the Copy profile to box, type the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path to the target user's profile folder. For example type the following:
     \\ServerName\ShareName\UsersProfileDirectory
     -or-
     
     
   • Click Browse, and then navigate to the user profile folder that you want to copy the profile to. Click OK.
6. Under Permitted to use, click Change. Type the name of the user that will be permitted to use this profile, and then click OK.
   
   NOTE: Verify that you are not choosing users or groups from a Microsoft Windows NT-based domain, because Windows XP is designed to use Active Directory to select domains.
7. In the Copy To dialog box, click OK. If you receive a "Confirm Copy" message, click Yes.
8. Click OK twice.

Update the User Profile Path

Update the user profile path to point to the new profile. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On a domain controller, start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. Expand the domain, and then expand the organizational unit that contains the user account that you want.
2. Right-click the user account that you want, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu that appears.
3. Click the Profile tab, and then type the UNC path to the new profile folder in the Profile path box.
4. Click Apply, and then click OK.

After the user has successfully logged on, the profile is saved on the server as a roaming profile, and any profile changes are saved to the server.