USER PROFILE ,

About,User,Profiles:
The,system,creates,a,user,profile,the,first,time,that,a,user,logs,on,to,a,computer.,At,subsequen
t,logons,,the,system,loads,the,user's,profile,,and,then,other,system,components,configure,the,
user's,environment,according,to,the,information,in,the,profile

Explanation,of,User,Profile:
A,user,profile,is,a,directory,of,stored,user,setti
ngs,,information,,and,other,information,pertai
ning,to,the,user,account.,For,example,,a,user,
profile,may,have,the,settings,for,the,user's,ins
talled,programs,and,operating,system.,A,user,
profile,stored,on,a,home,computer,is,often,un
ique,to,the,computer,on,which,it,is,stored.,It,a
llows,each,user,who,logs,onto,that,computer,t
o,have,their,own,settings.,However,,a,user,pro
file,stored,on,a,network,server,allows,the,user
,to,keep,their,settings,regardless,of,the,compu
ter,they're,using,as,long,as,they,log,into,their,
account.,A,userprofile,is,It,is,also,an,environm
ent,variable,holding,this,directory,path.,For,ex
ample,,using,%userprofile
%,in,a,batch,file,would,allow,you,to,copy,,move,,or,otherwise,manipulate,the,Windows,users,pr
ofile,directory,without,knowing,the,users,profile,name.

Types,of,User,Profiles:
There,are,four,types,of,user,profile,they,are,following
Local,User,Profiles
Roaming,User,Profiles
Mandatory,User,Profiles
 Temporary,User,Profiles.
Local,User,Profiles.,A,local,user,profile,is,created,the,first,time,that,a,user,logs,on,
to,a,computer.,The,profile,is,stored,on,the,computer's,local,hard,disk.,Changes,made,to,
the,local,user,profile,are,specific,to,the,user,and,to,the,computer,on,which,the,changes,
are,made.
Roaming,User,Profiles.,A,roaming,user,profile,is,a,copy,of,the,local,profile,that,is,
copied,to,,and,stored,on,,a,server,share.,This,profile,is,downloaded,to,any,computer,tha
t,a,user,logs,onto,on,a,network.,Changes,made,to,a,roaming,user,profile,are,synchronize
d,with,the,server,copy,of,the,profile,when,the,user,logs,off.,The,advantage,of,roaming,u
ser,profiles,is,that,users,do,not,need,to,create,a,profile,on,each,computer,they,use,on,a,
network.
Mandatory,User,Profiles.,A,mandatory,user,profile,is,a,type,of,profile,that,admi
nistrators,can,use,to,specify,settings,for,users.,Only,system,administrators,can,make,cha
nges,to,mandatory,user,profiles.,Changes,made,by,users,to,desktop,settings,are,lost,wh
en,the,user,logs,off.
Temporary,User,Profiles.,A,temporary,profile,is,issued,each,time,that,an,error,c
ondition,prevents,the,user's,profile,from,loading.,Temporary,profiles,are,deleted,at,the,
end,of,each,session,,and,changes,made,by,the,user,to,desktop,settings,and,files,are,lost,
when,the,user,logs,off.,Temporary,profiles,are,only,available,on,computers,running,Win
dows,2000,and,later

Elements,of,User,Profile:
A,user,profile,consists,of,the,following,elements
A,registry,hive.,The,registry,hive,is,the,file,NTuser.dat.,The,hive,is,loaded,by,the,system,
at,user,logon,,and,it,is,mapped,to,the,HKEY_CURRENT_USER,registry,key.,The,user's,regi
stry,hive,maintains,the,user's,registry-based,preferences,and,configuration.
A,set,of,profile,folders,stored,in,the,file,system.,User-
profile,files,are,stored,in,the,Profiles,directory,,on,a,folder,per-user,basis.,The,user-
profile,folder,is,a,container,for,applications,and,other,system,components,to,populate,
with,sub-folders,,and,per-
user,data,such,as,documents,and,configuration,files.,Windows,Explorer,uses,the,user-
profile,folders,extensively,for,such,items,as,the,user's,Desktop,,Start,menu,and,Docume
nts,folder

Advantages of, User Profile:

User, profiles, provide the, following advantages:
 When,the,user,logs,on,to,a,computer,,the,system,uses,the,same,settings,that,were,in,us
e,when,the,user,last,logged,off.
When,sharing,a,computer,with,other,users,,each,user,receives,their,customized,desktop
,after,logging,on.
Settings,in,the,user,profile,are,unique,to,each,user.,The,settings,cannot,be,accessed,by,o
ther,users.,Changes,made,to,one,user's,profile,do,not,affect,other,users,or,other,users',
profiles.

Understanding,User,Profiles:
A,user,profile,is,a,set,of,data,that,is,used,to,re-
create,the,user's,environment,each,time,a,user,logs,on.,It,includes,several,folders,such,as,Conta
cts,,Cookies,,Desktop,,Downloads,,Favorites,,and,more.,It,also,includes,user-
specific,Registry,settings.

As,an,example,,Martin,could,use,a,Windows,7,system,and,have,it,configured,with,a,leftha
nd,mouse,,the,Windows,7,Landscapes,theme,,a,weather,gadget,on,his,desktop,,and,several,dri
ves,mapped,to,network,shares,he,uses,regularly.,Each,time,Martin,logs,on,,these,settings,are,re
-
created,from,his,profile.,Jasmin,could,use,the,same,computer,with,a,different,user,account.,Sh
e,can,reconfigure,all,of,these,settings,,and,they,will,be,re-
created,from,her,profile,each,time,she,logs,on,,without,affecting,the,settings,for,Martin.
Windows,7,profiles,are,stored,in,the,%systemroot
%\Users,folder,by,default.,The,Users,folder,includes,the,standard,profiles,of,any,user,who,has,e
ver,logged,on,to,the,system,and,also,the,All,Users,profile,and,the,Default,User,profile.
All,Users,The,All,Users,profile,holds,settings,that,affect,all,users.,As,an,example,,when,you,instal
l,an,application,,you,are,often,prompted,to,choose,to,allow,all,users,access,to,the,program.,Wh
en,you,select,All,Users,,the,application,modifies,the,All,Users,profile,,ensuring,the,application,is
,available,to,any,user,who,logs,on,to,the,system.

Default,User,This,profile,is,used,when,a,user,first,logs,on,to,a,system.,Windows,7,will,copy,the,
Default,User,profile,to,a,new,folder,named,with,the,user's,logon,name.,If,Martin,logs,on,,a,fold
er,is,created,named,Martin,and,includes,all,the,data,from,the,Default,User,profile.,This,new,pro
file,is,used,to,re-create,the,same,environment,for,the,user,each,time,Martin,logs,on.

Tip,There,are,many,differences,in,how,profiles,are,implemented,in,Windows,XP,and,Windows,
7.,The,changes,occurred,between,Windows,XP,and,Windows,Vista.,For,example,,in,Windows,X
P,the,profile,was,located,under,the,
%systemroot\Documents,And,Settings\,folder.,This,was,changed,to,%systemroot
%\Users\,in,Windows,Vista,and,Windows,7.
User,Profile,Tiles,in,Windows,7,and,Later:
In,Windows,7,or,later,,each,user,profile,has,an,associated,image,presented,as,a,user,tile.,These,
tiles,appear,to,users,on,the,User,Accounts,Control,Panel,item,and,its,Manage,Accounts,subpag
e..,The,image,files,for,the,default,Guest,and,default,User,accounts,also,appear,here,if,you,have,
Administrator,access,rights.

Note,,The,Manage,Accounts,subpage,is,accessed,through,the,Manage,another,account,link,in,
the,User,Accounts,Control,Panel,item.
%ProgramData%\Microsoft\User ,Account, Pictures\Guest.bmp
%ProgramData%\Microsoft\User,Account,Pictures\User.bmp
The,user's,tile,image,is,stored,in,the,%SystemDrive
%\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp,folder,as,<username>.bmp.,Any,slash,characters,
(\),are,converted,to,plus,sign,characters,
(+).,For,example,,DOMAIN\user,is,converted,to,DOMAIN+user.
The,image,file,appears,in,the,user's,Temp,folder:
After,the,user,completes,the,initial,system,setup,(OOBE).
When,the,user,first,launches,the,User,Accounts,Control,Panel,item.
When,the,user,goes,to,the,Manage,Accounts,subpage,of,the,User,Accounts,Control,Pan
el,item.,In,addition,,tiles,for,all,other,users,on,the,computer,are,shown.
1. Those,instances,are,the,only,times,that,the,images,are,created,or,updated.,Therefore,,t
here,are,several,caveats,to,keep,in,mind,when,using,the,Temp,folder,location,program
matically:
2. The,user's,tile,is,not,guaranteed,to,be,present.,If,the,user,deletes,the,.bmp,file,,for,insta
nce,manually,or,through,a,utility,that,deletes,temporary,files,,that,user,tile,is,not,autom
atically,recreated,until,the,user,launches,the,User,Accounts,Control,Panel,item,or,Mana
ge,Accounts,subpage.
3. User,tiles,for,other,users,on,the,computer,might,not,be,present,in,the,currently,logged-
on,user's,Temp,folder.,For,example,,if,User,A,creates,User,B,through,the,User,Accounts,
Control,Panel,item,,User,B's,tile,is,created,in,User,A's,Temp,folder,when,Windows,sends
,User,A,to,the,Manage,Accounts,subpage.,Because,the,directory,structure,is,not,created
,for,User,B,until,he,or,she,logs,on,,User,A's,Temp,folder,is,the,only,location,that,User,B's,
tile,is,stored.,When,User,B,logs,on,,the,only,image,stored,in,User,B's,Temp,folder,is,his,o
r,her,own.
4. To,get,all,user,tiles,for,users,on,a,system,,applications,might,need,to,search,in,each,user
's,Temp,directory.
5. Because,the,access,control,list,
(ACL),of,these,Temp,directories,allows,access,to,SYSTEM,,Administrator,,and,the,current
,user,,applications,need,to,elevate,to,access,for,other,users.
6. Other,users',tiles,are,not,guaranteed,to,be,up-to-
date,in,their,Temp,folders.,If,User,B,updates,his,or,her,user,tile,,User,A,will,not,see,the,c
hange,until,User,A,accesses,the,Manage,Accounts,subpage.,Therefore,,if,applications,us
e,User,A's,Temp,folder,to,obtain,User,B's,tile,,those,applications,can,get,an,out-of-
date,image,file.