How User Profiles Work
When a user logs on to a workstation the first time, a local profile is created on that workstation in the Documents and Settings folder.
When a user connects to a server with Terminal Services Client the first time, a local profile is created on that server in the Documents and Settings folder as well.
If a user is configured to use a roaming profile (that is, the settings in either the Profile or Terminal Services Profile tab in the user account properties contain valid paths to centrally stored profiles), the user data stored in the central profile folder is copied to the local profile folder on the workstation (if the user is logged on locally) or server (if the user is connected to the server with Terminal Services Client). All changes made to the profile during a session are saved in the local profile folder and uploaded into the central profile folder at the end of the session.
When a user logs on to a workstation, the following logic determines which user profile is used:
- If a profile path is specified on the Profile tab, then that profile is loaded.
- If no profile path is specified on Profile tab, then the local profile is loaded.
When a user initiates a new terminal session to a server, the following logic determines which user profile is used:
- If a profile path is specified on the Terminal Services Profile tab, then that profile is loaded, whether or not a profile is specified on Profile tab.
- If no profile path is specified on the Terminal Services Profile tab but a profile path is specified on Profile tab, then that profile is loaded.
- If no profile path is specified on either the Terminal Services Profile tab or the Profile tab, then the local profile is loaded.
If a computer has both local and roaming profiles, you should perform all actions described in the Local Profile Update topic first and then perform the additional actions described in the Roaming Profile Update topic.
Local Profile Update
Local profiles are updated when you start processing from Resource Updating Manager with the Local Profiles and File System check boxes selected on the Permissions Management tab of the Processing Options dialog box. This will process registry keys and folder permissions for local profiles.
After the processing is complete, the same profile is shared for the source and target user (except for Windows 10 profiles; see details below).
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Avoid performing revert of a local user profile while the target user is logged on. Otherwise, the target user will not be able to save current work and log out properly. |
Specifics of Windows 10 Profile Update
Before updating local user profiles on a computer running Windows 10, consider the following specifics:
- A source user will no longer be able to sign in to the existing user profile after local user profile processing. A new profile will be created for the source user at first sign-in after processing.
- If during profile processing source user is signed in, a same profile will be used for both source and target users until the source user signs out. After that the profile will no longer be accessible for the source user.
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Caution: Do not perform revert of a local user profile while the target user is logged on. Otherwise, the Start menu may not work for that local user profile. If this happens, you will not be able to fix the Start menu for the affected profile. |
Roaming Profile Update
Roaming profiles stored on a computer are updated when you start processing from Resource Updating Manager with the Roaming Profiles, File System and File Ownership check boxes selected on the Permissions Management tab of the Processing Options dialog box. This will process registry keys and folder permissions for roaming profiles.
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NOTE: When Migration Manager creates target accounts, it copies the roaming profiles’ paths, so the new accounts will have the same profiles as the old accounts. If your migration procedure includes moving roaming profiles to another server, profile paths specified on the Profile and Terminal Services Profile tabs in the user account properties need to be updated as well. |
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Caution: If source account is using roaming profile, then before you start processing roaming profiles using Resource Updating Manager, you must log off from this profile. Otherwise, after the roaming profile update completes, the target account will fail to log on to this profile. |
Enabling the “Cross-Forest User Policy and Roaming User Profiles” Policy
If the server where roaming user profiles are stored is running Windows 2000 SP4 or higher, you should enable the Allow Cross-Forest User Policy and Roaming User Profiles policy to allow users from trusted domains to use roaming profiles on that server. You can configure this policy either locally on the server or by using a domain or organizational unit-based Group Policy object (GPO). To do this locally on a server:
- Log on to the computer as a user with administrator rights.
- Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.
- Double-click Computer Configuration, double-click Administrative Templates, double-click System, and then click Group Policy.
- In the right pane, double-click Allow Cross-Forest User Policy and Roaming User Profiles.
- Click Enabled, click Apply, and then click OK.
- Quit the Group Policy tool.
- Allow sufficient time for the computer policy to be automatically updated, or update it yourself by running the following command in the command line:
secedit /refreshpolicy machine_policy
For more details on user policies, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base article 823862 at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;823862.
Preventing Profile Duplication
The target user accounts must use the same profiles as the corresponding source accounts. However, in some cases a duplicate profile can be created for the target user after processing. This section explains why duplicate profiles are created and describes how to prevent the duplication of profiles after processing.
If a service or scheduled task is running under the source account on a computer, this service or scheduled task maintains access to the source user profile. If the profile is already processed but the computer is not restarted, then after a user logs off and logs again with the new target account, the source user profile is still loaded by the source user account, instead of by the target account. In this case, temporary profile is created for the target user.
The User Profile Hive Cleanup Service (UPHClean) by Microsoft is intended to help troubleshoot issues with profiles being locked by any service during processing. For more information about the UPHClean, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base article 837115, "Troubleshooting profile unload issues", at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;837115 and to the UPHClean readme file at http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/8/7/a87b3d05-cd04-4743-a23b-b16645e075ac/readme.txt.
To download UPHClean, use the following link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1B286E6D-8912-4E18-B570-42470E2F3582