Need to change desktop on PCs with mandatory profile

[StevieM]

HELP

We have a number of stand alone XP pro machines that have had local users setup with Mandatory profiles. The person that did this has left the company and left no info at all.

I need to change the desktop and screensavers on the machines for these local users but then still have them on mandatory profiles after the changes.

No idea how to do this, can anyone help?

 

[donb01]

If the machine asks you for a user name and password when you start it up, put in Administrator with no password. If the other person put on an administrator password and you don't know what it is, you can google something like 'windows XP password removal' or 'forgot windows xp password' and you should find a utility that will allow you to reset the passwords. I have it at home someplace, but I'm at work. I do know there is such a critter though.

If the system does not ask you for a login and password, go into control panel, then user accounts. In the secure logon box with the key, put a check in the box that says "require CTRL-ALT-DELETE to logon", apply that and reboot. You should now be prompted with a login box - follow the top paragraph.

NOTE: You should know the current user name you are under on that computer and whether or not it has a password - if you don't, and Administrator does not let you login you will no longer be able to get into that computer. Generally if the computer does not require you to enter a login and password at startup now there will be no password assigned to the user. You can go into Windows Explorer, under drive C, directory "Documents and Settings" and look at the names of the directories in there. There should be one called Administrator, and there may be one or more others under names you recognize (or are aboviously computer names like WS1, Computer1 stuff like that) those are your user names for that computer.

 

[StevieM]

Sorry of I did not explain fully.

I can login as the users no problem and I know the admin password to the PCs, what I not able to do is change the desktops and scrennsavers for the users with mandatory (local) profiles.

 

[wolluf]

Mandatory profiles just have ntuser.man instead of ntuser.dat in the profile (you manually rename this file to achieve mandatory profiles). So to change anything, rename ntuser.man to ntuser.dat for the relevant profile, log on as that user, make the changes, restart and then rename ntuser.dat back to ntuser.man.

You can't generally rename this file after that user has been logged on - so initially logon as Admin user first - do the rename etc. Then you'll need to restart to rename back. You said these are standalone local profiles (mandatory profiles often used in domains) - so I'm assuming its all just standard stuff - profiles in documents and settings.

 

[donb01]

I realize we're going in a different direction here, but in case anyone reads this and has interest in the password reset tool you can find it here:

http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/

 

[StevieM]

Wolluf, the profile for the user has a .dat AND a .man file. Is this usual?

 

[wolluf]

It can happen - but usually in a domain (roaming profile) situation where a user logs on while administrator was updating mandatory profile - so picks up the non-mandatory from the server - but local profile has mandatory already. Are the 2 files similar size? Which was updated last? Did this user ever have a roaming profile?

I'd save the .dat file elsewhere (or just rename it to say .bak), then rename the .man file to .dat, work on that, then rename back to .man when finished. If this profile looks wrong, try using the other (now .bak) file instead. If that looks ok, just work on that instead - just make sure there is only one ntuser file when completed, and that has a .man extension.

 

[linney]

HOW TO: Assign a Mandatory User Profile in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q307800#appliesto

HOW TO: Create a Custom Default User Profile (Q305709)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q305/7/09.asp

Q310516 HOW TO: Distribute Registry Changes to Computers in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q310/5/16.asp

Q310514 HOW TO: Distribute a Custom Desktop Theme to Users in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q310/5/14.asp

"To copy a user profile", see Help and Support program

227575 - Cannot Copy Current User Profile

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;227575&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

811151 - How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

HOW TO: Delete a User Profile in Windows 2000

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q313918&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

314045 - HOW TO: Restore a User Profile in Windows 2000

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314045&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

HOW TO: Restore a User Profile in the Windows .NET Server Family(Q324734)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q324/7/34.asp