Microsoft® Windows® Desktop Deployment Resource Kit

Getting User Profiles

How users get their profiles depends on the type of profile you’ve configured their accounts to use:

• Local user profile. This profile is created the first time users log on to their computers. Local user profiles are stored on the local hard disk. Changes that users make to their profiles don’t follow them from computer to computer.

• Roaming user profile. These profiles are available to users from any computer on the network, and changes that users make to their profiles follow them from computer to computer.

• Mandatory user profile. This profile is similar to roaming user profiles. Administrators assign mandatory user profiles to users, and Windows XP Professional throws away users’ changes when they log off the operating system. ...