September 4, 2008 10:56pm pdt

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	[x] Attachment Details

Suggesstions for Default User ntuser.dat file editiing.

Zone: Windows XP Operating System

Tags: default, edit, user

I have an issue when I edit the default user profile and I was hoping to get some advice on how to go about correcting my problem or suggestions on new ways to edit the ntuser.dat file itself. I normally go about editing the default user profile by logging in as a normal user, making changes to the account profile as needed and then using the User Account "Copy To" function to make the editing account profile my new default user profile. This works fine with things related to the profile such as folder structure and icons, but my trouble is with the ntuser.dat file. Some of the user specific information, such as all of the folder paths in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\NTUSER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders key are all routing to the normal user I logged in as.

For example, I log in as Wanda Forte and mess with the profile. Then I log in as an admin and use the Copy To function to make Wanda's profile the new Default User profile on the machine. But now, when I log in as Joe Shoe, my "My Documents" folder points to C:\Documents and Settings\Wanda.Forte\My Documents!!!

Is there a better way to edit the ntuser.dat file? The rest of the profile works great when I copy it, but its the darn things like this that screw it all up. This is beginning to really frustrate me. I'll completely do this a different way if I have to, any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. My goal is to find a way to make changes on the ntuser.dat file while keeping all settings generalized. I know my way around regedit enough to make slight changes but I can't create an entire default profile in regedit alone.

Thanks for your suggestions and advice in advance.

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8.6

Question Stats

Zone: OS

Question Asked By: mmahelpdesk

Solution Provided By: johnb6767

Participating Experts: 2

Solution Grade: A

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Comment by johnb6767

Not only does it bring over the .dat file, but the rest of the profile as well, like custom favorites, desktop, appdata etc....

Comment by mmahelpdesk

Yeah I'm aware of that, and thats how I customize that sort of thing. But if I want my users to only be able to view the classic start menu and things like that then I need to edit that ntuser.dat file.

Comment by johnb6767

Correct. I just prefer doing the whole customizations while IN the DU profile, instead of the registry. More of a personal preference....

Comment by mmahelpdesk

As do I, I know what my users are going to get when i'm looking at exactly what changes I made. But its my examples in my previous posts that ruin customizing it like this.

Comment by mjpollard

We have a situation where we modify about 3% of our standard systems to change the default background color. This is the cmd script I use to do that:

reg load HKU\TempHive "c:\Documents and Settings\Default User\ntuser.dat"
reg add "HKEY_USERS\TempHive\Control Panel\Colors" /v Background /d "255 0 0" /f
reg save HKU\TempHive "c:\Documents and Settings\Default User\ntuser.dat"
reg unload HKU\TempHive

You could pretty much change everything else in the hive if you needed to. . .

20080723-EE-VQP-34 / EE_QW_1_20070628