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Application Data Folder Redirection

Hi all, i've enabled 'application data' folder redirection on a Windows 2003 and I guess expected to be able to log into another machine and pick up email etc. What am i missing here? Do you still need to use roaming profiles in conjunction with folder redirection to provide this? My Documents/Desktop redirection all works fine.

Thanks in advance

Dave Smith

dhoffman_98

Folder redirection is only applicable to the local machine. All that does is tells the local machine that instead of storing application data in the default location, to use a new location for it.

We use that in order to store all user data on the D Drive instead of the default. This keeps the C Drive clean and much easier to restore images to without worrying about user data stored on the local machine. All of our desktop, my documents, user profiles, etc. are stored under D:\Documents and Settings instead of the default.

This really has nothing to do with roaming. Roaming requires you to specify a place on the network where the data is to be stored. Just turning on redirection doesn't mean that you have roaming profiles enabled.

Here are a few articles to check out for better information:
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Profile-Folder-Redirection-Windows-Server-2003.html
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/243420

javabeat

ASKER

Hi, thanks top response and particularly good overview doc too. I've done as instructed and the shared profile directory for the user has indeed been populated with a number of profile type files. Outlook however still doesn't open to the users inbox?...Do i have to delete a previous local profile from the machine or something?

Thanks in advance

Dave Smith

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dhoffman_98

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javabeat

ASKER

Hi D, yes, you're right, outlook is still looking at the users local profile for its pst file. As i'd changed the users profile path in active directory I assumed outlook would be directed too? Is this not the case and is there a way to enable this? if need it seems that the profile path setting in active directory is almost redundant?

dhoffman_98

If you had set up the user prior to creating their outlook profile, then it would probably have saved the outlook information in the location for the new profile path, but changing the profile path after the user has been created will likely not cause the change to happen.

You COULD delete the user's local profile. When they log in again, their profile should be created where their AD profile is pointed to. However, they will then lose anything stored in their old profile.