When a user logs on to a Windows Vista computer for the first time, Windows Vista tries to find a profile named Default User.v2 in the NETLOGON share on the domain controller authenticating the user. If Windows Vista finds such a profile, this profile is copied to the user’s computer to form the user’s local profile on the computer. If Windows Vista does not find such a profile, the Default profile under %SystemDrive%\Users on the user’s computer is copied instead as the user’s local profile.
To create a default network profile, follow these steps:
1. 1. Log on to any computer running Windows Vista, using any domain user account.
2. 2. Configure the desktop settings, Start menu, and other aspects of your computer’s environment as you want users who log on to Windows for the first time to experience them.
3. 3. Log off and then log on using an account that belongs to the Domain Admins group.
4. 4. Click Start, right-click Computer, and then select Properties.
5. 5. Click Advanced System Settings. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Advanced Settings tab and then click Settings under User Profiles. The User Profiles dialog box opens.
6. 6. Select the user profile you previously configured in step 2 and click Copy To.The Copy To dialog box opens.
7. 7. Type \\domain_controller\NETLOGON\Default User.v2 in the Copy To dialog box.
8. 8. Click Change, type Everyone and then click OK twice to copy the local user profile you previously configured to the NETLOGON share as the default network profile Default User v.2.
9. 9. Type \\domain_controller\NETLOGON in the Quick Search box and press ENTER to open the NETLOGON share on your domain controller in a Windows Explorer window. Verify that the profile has been copied.
Note You may already have a Default User profile in NETLOGON that you created previously as a default network profile for users of computers running earlier versions of Windows. This network profile is not compatible with Windows Vista. See the section “Considerations for Mixed Environments” later in this chapter for more information.