Re: Copying or merging local and domain profiles

Hello rowan.bradley,

If i understand you correct you have used the domain user account with cached
credentials after you left the company. Now you have the need to access all
data that is stored in that userprofile.

Logon as local administrator on your computer and browse to the c:\users\domainuser
and just copy all needed data from that folder to USB or on the local harddisk
in another folder. Maybe you first have to take ownership and reconfigure
NTFS permissions of that folder to get full access.

Desktop, application settings etc. can't be copied that way. And as this
isn't a local machine user account you can't reset the password. Desktop
application settings you have to do again.

Best regards

Meinolf Weber
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> I need some help with user accounts and profiles. Here's the mess I'm
> in.
>
> I have a notebook PC that was until 2 days ago running Vista Business
> SP1. When I had a job I was a member of a domain called SSK, and I had
> a user account called RowanB (which is also the name of my PC). I used
> to log on using the built in finger print reader (managed by HP
> Credentials Manager), and since I lost my job 1 year ago I've
> continued to use this account, but without being able to connect to my
> old company's network or the domain controller. This is the account
> where I have many thousand documents, favourites, hundreds of
> applications, my Outlook e-mail accounts, calendar etc. none of which
> I can afford to lose.
>
> Two days ago I decided I needed to upgrade to Windows 7 for various
> reasons. The Upgrade Adviser told me that before I could do this I had
> to uninstall HP Protect Security Manager (not sure of exact title). I
> did this, which also required me to uninstall two other pieces of HP
> software incl. HP Credentials Manager. Now of course I can't log in
> with my fingerprint, and it turns out I can't remember the password
> for this account, or at least the password I thought it was, and all
> the others I've tried, don't work.
>
> I can still log in with another local (not domain) account which has
> admin privileges.
>
> I completed the upgrade to W7, apparently successfully. Now I need
> either to crack the password of the old domain account, or to transfer
> all of the documents, favourites, desktop, application settings and
> data etc. to another, local account.
>
> I've tried:
> 1. OPHcrack password recovery tool. It failed even to find any of the
> domain accounts, and failed to crack any passwords on any local
> accounts
> - a complete failure, in fact.
> 2. Copying the profile. Using Control Panel/System/Advanced System
> Settings/Advanced/Settings only shows the domain accounts as "unknown
> user" and if one of these is selected, the Copy function is greyed
> out.
> 3. I changed the ProfileImagePath registry key of a new local account
> to
> point to the home directory of the domain account I can't log into. On
> rebooting I found I could no longer log into the new local user
> account.
> I guessed that the change to the registry had also changed the
> password
> to the old (unknown) password.
> I logged in as a different user and changed the password on the new
> account.
> Now it appears to log in OK, displays Welcome for a few seconds, and
> then instantly shows Logging Off, which it does.
> I just want to remove all remnants of the old domain, and get my
> account back as a local account but with all its documents, settings,
> applications etc. intact.
>
> Can someone suggest how to do this, and/or explain how all this stuff
> works? For example, how does the local PC know that a particular
> account is a domain account? Where is the password of these domain
> accounts stored on the local machine when it's not connected to the
> domain controller? etc.
>
> Thanks - Rowan
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>

"rowan.bradley" <> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:...
> 'Meinolf Weber [MVP-DS Wrote:
>>
>> Desktop, application settings etc. can't be copied that way.
>
> I know I can do this, but there must surely be a better way which would
> avoid the months of work that it will take me to get all my applications
> reinstalled, all my favourites reprogrammed, my start menu, quick launch
> bar etc. set up and so on.

Ok, first, Desktop CAN be copied that way, except the settings like
screensaver, icon positions and such. You always can copy the content
(music, images, documents, Links, etc.) but you cannot copy the settings
(well, you can but its much more work than setting everything up again).

You don't have to reinstall your applications, they are installed on the
computer for all users but you might need to setup the user settings for
these applications again. You can copy all of your favorites without the
need to set them up again. same for start menu, quick launch bar, etc. but
as i already said, not all settings can be copied (or only with a huge
amount of work).

If you tell me the following things i could write you a small script which
copies the data for you. I'll post it here so others can tell you if its
save executing it
1) On which harddrive the directory "Users" is saved? (normally C
2) Whats the directory name for your old useraccount? (look into the Users
directory, name should be RowanB.SSK)
3) Whats the directory name for your new useraccount you're using now and
want to use in the future? (Again, its listed in the Users directory)
4) Which Outlook did you use? XP, 2003, 2007?

Regards

"rowan.bradley" <> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:...
>
> My applications are there, but often when I run them they behave as if
> I've never run them before, and I have to get them configured the way I
> like them all over again.

Right, thats normal behaviour and its a bit more work to copy all these
settings. And you can't copy the settings of some applications but that
really depends on the application.

> Your script would be a useful thing to have.

I'll have to do some research and need some time to write that script, so it
could take a week since i have to do my job too . I guess i can send it to
you at saturday or sunday evening.

> What difference does it make, when installing an application and it asks
> "install for all users, or just this user", what I answer?

If you install an application for all users, the settings are saved in the
program directory, in a directory in the all users profile or in the HKLM
registry hive (which is stupid!). If you install for yourself only, the
settings are saved in a directory in your profile or in the HKCU registry
hive (which is ok). Saving these settings in a directory in the all users
profile below a directory with the usernames is also possible but very rare
(and stupid too).

For each option there is also one or more setting specifying where the user
settings are saved, to let the app know where to look for them (All Users
profile, current user profile, program directory, etc.). These settings are
normally saved in the program directory or in the HKLM registry hive.

Normally the shortcuts are always placed in the all users start menu
(regardless if you select installation for yourself only or all users) but
as always, some applications place them always in the users start menu.

That are all differences in generel but - as always - some applications
behave different, but only a very small amount.

Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft tries to clean that up so that all
those settings are saved in the HKCU registry hive or the users profile
directory. Easier for the user to copy/backup these settings and easier for
the software developer, because he can use the same path for every user,
windows does the rest (even windows 2000 alsready did but many developers
doesnt know).

> How do I convert an application installed just for me to one installed
> for all users?

That really depends on the applications, there is no advice which works for
all apps. Most more professional apps like Adobe Photoshop, etc. or MS
Office dont let you choose that option, because every program you install is
always available for all users of the computers, as long as there is no
restriction made like access permission or group policies. That means, that
the user settings are always saved in the users profile directory or in the
HKCU hive. You can't and don't have to convert these apps.
Smaller apps, eg. the tv card app have a registry setting (or a setting
saved in a file which is in the program or all users profile directory)
which tells the app how it got installed.
To copy the settings from userA to userB you should a) login as userA,
export the HKCU\Software\<AppDev>\<YourApp> path, login as userB, delete the
same path and then import the before exported settings. THen you also should
check C:\Users\userA\AppData\ for a directory for that App and copy it too.
In general this works very well but it can crash the whole app sometimes (if
its bad developed). If this happens, just delete the path in the registry
and profile directory and the app then re-creates the default settings. No
need to reinstall the app again!

> It appears that the Quick Launch bar has completely disappeared from
> Windows 7. The alternative seems to be "pinning an application to the
> taskbar" but nothing seems to automatically translate Quick Launch
> shortcuts to "pinned to the taskbar" applications. I guess I just have
> to do this again.

I think there is a registry path or a directory which stores the pinned
apps. if its a directory you just can copy the shortcuts from the
QuickLaunch directory into the new one. If the registry is used, you have to
manually create the information - but pinning the preferred apps to the
taskbar is much easier

> Outlook seems to have completely lost two e-mail accounts together will
> all my saved messages sent from or to those accounts. Any idea where
> these might have gone, or how to get them back? My other accounts I
> managed to recreate and reconnect to the PST file that contained the
> messages.

AFAIK Outlook 2007 stores the emails in Outlook.pst in the same path as
Outlook 2003. If you already checked that directory but your emails for the
other accounts are not there, you might lost them. Perhaps it was a Exchange
or IMAP account?

> Midi support seems to be seriously flawed. The Microsoft Wavetable GS
> Synth seems to appear and disappear at random. Sometimes when I start up
> it's there and works, other times it's not there and I can't connect to
> it. When it's not there my midi player software won't work at all.
> Kontakt Player (supplied with Sibelius) also comes and goes. Does anyone
> know how to get midi sound working reliably in Win 7?

Sorry, dunno about the midi stuff.

> Just a few of the problems I've experienced so far with this upgrade...

Thats why i NEVER upgrade, backing up data+settings and formating the hdd
and fresh installing the OS is always better

Regards