MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-270): Installing ...

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Control Panel and Accessories settings. These settings are visible under
HKEY_CURRENT_USER in the Registry.
■ NTUSER.DAT.LOG A log file used as part of the process of committing changes
to Ntuser.dat and also in the recovery of Ntuser.dat if the system crashes.
Built-In User Profiles
Windows stores user profiles locally by default. A local user profile is available only on
the system on which it was created. Windows creates two built-in local user profiles
during installation:
■ Default User profile Windows uses the Default User profile as a template to
create all new profiles on the system. When a new user logs on, the user receives
a copy of the Default User profile as her own personal user profile. You can customize
the Default User profile to control which options and settings a new user
will receive. Modifications to the Default User profile will affect only the profiles
of new users; existing personal profiles will not be affected. The Default User profile
is stored in the \Documents and Settings\Default User folder. This folder is
hidden. To view and work with it, you must set the Folder Options in Windows
Explorer to include hidden files and folders.
■ All Users profile The All Users profile contains settings that apply to every user
who logs on to the system. Windows merges the settings in All Users with the current
user’s profile for the duration of the logon session, but the settings are not made
a permanent part of the user’s profile. You can modify the All Users profile to contain
settings that all users logging on to the system should have. For example, many
applications create shortcuts in the Start menu or desktop of the All Users profile
during installation, which ensures that all users who log on to the system have easy
access to those applications. As the Administrator, you can directly edit the All Users
profile to add and remove items as necessary. The All Users profile is stored in the
\Documents and Settings\All Users folder. The folder contains only a subset of the
folders contained in other profiles on the system because it is concerned only with
settings that could potentially apply to everyone.
How to Use Multiple Profiles for the Same User Account
Lesson 3 Configuring System Settings
If a computer running Windows XP Professional is a member of a Windows domain,
there is the potential for two users with the same user account name to log on to the
same system. An example of this is the local Administrator account (stored in the local
accounts database of the Windows XP computer) and the domain Administrator
account (stored in the centralized accounts database on the domain controllers). The
local account and the domain account are discrete entities, each maintaining a different
user profile.
Windows XP does not permit two user accounts with the same name to share the same
profile folder (for example, C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator). If Windows