A Windows user profile allows for a personalized desktop environment containing settings like Start Menu groups, screen colors, shortcuts, and more. There are three main types of profiles: local profiles stored only on the local computer; mandatory profiles that cannot be customized; and roaming profiles that travel with the user across networked computers. Large roaming profiles can degrade system performance by causing long login times and using excessive network resources. triCerat offers a Windows profile solution that improves how systems access profiles by virtualizing them rather than altering them directly.

1. Windows Profile How Do
I?'s(http://groups.haas.berkeley.edu/HCS/howdoi/profiles/w
_profiles_faq.htm)
Q. What's a Windows profile?
A Windows user's profile allows the user to have a personalized desktop environment. The
desktop environment includes the content and arrangement of Start Menu groups, screen colors,
desktop shortcuts, network and printer connections, and mouse / keyboard settings. When a new
user logs onto a computer, a profile is created automatically. While a user is logged on, changes
made to the desktop environment are saved to their user profile.
Q. What types of profiles are available?
In a network of computers like Haas, profiles can be either Local or Roaming. Local profiles are
only stored on the computer to which you log in. Roaming profiles are copied from your local
computer to a network server when you log off, and are copied from the server to any Haas
domain computer you may log in to in the future.
Q. How do profiles affect my computers performance?
Since Roaming profiles are downloaded when a user logs on, and uploaded when the user logs
off, large user profiles degrade system performance. Not only do they cause long login delays for
the user, but they use excessive network capacity and waste the processing power of the profile
servers, degrading system performance for all users. Using Local Profiles,and limiting the profile
size shorten the time it takes to log on and off and improve system performance for all users.
Q. How large are typical profiles?
Faculty and staff Roaming profiles are currently not limited. Some have grown to be in excess of
1400 megabytes. In comparison, students profiles are limited to 4.5 megabytes, which has
proven to be adequate for most purposes. In discussions at meetings of the three Technology

2. Advisory Committees, the idea of limiting Staff and Faculty Roaming Profile size was accepted
as necessary to avoid degradation of network responsiveness.
Q. Am I using a Local or a Roaming profile?
Follow the instructions for your operating system at:
Windows Windows
2000 XP
to determine what type profile you are using.
Q. How large is my profile?
The instructions for your operating system at
Windows
Windows XP
2000
will also show you your profile size.
Q. How can I control my profile size?
Avoid creating files or directories on the desktop, these files will be saved in your
Roaming profile. Store these files in your home directory (H:).
Monitor your profile quota to insure you will not be over and possibly create further
problems with your Roaming profile.
Be sure to log out each day, this will keep your profile up to date.
Never save data to your profile. Some programs will prompt you to save files in the
Windows "Personal" folder, this folder is located in your profile directory. Always save
to your local workstation or home directory on the data server (H:).
Be sure to periodically clear your "Recent Documents" list.
Q. How can I reduce my profile size?
You can reduce your profile size by using Windows Explorer to manage your Windows Profile.

3. Q. Would a Local or a Roaming profile be best for me?
HCS recommends that Faculty and Staff who normally log into only one workstation use a Local
Profile so that their login will be faster. If you frequently use more than one computer and want
access to your desktop icons and user settings wherever you log in, you should use a Roaming
Profile.
Q. How can I get assistance and information on my profile?
For assistance with your profile, please contact the Helpdesk at
http://helpdesk.haas.berkeley.edu, phone 510/642-0434 or toll free 866/642-0434.
Questions or problems regarding this web site should be directed to the HCS Helpdesk.
Last modified: July 2003
Last modified by: R. Lozano
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Have a rough idea of what Windows user profiles are, but a bit fuzzy on
the details? This article will provide an overview of Windows user

4. profiles, and outline the different types of profiles and their significance.
An Overview of Windows Profiles
What is a Windows Profile?(
http://www.tricerat.com/solution/topic/windowsprofiles)
A Windows profile is simply a record of user-related data characterizing a
user’s computing environment. This record may include display and
application settings, along with network connections. What the user sees
on the screen and what the user has access to when they log on is all
determined by how the system administrator has the profile configured.
Are there different types of Windows
profiles?
Yes, there are three different types of Windows profiles: local, mandatory,
and roaming.
Local Profiles: profiles that are saved on a single computer. Users cannot access their profile
from any other machine, regardless of whether the machine is attached to the network or not.
Mandatory Profiles: profiles that cannot be saved from one session to the next. A user may
utilize any machine that is connected to the network. However, once a user logs off, any setting
preferences made to the profile is permanently lost and must be reinstated at every log on. This
ensures a profile will remain small and easy to manage, but renders users powerless from
customizing their profile to their liking.
Roaming Profiles: do just what the name implies—they move around with you. If you log on to
one computer today, and a different computer tomorrow, you're making use of a roaming profile to
load your customized user settings. Roaming profiles are saved on the network so when you log
on to any networked computer, your personalized desktop is loaded no matter what machine
you're on. Users have full freedom of what’s on their profile, which is convenient for them, but can
lead to problems such as slow log on times and server crashes.
How do Windows profiles work with VDI?
In a VDI environment, the user's desktop is created as a 'clone' of the
master image that is stored on the server. In order to deliver the
customized desktop to the user, the clone desktop is combined with the
roaming profile and the personalized desktop appears on the client
machine.
triCerat’s Simplify Profiles Finds a Middle

5. Ground
Both mandatory and roaming profiles have good and bad things to offer,
both for the sys admin and end user. triCerat has a profiles solution to fit
any organization with Simplify Profiles and Profiles Acceleration
Technology (PAT). triCerat's solutions combine the best of both profile
types into one powerful program. Users can customize and save their
settings without endangering the network, and system administrators gain
control by having the final approval on the profile specific elements that
are saved.
Simplify Profiles gives administrators complete control of windows profiles
by allowing them to select exactly what profile sections are saved,
keeping profiles smaller and minimizing corruption issues. PAT slashes
login times and also reduces profile corruption with an installation and
implementation process that is remarkably simple and effective.