Unable to copy User Profile Settings

[moonshadow]

Hello: I created a User Profile (named CBCI) for use with my network at work and remote access. I no longer need to access the network but wish to keep all CBCI user settings created over the last 4 years to continue using my laptop seemlessly for home and work.

As administrator, I attempted to merge the CBCI profile with my Administrator profile but the Copy To button is grayed out and will not let me copy. The profile name also shows as Account Unknown (1.43 GB size) in the User Profiles list, if that has any bearing. There are 2 other profiles I created for home use and their profile names appear fine. Their Copy To button is black and available for use. All profiles are Local Type and Local Status.

When I login directly into the CBCI domain, the user name shows up fine here but the Copy To button is still grayed out. I am not connected to the work network so there should be no network policy settings preventing completion of this procedure. I believe our IT guy set it up for Microsoft Exchange, if that has anything to do with this issue.

Can you help me merge the 2 settings?

Thank you,

moonshadow

[AdvancedSetup]

Stay logged onto the network. Then create a new network account that has local admin rights. Then restart the computer and login with that new network domain account and it should work just fine to copy the other one now.

[moonshadow]

Ron: Thank you for your prompt reply. I will log on to the network at work. This may take a few days to follow-up.

moonshadow

[moonshadow]

Sorry, I am not familiar with the technical details of the procedure described. I can log onto the workplace network remotely from home called "cbci.local domain." This remote desktop connection is separate from my home system. I can get to the cbci System Properties, User Profiles where I see the "create new user accounts, click here."

Please describe in more detailed steps what needs to be done from here where I assume the new user account should be created. Also, not clear what to do upon restarting my computer (from home). The intent is to continue using the old cbci user settings.

Thank you,

moonshadow

[moonshadow]

There may be a loss of continuity given my 10-day gap from MBAM's latest response. It took a while to re-establish my network connection at work needed to resolve my problem. My attempt to continue the topic yesterday remains unanswered so I will restart this as a new topic. Please feel free to close this thread.

Thank you,

moonshadow

[exile360]

No need for that. I've pinged Ron who was assisting you previously and I'm sure he'll be back to assist you soon.

[moonshadow]

Thanks for the follow-up. Below is my attempt to clarify my current situation.

I have a user account at my workplace and use my personal laptop (XP with MS Office Pro) to connect to the company's network. I can access the company's network from home by remote desktop connection thru Exchange, I think. A user account was created in the company's domain (called cbci).

I will be leaving the company and now wish to migrate my User Profile settings FROM the cbci domain TO my own account (as administrator of my laptop) before removing the cbci domain. My intent is to keep things like preferences for installed applications, favorites, saved passwords, and other customizations over the last 4 years which I do not want to recreate.

The User Profiles in my laptop show the cbci profile (1.5GB) as Local type and Local Status. The COPY TO BUTTON IS GRAYED OUT. Only the Change Type button is black. MBAM's previous response was to:

"Stay logged onto the network. Then create a new network account that has local admin rights. Then restart the computer and login with the new network domain account and it should work just fine to copy the other one now." Ron Lewis, Manager, Online Support

My apologies, but I am not a computer technician and need more step by step guidance. From reading related forums, I've gathered that the solution is relatively simple but also various quirks can arise in the process. Please describe in more detail what my next steps are. Will this procedure accomplish my intended task of transferring the preferences and customizations in the various applications?

Based on your recommended procedure, it's my understanding I will go thru my Remote Desktop Connection to logon to my work network. After that, I'm a little hazy on what needs to be done.

Thanks,

moonshadow

[David H. Lipman]

You can't copy an OS Profile while logged into said profile. Most likely this is also a Active Directory based account profile and based upon an Active Directory Security Identifier (AD SID).

You can't merge data settings by copying a profile onto another, it overrides that profile. You can't copy a profile outside of that computer w/o extreme technical knowledge either.

I can understand you wanting to obtain your "personal" data files but I think you should forget about any User Profile Settings.

[AdvancedSetup]

Actually even with your method you can copy it (certainly not a recommended practice as it violates but security and intergrity of the system to some degree).

Please read the following article on obtaining and using Robocopy and obtain a copy of Robocopy and place it in a location in your path so that when called from DOS it will run, otherwise specifically call out the path where you have it installed.

Robocopy - User Profile Copy or Sync

I would not recommend using the Job file example as it turns out that Robocopy appears to possibly have an issue obeying some of the directives when using a complex job.

First create a new user account that has Administrator rights on the computer. Then reboot the computer and login to that new profile.

Then reboot the computer one more time to ensure no files are left open or locked from any type of new profile generation.

Then log back in again into the new profile and setup the file and folder settings to show all hidden files and folders as well as extensions.

Then for backup purposes locate the C:\Documents and Settings\profile you want to copy using Windows Explorer and copy these files to a new folder for safe keeping.

You should make a copy of any of these files from other profiles before overwriting them just in case you make a mistake or want to go back.

ntuser.dat

ntuser.dat.LOG

ntuser.ini

Once that has been done then locate the profile where you want the old profile settings to be used and copy the ntuser.dat file from there to the profile you want to use the new settings and overwrite it.

Then using Robocopy from a DOS prompt type in the following and press the Enter key and let it copy over the data.

Then reboot the computer and log back into the profile that you copied to and it should now pretty much look and work like the domain one.

ROBOCOPY "C:\Documents and Settings\profile to copy from" "C:\Documents and Settings\profile to copy to" /e /xo /xj /r:2 /w:5

Again, this method is not recommended but it will work.

[moonshadow]

Rob:

Thanks for your feedback. The Robocopy procedure seems a too complex for my level of knowledge. Additionally, I do not have admin rights at work to create another user profile. At this point, I will continue using my same login with local admin rights on my own computer. It's my understanding there is no communication between my laptop and work network, unless I login within the office, so I should be able to just carry-on as usual at home as a local user.

Perhaps another alternative is to find this user profile (for work domain) created on my laptop and copy it to my user profile as administrator. When I get a new computer in the future, I hope to keep everything together in one folder instead of having to recreate the same scenario.

I would appreciate your feedback should there be pitfalls to this method or you deem this to be a faulty concept.

moonshadow

[AdvancedSetup]

The process works just fine and I've done it many times however you're correct in that it's not a simple concept for most home users and it's also not supported by Microsoft.

So for an easier method just copy shortcuts or install stuff and make settings that you want in your current profile to mimic the other profile. That's all a profile is. Custom settings for software or hardware that you want to use and how it looks.