We use a default user profile and in the past what we've done is build a profile. Place all of the shortcuts and program changes like CMD with the settings we like etc. Desktop icons etc. into that profile.We then would create a dummy Administrator and using that user we'd copy the profile we created above over the Default User under the users folder. That way each new user that had a profile created would start with the settings we wanted.It seems that with Windows 7 RC1 the ability to do that is gone. I noticed the Default User Profile is actually in the Profile window with all of the other users and no matter who we create we cannot Copy over any user to the Default User.How can I change that Default User profile to have the settings etc. we want?

I would suspect that you'd have to take ownership of that folder/profile in order to manipulate it. But I don't know the differences between the Default and the Default User in that folder - so I'm just speculating.- John

I got this to work, but it's no where near as elegant as with XP and Vista via the User Profile "copy to" method above:Customize a user profile as neededGo to Control Panel and create a new dummy admininstratorReboot, log in as the dummy adminBrowse to C: and go into theFolder settings and Show all hidden/system filesBrowse to C:\Users and CTRL-drag the Default folder to make a second (backup) copy of itBrowse to C:\Users and CTRL-drag the customized user profileto make asecond copy of itSHIFT-DEL the original Default folderRename the customized folder copy to DefaultCreate a new dummy admin and reboot/log into test itI've nottested this extensively yet but this seemed to workwith the exception that the desktop background pic was gone leavinga black background. I fixed this easily by re-selecting the correct background pic.I really hope that MS restores the previous method as this seems very sketchy to me and I'd hate to have to use this in a production environment.

I'm testing Win7rc at work; the local school district. I have over 600 pcs to deal with. I have several "Default Profiles" set up in variousschools because of printers, network folders, local specific apps,mapped drives, etc. I use the "Copy to" >>> "Default user"everyday. I've used this method(system properties>advanced>user profiles>settings)since the "NT" days. I like the feel of Windows 7 but after I joined it to our domain, my bubble burst. I can't use this OS without being able to set up student profiles for each school. Short of doing it the way you describe Wayne. I'm thinking Microsoft should allow modification of their built in "Defaut Profile" to my requirements which would save a lot of time. I would only need to log on as the "Default User" instead of my admin account and set what needs setting and poof, it is done. I also use "delprof" alot at the end of the school year.

Hello,That scenario that was used to replace the Default User Profile was unsupported in Windows Vista,Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008and unsupported in Windows XP. There were many issues with it in the prior OSes, even though those issues were not always apparent, they did exist and caused inconsistencies and lingering problems.Thisarticle points to the supported way of updating the Default User profile which is the only profile that should be used to for creation of the new user profile.959753How to customize the default local user profile when you prepare an image of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;959753Thanks, Darrell Gorter[MSFT] This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

I totally agree. As a lab manager myself at a state university, the unwieldy sysprep method just doesn't work for every scenario. I have a workstation that I do not want to create images of but I would like everyone who signs on to have the exact same desktop, taskbar, start-menu, and background. MSFT's method means that I would have to create an image, configure sysprep,and then deploy right back to the same machine! It would be much easier ifwe could logon as the default user and then change settings from within.

Hello,That scenario that was used to replace the Default User Profile was unsupported in Windows Vista,Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008and unsupported in Windows XP. There were many issues with it in the prior OSes, even though those issues were not always apparent, they did exist and caused inconsistencies and lingering problems.Thisarticle points to the supported way of updating the Default User profile which is the only profile that should be used to for creation of the new user profile.959753How to customize the default local user profile when you prepare an image of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;959753 Thanks, Darrell Gorter[MSFT] This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights I suppose ignorance is bliss. I'm not the brightest bulb in the room but like I said, I"ve used this method for about 10 years now and it works fine. I've never used sysprep. I would like Microsoft to allow modifications to the default user profile straight out.

How about giving this a try:1.Open Registry Editorand navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList.2.Change the value of the Default key to the location of the custom profile you wish to use as the Default Profile.3. You now have two options:- a.Verify that the "Everyone" security group hasread permissions throughout the entire profile.Log off andfrom this point on, any new user logging in to this computer will have a new user profile thats is created from the new custom profile location. b.Open up the Advanced System Properties/User Profiles (old school) and noticed the Default Profile is not grayed out and is showing the same size asthe custom profile you built.That's because the Default Profile is now pointing to that custom profile so you can copy it just like you've been doing for the last 10 years. Finally, go back and change the ProfileList reg key back to the Default.

I will try this tomorrow morning on the first computer I touch. Thanks

How about giving this a try: 1.Open Registry Editorand navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList. 2.Change the value of the Default key to the location of the custom profile you wish to use as the Default Profile. 3. You now have two options:- a.Log off andfrom this point on, any new user logging in to this computer will have a new user profile thats is created from the new custom profile location. b.Open up the Advanced System Properties/User Profiles (old school) and noticed the Default Profile is now showing the same size asthe custom profile plus it is not grayed out.That's because the Default Profile is now pointing to the custom profile so you can copy it just like you've been doing for the last 10 years. I tried this on Friday and it didn't quite work. It did enable me to mess with the Default User profile from within the System Properties window, but after creating a new local test account I couldn't log in with it. Windows complained about an error in the default profile (I can't remember the exact error). Changing the registry setting back to the original didn't help and I had to reformat the computer. I think that copying the Administrator profile will work if that's what has to be done... somehow. If running sysprep with the /unattend:filename.xml switch, where do you place that file? How is it created? Does someone have a template file with that swtich set? I've used the WAIK for unattended setups, but that creates an AutoUnattend.xml that gets placed on a flash drive. Can I just point at that file with the CopyProfile setting enabled in the Specialize section?

I believe I have a solution. Unfortunately it has to be done before a computer is deployed and is part of Sysprep I've come up with this method using the guide at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd349348%28WS.10%29.aspx In that guide, Step 2 is all about creating the Reference computer. At the end of that step, you have a computer that can be deployed, cloned, or whatever. The below instructions can replace Step 2 part 4 Create a new Answer file in Windows System Image Manager Edit it with these settings: Add Microsoft-Windows-Deployment_neutral\Reseal to the oobeSystem configuration pass Set ForceShutdownNow to false and Mode to OOBE Add Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_neutral\OOBE and \UserAccounts\AdministratorPassword and \UserAccounts\LocalAccounts\LocalAccount\Password Set all approrpriate settings for the above. In OOBE: HideEULAPage is true, NetworkLocation is Work ProtectYourPC is 3, SkipUserOOBE is true Set the administrator password, create a local account in the Administrators group, set that password etc. Add Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_neutral. Set CopyProfile to true, add the product key, set the RegisteredOrganization and RegisteredOwner and the TimeZone Don't forget to save this, and be sure to not overwrite the AutoUnattend.xml file created earlier Customize the profile of the user you're logged in as (I've only tested this logged in as Administrator On the target computer, copy the new answer file to \windows\system32\sysprep Open Task Manager and end any process that starts with "WMP" as this will cause sysprep to fail Open a command prompt and change directory to c:\windows\system32\sysprep type the following command: sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /quiet /unattend:nameofanswerfile .xml Notes: I actually just copied the AutoUnattend.xml file created at the guide I linked in the first part of this post, renamed it Sysprep.xml and added the appropriate entries into the answer file.

I did this on Win7 and it seems to work perfectly. I also tried this on XPby the HKLM locationI changed thename of the Default User profile. to thecustom profile name. I'll see if this is going to work for me in the schools. Thanks for this info.

@ The Slowest Zombie thx for your solution ist works for me under win7

I hate to bump this up, but this is the exact problem I'm running into. We're currently running Windows XP Professional SP3. We are a huge school district and our tech staff is spread very thin. Default profiles are an absolute requirement. I cannot stress enough how quickly Windows will be dumped if the default profile situation isn't sorted out by the time we upgrade to Windows 7. We caught a deal this summer with a movement of several hundred computers, but ultimately Vista was useless to us due to a lack of time we had to manipulate the profiles to work accordingly. It's kind of funny how Vista's profiles were changed to be more secure and less corruptable than XP, however, every time I copied a profile in XP, it worked fine... every time I copied a profile in Vista, it crashed... But anyway, is there any hope for the default profiles being ironed out? There is a truckload of settings, printers, programs, desktop icons, etc that must be sorted out and individualized. Because the reality is, each computer lab is different. As a result, each default profile for each lab is different. We have about two dozen default profiles saved on the server for easy restoration whenever we redo a lab computer. I'm running Windows 7 RC virtually right now. I'm in the testing phase to see how it can be implemented in our district next year. What can I do to make this work? Keep in mind, imaging solutions with Windows Server 08 makes no difference to me. I have my own imaging means. I just need to set the default profile.

I hate to bump this up, but this is the exact problem I'm running into.We're currently running Windows XP Professional SP3. We are a huge school district and our tech staff is spread very thin. Default profiles are an absolute requirement. I cannot stress enough how quickly Windows will be dumped if the default profile situation isn't sorted out by the time we upgrade to Windows 7. We caught a deal this summer with a movement of several hundred computers, but ultimately Vista was useless to us due to a lack of time we had to manipulate the profiles to work accordingly. It's kind of funny how Vista's profiles were changed to be more secure and less corruptable than XP, however, every time I copied a profile in XP, it worked fine... every time I copied a profile in Vista, it crashed...But anyway, is there any hope for the default profiles being ironed out? There is a truckload of settings, printers, programs, desktop icons, etc that must be sorted out and individualized. Because the reality is, each computer lab is different. As a result, each default profile for each lab is different. We have about two dozen default profiles saved on the server for easy restoration whenever we redo a lab computer. I'm running Windows 7 RC virtually right now. I'm in the testing phase to see how it can be implemented in our district next year. What can I do to make this work? Keep in mind, imaging solutions with Windows Server 08 makes no difference to me. I have my own imaging means. I just need to set the default profile. I agree RoastedTiresX....Microsoft needs to find a better solution or give us back the right to copy a profile over to the default profile. The whole SysPrep thing is a pain and is useless compared to the process I've used for years.Due to Enterprise Licensing Agreements with the company I'm at, I have access to software before public release. I got my hands on the actual release of Windows 7 Professional a week ago...been building an image where I have time. Found out after building it about the default profile issue not working. That makes me not happy, and it shows Microsoft ignored complaints about this and did not do anything for the actual release.I am a huge fan of Windows 7, I think it is spectacular....but not having this ability and being force to use SysPrep makes it extremely inconvenient and somehow I don't see Corporations jumping to Windows 7 with stupid issues like this.Anyway, I hope someone at Microsoft does something!

I've been trying to get this to work. I followed your steps to the letter. After I deploy the image and it starts up, I get an invalid unattend.xml file and it could not parse. I can't start the image after that. Just says that setup did not run and needs to reboot. Any ideas? thanks, ron

I know that there is more to a user profile than the desktop icons or what appears on the start menu of each user. I have only found a solution to these two issues as this is all that I was trying to do. As far as permissions, backgrounds, etc, for the most part things that an administrator will have to find a way to do, I wasn't attempting to do this. I let the user decide how things are to appear on his/her desktop like the background using the regular windows functions for this. As far as the Start Menu Programs that you want to appear: For all users: They can be found in c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu For one particular user: They can be found in c:\users\%user%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu As far as the shortcuts that appear on the Desktop: For all users: c:\users\default\desktop For one particular user: c:\users\%user%\desktop I hope this helps somewhat. I am glad I don't have to worry about that many people where I work. It would be extremely interesting to know how the rest of the user profile will pan out. Good luck guys. Jim

Galoki,The "invalid unattend.xml" error most likely has nothing to do with the way you are creating your Default User, which is what this thread is about, so I wouldpost your error on a different forum or just create a new one.

I got this to work, but it's no where near as elegant as with XP and Vista via the User Profile "copy to" method above:Customize a user profile as neededGo to Control Panel and create a new dummy admininstratorReboot, log in as the dummy adminBrowse to C: and go into theFolder settings and Show all hidden/system filesBrowse to C:\Users and CTRL-drag the Default folder to make a second (backup) copy of itBrowse to C:\Users and CTRL-drag the customized user profileto make asecond copy of itSHIFT-DEL the original Default folderRename the customized folder copy to DefaultCreate a new dummy admin and reboot/log into test itI've nottested this extensively yet but this seemed to workwith the exception that the desktop background pic was gone leavinga black background. I fixed this easily by re-selecting the correct background pic.I really hope that MS restores the previous method as this seems very sketchy to me and I'd hate to have to use this in a production environment. Don't use this in a enterprise setting. You will get issues where the credentials used to create the default profile carry over into a new users profile. They will not be able to map drives properly and even actions such as saving a document to the desktop will actually save it to the copied profile users desktop... Lots of strange behavoirs here after trying this on a wim image.

I got this to work, but it's no where near as elegant as with XP and Vista via the User Profile "copy to" method above:Customize a user profile as neededGo to Control Panel and create a new dummy admininstratorReboot, log in as the dummy adminBrowse to C: and go into theFolder settings and Show all hidden/system filesBrowse to C:\Users and CTRL-drag the Default folder to make a second (backup) copy of itBrowse to C:\Users and CTRL-drag the customized user profileto make asecond copy of itSHIFT-DEL the original Default folderRename the customized folder copy to DefaultCreate a new dummy admin and reboot/log into test itI've nottested this extensively yet but this seemed to workwith the exception that the desktop background pic was gone leavinga black background. I fixed this easily by re-selecting the correct background pic.I really hope that MS restores the previous method as this seems very sketchy to me and I'd hate to have to use this in a production environment. Don't use this in a enterprise setting. You will get issues where the credentials used to create the default profile carry over into a new users profile. They will not be able to map drives properly and even actions such as saving a document to the desktop will actually save it to the copied profile users desktop... Lots of strange behavoirs here after trying this on a wim image. Thanks Colin...was under the gun for deployment and was about to try this out in production. =0P

I was able to get the copy profile button to work using a little app called Windows Enabler. Google it. Its an old application but still works, and it can be run on a thumb drive if you don't want to actually install it. Just be sure to "Run as Administrator" when using it. It will re-enable the Copy To.. button. Also, I was finally able to get the default Theme thing to work so that there is no longer a black background when a different user logs in. Using the profile you are creating as your default, within the Theme settings box, create a custom theme. If you are going to stick to one of the default themes, pick it, and then just change something minor like the screen saver settings. Your theme will then show up in the My Themes area. Right-click on it and choose "Save Theme For Sharing" put in a name, and save it. This puts the theme into the documents folder. Now copy the profile. The theme should load for any new user. It seemed to work for me anyway.

Did the Windows Enabler really solve this problem? That would be a really nice solution to this really annoying bug!Do they (Microsoft) really expect us to use Sysprep on every private computer with some wished for default user changes? Please...

The procedure to customize the default user profile in Windows 7 is here:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973289

enabler worked for some settings, but in my experience not all. Windows security centernotificationsI have set to not alert me about anything (users panic), this setting didn't carry over. Some quicktime settings didn't carry over. Desktop didnt but I don't care about that one. I'm sure there's more I haven't come across more settings that didn't transfer. This is killing windows7 for us...!!!

Enabler works well but make sure you complete all steps.1. Create a user profile that you want to use as your master, I create a roaming profile for a default user that is assigned to each group of computers that I want to behave the same. Once all settings are exactly the way I want them I restart the machine.2. Logon as a user with administrative rights. Open start menu, right click on computer, click on properties, once properties are open, click on advanced settings, then click on settings related to logon (If you are reading this you know how to do this)3. Delete all users with existing profiles if you want them to use the new default profile, otherwise highlight the profile that you want to copy, use enabler and use press on copy to.4. When the box comes up, use the bottom of the box to activate it for everyone (just type in everyone) Once that is completed, in the copy to location type in C:\users\default -- this copies the profile over the default profile. Allow that to complete and close this program.5. Now run regedit.6. Highlight Hkey_Users7. Click on File, click on load hive, migrate to c:\users\default and in the file blank type in ntuser.dat and press enter8. In the blank box that comes up enter a name that you will remember, I use Default_User, but I have had kids use george, fred or whatever, it really doesn't matter.9. Go back to regedit and expand Hkey_Users and highlight the name you just created10. Go to edit and click on find and put in the name of your original default profile (the user profile you copied) Push enter11. Delete whatever comes up highlighted, use F3 and continue the process until you delete all instances of that name. Delete the whole key, windows will recreate it with the new users name, on some pages you will see the name multiple times, use shift or control to highlight all instances.12. Once you are done, re-highlight the name you used and click on file and unload hive.13. Restart the machine (don't just log off)14. Logon as a new user and they will have all the settings that you created for the default user.I am using this in an educational setting and it has worked perfectly fine so far.

Enabler works well but make sure you complete all steps.1. Create a user profile that you want to use as your master, I create a roaming profile for a default user that is assigned to each group of computers that I want to behave the same. Once all settings are exactly the way I want them I restart the machine.2. Logon as a user with administrative rights. Open start menu, right click on computer, click on properties, once properties are open, click on advanced settings, then click on settings related to logon (If you are reading this you know how to do this)3. Delete all users with existing profiles if you want them to use the new default profile, otherwise highlight the profile that you want to copy, use enabler and use press on copy to.4. When the box comes up, use the bottom of the box to activate it for everyone (just type in everyone) Once that is completed, in the copy to location type in C:\users\default -- this copies the profile over the default profile. Allow that to complete and close this program.5. Now run regedit.6. Highlight Hkey_Users7. Click on File, click on load hive, migrate to c:\users\default and in the file blank type in ntuser.dat and press enter8. In the blank box that comes up enter a name that you will remember, I use Default_User, but I have had kids use george, fred or whatever, it really doesn't matter.9. Go back to regedit and expand Hkey_Users and highlight the name you just created10. Go to edit and click on find and put in the name of your original default profile (the user profile you copied) Push enter11. Delete whatever comes up highlighted, use F3 and continue the process until you delete all instances of that name. Delete the whole key, windows will recreate it with the new users name, on some pages you will see the name multiple times, use shift or control to highlight all instances.12. Once you are done, re-highlight the name you used and click on file and unload hive.13. Restart the machine (don't just log off)14. Logon as a new user and they will have all the settings that you created for the default user.I am using this in an educational setting and it has worked perfectly fine so far. CascadeRob - what do steps 5-12 gain you versus just doing it the old way (steps 1-4 is how I've always done def profile)? Thanks!

This is crazy. Why use a sledgehammer like sysprep or the new windows AIK to swat at a little task like the default user? My job uses thrid party software to "Frreze" the contents of hard drive. Why should any of my 4000+ users wait for windows to prepare default settings? If my management needs warranted utilizing sysprep I would already be using it. I will not reccomend an upgrade if I can't even easily set the background to be the same for all my users!

I could NOT get this to work where the users were also logged into a domain. When logging on a new user I kept on getting errors of corrupted recycle bin, pictures and videos of the user whose profile I used for the default. I logged off and thankfully nothing happened to that user's files but I wouldn't try it again.Does anyone know how to create a default where the first user and the new users are both members of a domain that they log into when loggin in to the local computer?Thanks

Steps 5 through 12 prevent you from having errors like are listed in a reply or question below. Before Vista you could just do steps 1 - 4 and it worked fine.

Go to my post above and make sure that you do steps 5 - 12, if you do not do steps 5 - 12 you will get these errors. You can contact me directly if you need some more explanation. rr81602@hotmail.com

Thanks Rob. I was trying it using the method of wayne.m at the top of this thread. I did first try your method but Enabler did not undim the 'copy to' button in the user whose profile I want to make the default and so I couldn't complete your step 3.Can I use your steps 5-12 after copying the profile manually with the method I was using? If not, how do I enable Enabler in W7? I am using Windows Enabler. Is there another program like it?

Deejay to use Enabler you have to run it has an administrator, even if you are logged in as an administrator. Highlight the enabler, I have my copy on a USB Pocket drive, right click and a dropdown box will appear, click on run as an administrator. Once it is running before it will work you have to turn it on, to do that go to the taskbar, which you will find in a box when you click on the little up arrow where the task bar use to be. Enabler looks like 3 or 4 sheets of paper for its icon, click on it and the Icon gets a couple symbols on it. It is then ready to use. Highlight the profile you want to copy, go down to the copy button, click on it and it is no longer grayed. It will not work unless you use the "Run as Adminstrator" prompt. Sometimes if you move to fast it will say it cannot copy over the default profile, just redo it without even closing the screen and it will work. I've now used it on over 100 machines and it has worked every time and none of the machines have had any problems. Let me know if you have any problems. By the way I am using Windows Enabler 1.1, I don't even know if there is a later version. Rob

Thanks again. I've followed your instructions to a tee and still it remains greyed out. I logged in with my name and as a domain administrator but no difference. I've placed the Enabler files on the desktop and the programs run, the stack of paper icon has the characters but it makes no difference. Can you think of another reason why Enabler shouldn't work? If not, then my question is again: can your steps 5-12 work after I've done wayne's method at the top of this thread i.e. manually copying and renaming one of the user folders as Default?

It stays greyed out until you click on it, just make sure you are using the Run as Administrator, but if you can't get that to work I think you could still run steps 5 - 12 because all you need to do is get rid of the other users info. Rob

Here are some instructions that worked for me to customize the default user profile in Windows 7. You have to use Sysprep but not the AIK. The instructions below will generate the necessary unattend.xml for you (don't look at the "Accepted Answer" in the thread, but the comment that follows it): http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/Windows_7/Q_24871141.html Some things I noticed: When you do it this way, every file you have on your desktop will get copied to the default profile's desktop. Also, during the Sysprep process, Windows 7 will add back in some shortcuts and pinned items to you respective Start Menu and Taskbar if you have deleted some of the default ones. Next time I try this, I will probably try the registry way.

Rob, the Enabler now works and I'm well on the way I hope. 2 questions.1. At step 11, after continuouly pressing F3 and deleting I can see at the bottom that the search moves out of Default_User path and into a different ssid path. Do I still delete the original profile name or is it only while in Default_User?2. If I want to take the default from this machine and move it to another machine, is it simply a case of copying the default and all the hidden subfolders and pasting onto the other machine or must I also tamper with the registry? If so, which steps do I need?Many many thanks.

Deejay here are your answers:I just continue pressing f3 until I no longer find what I want to delete, if you highlighted your hive name and not the whole key it should stop after you are through the hive. It you move into a different path I think you were at the wrong spot. The whole delete process using f3 takes only a couple minutes.I have never tried what you want to try, but I would assume it wouldn't work because it isn't the folder you want to change but the registry settings, I've just always done it the other way. Now if I want to use the same settings on multiple computers I just set up a roaming profile and log in as the roaming user and it brings down all my settings and then I don't have hardly anything to mess with, in fact the only thing I have had to change is the power settings. I have roaming profiles set up for each set of users I deal with. Make sure after you log in as a roaming profile you restart the system or you can't copy it. Rob

You've lost me here with the roaming profiles. Is this set up locally or on the server (2003/exchange)? It sounds that once I have set up the default bit, I could log everyone on to this machine once so that a profile is set up for each user and then once they go to their own machine it'll look the same since they're roaming. Problem is I don't know how to make them roaming. And must the profile be on the server or can it be on the local machine I'm now working on?I realise I'm asking quite a bit and unless it's straight forward perhaps you can point me to an article that can guide on these issues.Thanks

i don't use roaming profiles for my users, that just creates too much traffic, instead I create a fake user that has all the rights that my regular users need. So you are going to create a new user on your server and then right click on that user and go to properties. One of those properties is Profile, click on that and then enter the path for the profile, I keep mine in a folder on the server called profiles. Do not worry about a home folder because this user is not going to create any files that need to be saved. You have just created a roaming profile, the first time you log on as that user the profile is created, if you logon as them on the machine you just created all the setting you have set will come down to the roaming profile and you can easily move them between machines. The profile is not saved until you logoff or shutdown. Hopefully that helps you out.Rob

Wow, thanks so much; this really looks promising. Does the following sound right?1. Create dummy user on server with a profile.2. Log on to machine 1 and configure dummy just as you want it.3. Follow all your steps above to base Default on dummy.4. Log on to all other machines as dummy and repeat 3 of this list, so the default one each machine is based on the configured dummy of machine 1.5. Voila, whoever logs on to any machine gets the default based on dummy but not the dummy itself. As dummy is not logged on traffic is kept low.Does the above add up? If so, I can't wait for the weekend.Thanks a mil!!!

I think you got it. Good luck.

It all seems to work fine except for Outlook. When opening outlook 2 messages come in that it can't log into the original user's mailbox and it closes. Do I have to manually delete the original user from this accout? I went through Regedit and definitely cleared all the original user's details in the Default_user hive.

Rob, the Enabler now works and I'm well on the way I hope. 2 questions.1. At step 11, after continuouly pressing F3 and deleting I can see at the bottom that the search moves out of Default_User path and into a different ssid path. Do I still delete the original profile name or is it only while in Default_User?2. If I want to take the default from this machine and move it to another machine, is it simply a case of copying the default and all the hidden subfolders and pasting onto the other machine or must I also tamper with the registry? If so, which steps do I need?Many many thanks. djay22,i am still having problems using the enabler. even after loading enabler as admin and after clicking the greyed out "copy to", it remain greyd out (s.t. i can't copy my dummy profile to the "default" profile).can u clairify as to how u actually got the enabler to work and to "ungrey" the copyto button?thank u in advance,

DJay: To use the enabler:Enabler can sometimes be tricky to use, when clicking on it to install it or to activate it, being logged in as an administrator is not enough. When you go to install it, don't just click on it but right click on it, a drop down box will appear. In this dropdown box click on "Run as an Administrator" This gives you "super" administrator capabilities. Once it installs it still is not running it is just sitting there ready to run. Go to the taskbar and click on the little up arrow, this is the access to the modified taskbar. One of the icons you see in there looks like sheets of paper, click on this and it changes with a couple more little symbols on the sheets of paper. It is now on and ready to use. If you did not do the "Run as Administrator" step no matter what it will not work. At this point highlight what you want to copy, click on the greyed out button and it will become ungreyed. Hopefully this will help you.

The way i finally got this to work was by using WAIK and the first account created when installing Windows 7. It seems to reference the first account created when installing Windows 7. The first account i created was called local-admin. Initially I was using a domain account for customization. I ran the sysprep from the domain account with the settings for copying the profile to the default user in WAIK. This did not work. So i went back and customized the environment with the first account created (local-admin) from the install and then it worked for all other users logging in to get the customized environment.Hope this helps.

CascadeRobI also work in an academic environment. This method works very well. However, I must mention two things:1. When deleting the highlighted items in step 11, do not delete the first instance that comes up. Instead, just modify the key to read "C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\TranscodedWallpaper.jpg". This will preserve your wallpaper and not give you that annoying black screen. Took me a while to figure that one out.2. The only problem I have encountered with this method is that the new user's default location for ripping music with Media Player is no longer that user's "My Music" folder. It now points to the public music folder. One can still browse to the proper folder, but, let's face it, users are idiots. I must be the biggest one. I can not figure out a work around. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Everybody, I configure a quick launch toolbar for my default user but this configuration don't work when I log with a new user. Have you any idea. Thanks

Does ANYONE from MS read these posts? MS, this needs fixed. We won't be upgrading our 200+ machines until it is either fixed or there is a tool developed to make the copy to default profile work without going through the sysprep method. We use the copy to default profile feature at least twice a month on over 100 of our machines. We cannot and will not take the time to sysprep 100 machines twice a month when we know that it can be done in a lot less time. We want to move to Windows 7, but you won't let us. Fix this please.

Enabler works well but make sure you complete all steps. 1. Create a user profile that you want to use as your master, I create a roaming profile for a default user that is assigned to each group of computers that I want to behave the same. Once all settings are exactly the way I want them I restart the machine. 2. Logon as a user with administrative rights. Open start menu, right click on computer, click on properties, once properties are open, click on advanced settings, then click on settings related to logon (If you are reading this you know how to do this) 3. Delete all users with existing profiles if you want them to use the new default profile, otherwise highlight the profile that you want to copy, use enabler and use press on copy to. 4. When the box comes up, use the bottom of the box to activate it for everyone (just type in everyone) Once that is completed, in the copy to location type in C:\users\default -- this copies the profile over the default profile. Allow that to complete and close this program. 5. Now run regedit. 6. Highlight Hkey_Users 7. Click on File, click on load hive, migrate to c:\users\default and in the file blank type in ntuser.dat and press enter 8. In the blank box that comes up enter a name that you will remember, I use Default_User, but I have had kids use george, fred or whatever, it really doesn't matter. 9. Go back to regedit and expand Hkey_Users and highlight the name you just created 10. Go to edit and click on find and put in the name of your original default profile (the user profile you copied) Push enter 11. Delete whatever comes up highlighted, use F3 and continue the process until you delete all instances of that name. Delete the whole key, windows will recreate it with the new users name, on some pages you will see the name multiple times, use shift or control to highlight all instances. 12. Once you are done, re-highlight the name you used and click on file and unload hive. 13. Restart the machine (don't just log off) 14. Logon as a new user and they will have all the settings that you created for the default user. I am using this in an educational setting and it has worked perfectly fine so far. THANK YOU! Going through the registry to remove the hardcoded profile paths just slipped my mind, thank you so much for this answer :D One thing that isn't carried across though is customisation of Notification Area icons. I set the Sophos AutoUpdate icon to always show icons and notifications in my reference profile but it never carries over when I make it default (either by your method or sysprep). Does anyone know how to manipulate the notification area icons programatically? It'd be REALLY handy since I believe we need to always show that icon to put users at ease so they can see the A/V icon there and easilly see if it's active/errored. Also, Microsoft REALLY need to give us admins a better way for doing this (maybe as an admin tool or powertoy?), as the sysprep method barely carries over any of the customisations you may have made - CascadeRob's method is what I'll be working with and just injecting that profile into the WIM as part of my SCCM reference capture.

As stated earlier in this thread, the scenario that was previously used to replace the Default User Profile (overwriting via the User Profile Control Panel applet) was unsupported in Windows Vista and unsupported in Windows XP. There were many issues with it in the prior OS’s, even though those issues were not always apparent, they did exist and caused inconsistencies and lingering problems. For Domain joined systems, an alternative exists that in many cases will provide a centralized way to update user profiles and accomplish the same tasks that many of you are seeking: Group Policy Preferences. In contrast to policy settings, preferences allow users to change them after you’ve deployed them, they are unmanaged. Additionally, deploying some preferences for users could be a necessity in locked-down environments. Organizations have deployed preferences in a variety of ways, most commonly default user profiles, reg files, and logon scripts. Including preferences in Windows images is also common. In any case, most methods for deploying preferences are decentralized and ‘high touch’. In contrast to the less IT-friendly methods for deploying preferences, Group Policy preferences add to Group Policy a centralized system for deploying preferences. It provides the means to simplify deployment, reduce configuration errors, and reduce IT costs. Rather than using the steps described earlier to deploy mapped drives, for example, you simply create a Group Policy object and edit its Drive Maps preference item. Group Policy preferences do not require you to install any services on servers. Windows Server 2008 includes Group Policy preferences by default as part of the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). Administrators will also be able to configure and deploy Group Policy preferences in a Windows Server 2003 environment by installing the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on a computer running Windows Vista with SP1. You can download the whitepaper that describes Group Policy Preferences here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=42e30e3f-6f01-4610-9d6e-f6e0fb7a0790&displaylang=en. This white paper describes Group Policy preferences—its features, the differences between policy settings and preferences, and the many benefits of using this new technology. If there are specific customizations that you made using the old method to replace the Default User Profile that you cannot make with Group Policy Preferences, you can email them to me: PLeBlanc@*microsoft.com (remove the *) Note that Group Policy preferences will not address creation of Mandatory Profiles and some other settings may still require the supported method of customizing the Default User profile. This article points to the supported way of updating the Default User profile: 959753 How to customize the default local user profile when you prepare an image of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;959753 Paul LeBlanc MSFT

@Paul LeBlanc This method works great for applying group policy. It does NOT work for what most people are using the 'Default Profile' method for. Namely: Setting desktop icon locations. Setting Microsoft and Non-Microsoft application defaults. Multiple user-related control panel settings (IE defaults, taskbar defaults, using small icons on the desktop, etc) The list could go on forever. I've followed *EVERY* "Official" Microsoft method for configuring the default profile (Sysprep, Group Policy, etc) and it simply does not have the same functionality. Imagine my frustration setting up a default profile, jumping through all the hoops to use SysPrep only to find that when I deploy the image it simply does not work. No application icons on the desktop, etc. Using SysPrep puts W7 into a "newly installed OS" mode that is unacceptable for a method that is supposed to be the official way to deploy a customized image. Simply put -- Group policy solves *SOME* of the problems and is nowhere close to the same functionality we had before. Instead of forcing us to go down a path that is clearly not the best tool, why not restore the functionality in a manner that MSFT considers *SAFE*. Bear in mind that I've been using the default profile method on AD domains for over ten years without issue. Microsoft has clearly missed the mark on this use case. Sorry, that's just the way it is and I've been working on this issue for over a year (since the W7 RC) and no easy solution to this has come up. It *IS* preventing W7 from being deployed in a large way at our university. Also, I simply don't have the time to create a full list of customizations to send you. I am overworked and underpaid as it is. Windows 7 is shelved until this issue has been resolved.

@Paul LeBlanc This method works great for applying group policy. It does NOT work for what most people are using the 'Default Profile' method for. Namely: Setting desktop icon locations. Setting Microsoft and Non-Microsoft application defaults. Multiple user-related control panel settings (IE defaults, taskbar defaults, using small icons on the desktop, etc) The list could go on forever. I've followed *EVERY* "Official" Microsoft method for configuring the default profile (Sysprep, Group Policy, etc) and it simply does not have the same functionality. Imagine my frustration setting up a default profile, jumping through all the hoops to use SysPrep only to find that when I deploy the image it simply does not work. No application icons on the desktop, etc. Using SysPrep puts W7 into a "newly installed OS" mode that is unacceptable for a method that is supposed to be the official way to deploy a customized image. Simply put -- Group policy solves *SOME* of the problems and is nowhere close to the same functionality we had before. Instead of forcing us to go down a path that is clearly not the best tool, why not restore the functionality in a manner that MSFT considers *SAFE*. Bear in mind that I've been using the default profile method on AD domains for over ten years without issue. Microsoft has clearly missed the mark on this use case. Sorry, that's just the way it is and I've been working on this issue for over a year (since the W7 RC) and no easy solution to this has come up. It *IS* preventing W7 from being deployed in a large way at our university. Also, I simply don't have the time to create a full list of customizations to send you. I am overworked and underpaid as it is. Windows 7 is shelved until this issue has been resolved. Lizard6 has nailed it. +1 from me.

Ditto for Lizard6 Microsoft has lost touch with the real world.

@Paul LeBlanc This method works great for applying group policy. It does NOT work for what most people are using the 'Default Profile' method for. Namely: Setting desktop icon locations. Setting Microsoft and Non-Microsoft application defaults. Multiple user-related control panel settings (IE defaults, taskbar defaults, using small icons on the desktop, etc) The list could go on forever. I've followed *EVERY* "Official" Microsoft method for configuring the default profile (Sysprep, Group Policy, etc) and it simply does not have the same functionality. Imagine my frustration setting up a default profile, jumping through all the hoops to use SysPrep only to find that when I deploy the image it simply does not work. No application icons on the desktop, etc. Using SysPrep puts W7 into a "newly installed OS" mode that is unacceptable for a method that is supposed to be the official way to deploy a customized image. Simply put -- Group policy solves *SOME* of the problems and is nowhere close to the same functionality we had before. Instead of forcing us to go down a path that is clearly not the best tool, why not restore the functionality in a manner that MSFT considers *SAFE*. Bear in mind that I've been using the default profile method on AD domains for over ten years without issue. Microsoft has clearly missed the mark on this use case. Sorry, that's just the way it is and I've been working on this issue for over a year (since the W7 RC) and no easy solution to this has come up. It *IS* preventing W7 from being deployed in a large way at our university. Also, I simply don't have the time to create a full list of customizations to send you. I am overworked and underpaid as it is. Windows 7 is shelved until this issue has been resolved. I concure! We cannot recommend moving to windows 7 until this is address in a sysadmin friendly way!

still having issue with wallpaper any new info how to keep walpaper in palce after copy?

I'm frankly disgusted by the limitations of this method, and how broken sysprep is making the whole process damn night on impossible. Our lab XP images have 120GB odd of sofware that needs configuring and testing to run under all user accounts by constant tweaking and perfecting of the default user account, then I find that I have to sysprep - risk breaking all my work while the sysprep succeeds maybe 1 in 10 times, and start again from my clean non-syspreped image and wait another few hours to find out if it's going to break again. Huge thanks to CascadeRob for thinking about cleaning up the reg hive after the copy. This way I can test the default user profile BEFORE breaking my images with sysprep. I really hope MS pay attention to this issue because at the moment I don't know a single customer in Education happy to roll out large complex windows 7 desktop images.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973289 clearly DOES support profiles changed to new default profiles.....make a default profile for system or even a network default profile....(I'd imagine you could also specify many ways of using it). SOOOOO.... the way I read this and MS's KB....create user profile (that custom is based off of)....then sysprep (using simple unattended file) and switches /generalize (and others as necessary). my .02A G

windows could not finish configuring the system. To attempt to resume configuration, restart the computer. I get this message on reboot at the setup is starting services stage. Every time I sysprep. I am just trying to set a default profile for my end users. I have read microsoft instructions, brian lee jackson instructions, created my answer file with WAIK as instructed included the copy to true under specialise shell setup and more. I have learnt alot about the whole proccess but it never actualy works

As reported above Sysprep works about 1 time out of 10 and even then it does not work the way you want it to. Sysprep is a pain in the butt to try and use, that is finally why I went back to copying the profiles over and cleaning the registry. It takes a little more time but I know it is going to work and if like Microsoft says it is creating some problems, I have yet to experience them, or they are so minor that no one has complained about them. Rob

@CascadeRob Can you post how you're copying over the profiles and which registry settings your cleaning? Thanks

Lizard6, if you go to my post of Dec 16, 2009 it gives you the step by step process of copying and cleaning the registry, just remember you have to use enabler to copy the profile and when you initially start it you have to right click on it and use "Run as an Administrator" If you need any more info just repost again. Thanks

CascadeRob, Thank you so much for taking the time to create this workaround and for keeping this post updated as well. I'm a tech director for a school district and this has saved me some time with creating one of my newest computer labs. I was ready to throw out Windows 7 and go back to XP before finding this as the sysprep options that microsoft provides don't work and my head trying to get it to work. School starts next week and I'm running out of time! I'm having a problem getting my printers to stay connected when I log in as different users. They work as the dummy user but I have mixed results when logging in as different users after I've set up everything. I have 2 printers in the lab, one HP Color and the other an HP Laserjet. When I log in as a student I get an error saying "Access Denied, Unable to connect" to one of the printers and the other is fine. When I try a different user, I get the same error on both printers.... when I log back in as the dummy user they are fine. I checked permissions on the printers and nothing has changed. Any ideas????

Jacksongirl78 - Are you using Microsoft printing process? I don't use that, instead I set up each of my printers as an IP printer and since the system recognizes them as local printers anyone can print to them that is logged on to the computer they are on. If you need directions on how to do this you can contact me directly at rr81602@hotmail.com. The other thing that I do to all my computers is make all "Domain Users" administrators of the computer and control what they can do by their profile, this has to be done to run some programs like AR and all the STAR programs. Thanks, Rob

CascadeRob - Thank you! We're a town government and have been beating our heads against a wall trying to figure out an easy way to do a default profile, and your method seems to do everything we need. Thanks for doing all the hard work on this one!

This worked first time for me. Great answer! Thanks. ps. A quick way of doing the permissions on the profile you wish to uss as your new default is to just copy the profile folder and then delete the old one :)

Not sure if this has been said or not but what I do to create shortcuts on all the profiles desktop's is: In a Run window (Windows key+R), type Shell:Common Desktop and press Enter. This will open the All Users Desktop folder and you will be able to drag shortcuts to the folder. Props to another poster of a different forum. Hope this helps...

(This is for a Windows Domain) Instead of using the "Copy To" function for default profiles, there was a method Microsoft released with Server 2000/2003 OS that worked beautifully with Win XP. It was after a default profile was setup, that profile could be copied into the Netlogon/sysvol folder. Once a computer was joined to the domain, that profile would automatically copy down to the system and keep all the settings for the default profile. With Windows Vista/7, this function doesn't work for domain machines. Did Microosft remove this feature with Windows 7? Has anyone been able to get this method to work with the new OS?JB

This method will corrupt the default profile and will cause to create a temp profile for the user everytime he logs in No recommended :(

just click on it to enable the features you will find the icon has changed then the magic will start and the Copy to.. will be enabled :)

I have been having the problem with the blank background for a while, but that simple fix of saving the theme for sharing did it perfectly. Thank you! I had tried saving the theme before, but I didn't save it for sharing.

i got mine working fine, heres how i did it. do this - on a fresh build win7 pro sp1 (for me) made the setup wizard account called "builder" (no password) *you can use whatever name you want , but for the purpose of this guide that's what i used. let it do its thing and get to your desktop, this user acct is an administrator by default go to manage my computer (start/computer (right click)-manage) and go to the local users+groups/users and double click the administrator acct and uncheck "account is disabled" + set a password on it go to the users control panel and turn "down" the user account control notifications #1 they're annoying, and #2 no one gives a $hit. build your "image" as you normally would, install all your apps , configure your desktop shortcuts, programs whatever you need to do. but if you reboot always log back in as the builder account, IF u use outlook install it and run it, when it pops up with the config, go through the exchange settings, but when it asks for a username type "type your username here" click ok and let it prompt for a password etc, just click close and leave it. (for now) run regedit go to HKCU\control panel\desktop\wallpaper and change the value from FROM c:\users\builder\appdata\roaming\microsoft\windows\themes\transcodedwallpaper.jpg TO c:\users\%username%\Appdata\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\Transcodedwallpaper.jpg (this allows the users name to be created for the wallpaper and themes when a new user logs in for the first time. when done with everything REBOOT the machine when it comes back up , login as the "administrator" account u unlocked earlier. now the desktop looks generic (cause you didnt modifiy the default YET) go to the computer / c:\ drive do a Alt/T/O (alt tools options) view and choose the "view tab" select show hidden files folders and drives, and uncheck "hide empty drives, hide extentions for known filetypes and hide protected operating system files. click apply, then at the top click the apply to folders button then click ok. now navigate to c:\users\ and make a copy of "default" and then delete the original "default" only AFTER you have copied it. (there should be a "copy of default" folder in there too) now right click / properties the "builder" folder and go to security tab. - click advanced then owner , choose EDIT change the current owner from system to Administrators (make sure its the group not the user without the s in its name.) choose replace owner on subcontainers and objects. the wizard will yell that you just took ownership, yeah yeah, click ok and ok and ok again to totally close the properties window, now right click properties again, this time go to security choose edit and add "everyone" Full contro (for now)choose apply, now again go to advanced. click "change permissions, highlight the everyone group you just added and select replace all child object permissions with inheritable permissions from this object. --important step this is what makes it work - click apply or ok and say yes to the box that pops up questioning your actions., now to get the wallpaper to work for everyone, rename c:\users\builder to c:\users\Default now since your in as administrator level user, go back to the right click my computer/manage local users and groups and make your self a new user, call him test or whatever you want, and also put a password on his account. reboot the machine - dont just log out and log back in as your new "test" account walah your good to go. I just did a batch of 75 on the domain (w2k8r2) and the group policty and my "documents" redirectors work great. oh and best part, I made this so I could GHOST the machine with no sysprep required. its just like the xp days again with a little more work, - the problem people were having way above was due to the many locations of the user profiles, and more so because of the "security" within the default user only to "SYSTEM" where a user could not copy the profile dir completely due to rights, so this fixes it and i hope it really helps you deploy it in your organization. give me a shout if you need some more help or if you have any problems or issues. thanks Chris

As reported above Sysprep works about 1 time out of 10 and even then it does not work the way you want it to. Sysprep is a pain in the butt to try and use, that is finally why I went back to copying the profiles over and cleaning the registry. It takes a little more time but I know it is going to work and if like Microsoft says it is creating some problems, I have yet to experience them, or they are so minor that no one has complained about them. Rob I recently started working for a department of the University of Virginia and I admin over 150+ workstations and I am stunned this simple process has been so hamstrung by Microsoft with nothing more than a "it causes problems... trust us" reason. Amazing! Ever since XP SP3 (the infamous hotfix) they have been INDIVIDUALLY configuring user profiles as the "Copy To:" no longer worked. Now with many XP machines getting surplused and replaced with Windows 7 Pro machines, this "default user profile" issue is coming to a head.... Especially since I refuse to NOT find a way to create a custom user profile that can be used on each machine for the several users on that one machine that must logon daily. Rob, thanks so much for your "Windows Enabler" workaround... I will try that next image build I do... Otherwise, shame on MS for not providing a workable solution that does not include the program from hell, SYSPREP... Robert Glantz

The Sysprep method does work if you know how to do it and do it right. It's tedious to understand, but once you do understand it, it works. I'm going to try to explain these stpes that I have done and tested and how to make the sysprep method work in 2 ways. I hope this helps explain this method and makes it easier. If I could post screenshots I would. I know it's frustrating, but it works and it's been working well for me and my organization. There are two things people need to know about sysprep for Win 7 1. Sysprep can only be done 3 times with the same key. There is a command you can add in the unattend XML file that can bypass the 3 strike rule, but you'll have to put a key for each time you deploy that image. 2. The wmpnetwk.exe service can cause it to fail. It's the "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service". I typically stop tihs service and disable it. 3. This works when you have ONLY ONE custom profile on the system. (I know... i know... some of you have already deployed machines and would like to go back through and apply a default profile. This method isn't the best solution for that. This works well for new machines getting ready for deployment). 2 ways this can be done. It can be done to a machine individually, OR It can be done with WDS for those who use WDS. My organization has been using WDS for 6+ months and it has worked beautifully. Before I go over those, the first thing that has to be done is get an unattend file created. The easiest way to do that is use the WAIK. Here's the best way to get one. 1. Download and Install the WAIK tools. (You don't need to install them on the computer you're creating the image. You only need WAIK for the Unattend.XML) 2. Once that's installed, NEXT, you'll need a .WIM image. You can use an image you have already created OR a .wim exists on any Windows 7 media DVD. If you put in a Windows 7 install CD, do a search for a .wim, and it will come up. 3. In the WAIK tools, There are only 2 sections that are important: The Windows Image Section and the Answer File section. 5. Right Click on the Windows Image section. Search for your .WIM image. - You can select an image you have created or the image from the DVD. - It may ask you to catalog it, just click yes to catalogging the image. (If the catalogging errors out on the DVD, you may need to copy the .WIM to the local machine.) 6. Next, Right Click in the section Answer File. Choose 'New Answer File' Now you have both your image components up and your answer file, the "Copy Profile" function is only 1 piece that you need. There is a lot you can do with an answer, but I would suggest ONLY setting the "Copy Profile" function to start. To get to the "Copy Profile" function: 7. In the Windows Image, under the Components section (not packages), scroll down till you see the "x86_Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_neutral". 8. When you come to this piece amongst all the numerous components: Right Click on it. You should see 7 options. Click on the number 4 option "Specialize" 9. Go over to your answer file and you should see a plus sign under "Specialize". 10. Expand out Specialize and click on the ""x86_Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_neutral". 11. When you click on it, you will see the window on the very right of the image manager have some options. One option should be "Copy Profile". 12. Over to the right of this option should be another cell. Click on the cell to the right of "Copy Profile", a drop down menu will appear. Set it to True. 13. Next, Click File -> Save Answer File. Name it unattend.xml. Now you have an unattend file that will copy the profile you create once you sysprep. Put this file on a flash drive and put it somewhere. If you're using WDS, go into your WDS manager, find the image you want, right click on the image, click properties. Theres a tab that has an option that says, "Use Unattend File". Click the check box and browse to the file. Doesn't matter where you put it. NOTE: If you're using WDS, once you put out this image, you can always do a 2nd sysprep without an unattend file because your custom profile has already copied to the Default profile. Again remember you only 3 strikes with sysprepping or else it will fail because of the license strike out (can't remember the technical term. I call it a strike out because you literally have 3 times to get it right from a fresh image.) For a single image, I first recommend starting an image from scratch. Get all your updates, configure your profiel accordingly. Give it a clean reboot. 1. Take your unattend file and put in a folder on the C: drive 2. When you're ready to sysprep (remember to stop the wmpnetwk.exe service), run the sysprep from the command line. 3. Open a command prompt (Make sure to click the 'Run As Administrator) 4. Change directories to the sysprep folder cd %systemroot%\system32\sysprep 5. Type in this command: sysprep.exe /oobe /reboot /generalize /unattend:c:\answerfile\unattend.xml <- Make sure to point this to where you put your AnswerFile. It will reboot and you will have to go through the original setup, but when you create a new profile, it should have your all the settings as the profile you customized. The single image method might get tedious after a while for each machine, but if you use WDS or have another networking imaging solution, you can now take this image with a default profile already copied. This helps without the hassle of the clean up of the "Windows Enabler" function. Not to say it's not a good method, but it was causing too many headaches for me. The sysprep with WDS method works really well. I hope this helps!!! GL HF. :) JB

Chris, I've tried your solution and it works! Having said that, how did you manage the SID's on the cloned images without SysPrep? At some point in time, won't your domain choke the clients off the domain? Just curious. Thanks.

I changed my sids with ghostwalker, or ghwalk.exe on my ghost install, when i cloned them i just chose it to do so after each clone batch, or you can run the ghwalk.exe manually afterwords. but its best before the os loads.

We have been copying profiles in Win 7 64 bit using the Windows Enabler, however we are experiencing an issue where the user can't delete any of the desktop icons brought over by the profile copy. Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone have any suggestions how to fix this?

thanks Wayne.....very, very much appreciated!

Microsoft is always wondering why the business community is slow to adopt their new products. Duh... If they think W7 was bad, wait until W8 hits the fan.