Question : Move a local profile to a domain

Hello Experts

Will this work?  If so GREAT!!  If not, why not?

Here's what I want to do:

I'm setting up a domain.  The network is currently a workgroup with each user logging in locally and they all share files over the network.  I'd like, of course to maintain the existing profiles so the users experience the least amount of disruption and so the learning curve is gradual and easy.

So what I thought I'd do is create the new domain profile on each machine and then just copy the contents of the existing local profile to the new domain profile.  Will this work?

Thanks

Answer : Move a local profile to a domain

Hi,

Copying a profile in this scenario will work, but you have to watch for some file paths issues and registry settings.  The user's registry will likely have pointers to things like c:\documents and settings\johns\local settings...

The problem is that if there is an account called johns that is a local user, then the first time that account is logged on to the PC, Windows will create the profile in a folder called johns.  If you then create an account called johns in a domain called "blueberry", then when that account is logged on to a workstation for the first time it will create the profile in a folder called johns, UNLESS another profile, from another domain or the local system, is already present called johns, at which time windows will call the new profile johns.blueberry, to keep them seperate.  If you copy the profile of johns into the folder johns.blueberry, the registry will point to johns still.

To get around this issue,  before logging on to the workstation for the first time, simply rename johns to johns.old or something, then log on with blueberry\johns.  Windows will check for johns in documents and settings, not find it, and create a new one.  Then log off and log on with another (admin) account and copy the contents of johns.old into the new johns.  This allows the pointers to things in the profile to still work after the profile has been copied.

Hope this helps,
Alan