Why use mandatory profile?
User profiles allow a user to keep their personalized settings so they do not have to reconfigure their computer each time they log onto the computer. However, if you want users to have a pre-configured desktop environment, you can assign a mandatory user profile. A mandatory user profile prevents any changes from being saved when a user logs off the computer. For example, if they make changes to the desktop, these changes will be discarded when the user logs off. The procedure for implementing this is described below.
Creating the profile
Your first step is to create a shared folder that will store the mandatory user profile. Open the Computer Management console on the computer that will hold the profile. Create a shared folder and assign Everyone full control. You can then proceed to the following steps that involve copying the user profile you want to become mandatory to the shared fold
- Click Start and click Control Panel.
- Double click the System applet.
- Select the Advanced tab.
- Click the Settings button under User Profiles.
- Select the profile you want to use and click Copy To.
- Type in the path to the location of the shared folder you created before beginning these steps. Click OK.
- Under Permitted to use, ensure that the appropriate users are listed.
- Click OK.
- The last step is to rename the profile you just copied to the shared folder from Ntuser.dat to Ntuser.man
Using the profile
Once you have a mandatory user profile created and saved to a shared folder, you can assign a mandatory to a user profile using the following steps:
- Click Start and click Control Panel.
- Double click the Administrative Tools applet.
- Double click the Computer Management applet.
- Expand System Tools/ Local Users and Groups.
- Double click the Users folder.
- In the right pane right click the user account you want to assign a mandatory profile to.
- On the Profile tab, type in the path to the location of the mandatory user profile (Ntuser.man).
- Click OK.
Update
Microsoft has introduced a GUI program called Steady State that might make this process easier for most users.