In Windows, what is a user profile, and how do I copy one user profile to another?

A Microsoft Windows user profile describes the Windows configuration for a specific user, including the user's environment and preference settings. The user profile contains those settings and configuration options specific to the user, such as installed applications, desktop icons, and color options. This profile is built in part from System Policy information (for example, those things that a user has access to and those things that the user can and cannot change) and in part from permitted, saved changes that a user makes to customize the desktop.

If you have administrative privileges, you can copy one user profile to another. To do this, follow the steps below for your operating system.

Note: At Indiana University, the University Information Security Office (UISO) recommends that you normally refrain from running your Windows computer as an administrator. For more, see What is the principle of least privilege?

Windows XP

Note: The Windows XP default desktop view and Start menu are different from the Windows Classic View (e.g., in Windows 2000). Therefore, navigating to certain items can be different. In the interest of broad applicability, most Knowledge Base instructions assume you are using Classic View. For information about switching your Windows XP default view to Classic View, see In Windows XP, how do I switch to the Windows Classic View, Classic theme, or Classic Control Panel?

1. From the Start menu, select Settings, then Control Panel. Double-click System.
   
   
2. Click the Advanced tab, and then, under "UserProfile", click Settings.
   
   
3. Click the profile you want to copy and then click Copy to.
   
   
4. In the Copy To dialog box, click Browse to select the directory to which you want to copy the profile. This will usually be C:\winnt\profiles\username or C:\Documents and Settings\username, where username is the username of the profile to which you are copying. When you've selected the directory, click OK.
   
   
5. Under "Permitted to Use", click Change.
   
   
6. In the field labeled "Enter the object name to select:", enter the username of the user who needs to have rights to view this profile. Click Check Names to make sure that the user is found. If the user is not found, you may need to click Locations... to select the correct domain (or, if it is a local account, to select the computer name), and then click OK.
   
   
7. Click OK twice.
   
   
8. If you are prompted to continue, click Yes. Allow a minute for the system to copy the profile.
   
   
9. In the User Profiles window, click OK, and then click OK again in the System Properties window.

Windows NT and 2000

1. From the Start menu, select Settings, then Control Panel. Double-click System.
   
   
2. Select User Profiles, and then click the profile you want to copy. Click Copy to.
   
   
3. In the Copy To dialog box, click Browse to select the directory to which you want to copy the profile. This will usually be C:\winnt\profiles\username or C:\Documents and Settings\username, where username is the username of the profile to which you are copying. When you've selected the directory, click OK.
   
   
4. Click Change... and select the user who will have permission to use the profile. For example, DOM1\janedoe will allow user janedoe on domain DOM1 to have access to the profile.

   Note: There is a bug that affects this step on Windows 2000 clients on Windows NT 4.0-based domains. The Microsoft knowledge base describes this bug and gives a fix in article 257489.

   You can search Microsoft's knowledge base at:

   http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx
5. Click OK three times.

Windows 95 and 98

Make sure that you are not logged in under the profile that you want to copy to.

1. Double-click My Computer. Go to the Windows\Profiles directory (usually at C:\Windows\Profiles).
   
   
2. Double-click the folder of the profile you want to copy.
   
   
3. Select all of the folders and files in that profile by pressing Ctrl-a . From the Edit menu, select Copy.
   
   
4. Go back to the Profiles directory, and double-click the folder of the profile you want to copy to.
   
   
5. From the Edit menu, select Paste.
   
   
6. Click Yes to All to overwrite the old profile.

Also see:

• In Windows, how do I add an application to the Start menu?
• On a Windows 2000 Professional workstation, how do I set up desktop and Start menu items common to all users?