A friend of mine who has a laptop running XP Pro wanted to create a new
profile to log on to a domain (but she wanted to retain her desktop,
bookmarks, etc.). So I created a new profile, deleted everything in it,
then copied everything from the older profile in it.

A few days later, I realized I may have done this incorrectly (even
though she hasn't been experiencing any problems. According to "How to
copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile" at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151 , three files (Ntuser.dat,
Ntuser.dat.log, and Ntuser.ini) are *not* to be copied. Why is this and
what is the potential harm in copying them like I did?

In news:ujIyKsR$(E-Mail Removed),
Daave <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> A friend of mine who has a laptop running XP Pro wanted to
> create a new
> profile to log on to a domain (but she wanted to retain her
> desktop,
> bookmarks, etc.). So I created a new profile, deleted
> everything in it,
> then copied everything from the older profile in it.
>
> A few days later, I realized I may have done this incorrectly
> (even
> though she hasn't been experiencing any problems. According
> to "How to
> copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile" at
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151 , three files
> (Ntuser.dat,
> Ntuser.dat.log, and Ntuser.ini) are *not* to be copied. Why
> is this and
> what is the potential harm in copying them like I did?

Notice how the title of that Microsoft article includes the
word "corrupted". Well, those three files that you're advised
not to copy are usually the source of the corruption.

As long as her original user account was trouble free, copying
those three files should not cause a problem. As a matter of
fact, not copying the Ntuser.dat file would have resulted in
her having to reconfigure a number of settings.

Note: To make an exact copy of a user profile, it's usually
easier to use the procedure outlined in these articles.

How do I copy a user profile in Windows XP?
http://www.petri.co.il/copy_user_pro...windows_xp.htm

To copy a user profile
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/d....mspx?mfr=true

Good luck

Nepatsfan

"Nepatsfan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:ejhWqsS$(E-Mail Removed)...
> In news:ujIyKsR$(E-Mail Removed),
> Daave <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> A friend of mine who has a laptop running XP Pro wanted to create a
>> new
>> profile to log on to a domain (but she wanted to retain her desktop,
>> bookmarks, etc.). So I created a new profile, deleted everything in
>> it,
>> then copied everything from the older profile in it.
>>
>> A few days later, I realized I may have done this incorrectly (even
>> though she hasn't been experiencing any problems. According to "How
>> to
>> copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile" at
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151 , three files (Ntuser.dat,
>> Ntuser.dat.log, and Ntuser.ini) are *not* to be copied. Why is this
>> and
>> what is the potential harm in copying them like I did?
>
> Notice how the title of that Microsoft article includes the word
> "corrupted". Well, those three files that you're advised not to copy
> are usually the source of the corruption.
>
> As long as her original user account was trouble free, copying those
> three files should not cause a problem. As a matter of fact, not
> copying the Ntuser.dat file would have resulted in her having to
> reconfigure a number of settings.
>
> Note: To make an exact copy of a user profile, it's usually easier to
> use the procedure outlined in these articles.
>
> How do I copy a user profile in Windows XP?
> http://www.petri.co.il/copy_user_pro...windows_xp.htm
>
> To copy a user profile
> http://www.microsoft.com/resources/d....mspx?mfr=true
>
> Good luck

Thanks much Pats Fan; you consistenly provide good information!

In news:uHUqM4T$(E-Mail Removed),
Daave <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> "Nepatsfan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:ejhWqsS$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> In news:ujIyKsR$(E-Mail Removed),
>> Daave <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>> A friend of mine who has a laptop running XP Pro wanted to
>>> create a
>>> new
>>> profile to log on to a domain (but she wanted to retain her
>>> desktop,
>>> bookmarks, etc.). So I created a new profile, deleted
>>> everything in
>>> it,
>>> then copied everything from the older profile in it.
>>>
>>> A few days later, I realized I may have done this
>>> incorrectly (even
>>> though she hasn't been experiencing any problems. According
>>> to "How
>>> to
>>> copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile"
>>> at
>>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151 , three files
>>> (Ntuser.dat,
>>> Ntuser.dat.log, and Ntuser.ini) are *not* to be copied. Why
>>> is this
>>> and
>>> what is the potential harm in copying them like I did?
>>
>> Notice how the title of that Microsoft article includes the
>> word
>> "corrupted". Well, those three files that you're advised not
>> to copy
>> are usually the source of the corruption.
>>
>> As long as her original user account was trouble free,
>> copying those
>> three files should not cause a problem. As a matter of fact,
>> not
>> copying the Ntuser.dat file would have resulted in her
>> having to
>> reconfigure a number of settings.
>>
>> Note: To make an exact copy of a user profile, it's usually
>> easier to
>> use the procedure outlined in these articles.
>>
>> How do I copy a user profile in Windows XP?
>> http://www.petri.co.il/copy_user_pro...windows_xp.htm
>>
>> To copy a user profile
>> http://www.microsoft.com/resources/d....mspx?mfr=true
>>
>> Good luck
>
> Thanks much Pats Fan; you consistenly provide good
> information!

You're welcome.

Nepatsfan