Duplicating One's XP Settings to Another User?

  • Thread starter Thread starter David
  • Start date Start date
D

David

I often get tasked by other users to customize their XP user interface.
And because they don't know how to do it, they say, "please just make my XP
look and work like yours".

Is there any simple way to do this, like perhaps copying a file from my
setup to theirs?

My immediate question relates to multiple users on the same XP machine.
However, if it is possible to apply the same solution to different XP
machines, that would be even more helpful.

Thank you very much for any thoughts.
 
David said:
I often get tasked by other users to customize their XP user interface.
And because they don't know how to do it, they say, "please just make my XP
look and work like yours".

Is there any simple way to do this, like perhaps copying a file from my
setup to theirs?

My immediate question relates to multiple users on the same XP machine.
However, if it is possible to apply the same solution to different XP
machines, that would be even more helpful.

Thank you very much for any thoughts.
Click to expand...

You could do this:
1. Log on as the new user.
2. Reboot the machine.
3. Log on as administrator.
4. Control Panel / System / Advanced / User Profiles.
5. Click the "standard" user's name.
6. Click "copy".
7. Specify this destination:
c:\documents and settings\{new user}
 
In
David said:
I often get tasked by other users to customize their XP user
interface.
And because they don't know how to do it, they say, "please just make
my XP look and work like yours".

Is there any simple way to do this, like perhaps copying a file from
my setup to theirs?

My immediate question relates to multiple users on the same XP
machine. However, if it is possible to apply the same solution to
different XP machines, that would be even more helpful.
Click to expand...

If it's the same PC, you can modify the default user profile before you set
up an account for them - but it sounds like they already have accounts. You
can copy your profile to theirs in control panel | system (while logged in
as an admin, not yourself) but be careful that you aren't giving them access
to things they shouldn't have.

You could also look into the file & settings transfer wizard - and select
just what you wanted. Or you could show them how to customize their
interface. Or if you're using XP Pro you can use group policy settings to
control a number of things, such as display settings, Windows firewall
settings, and so forth and so on.

Thank you very much for any thoughts.
Click to expand...

PS: "Task" is a noun. Verbing wierds language, as Calvin (of Hobbes) said.
:-)
 
In

If it's the same PC, you can modify the default user profile before you set
up an account for them - but it sounds like they already have accounts. You
can copy your profile to theirs in control panel | system (while logged in
as an admin, not yourself) but be careful that you aren't giving them access
to things they shouldn't have.

You could also look into the file & settings transfer wizard - and select
just what you wanted. Or you could show them how to customize their
interface. Or if you're using XP Pro you can use group policy settings to
control a number of things, such as display settings, Windows firewall
settings, and so forth and so on.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Lanwench -- good ideas. I need to get familiar with FAST
anyway, so I'll give it a try.
PS: "Task" is a noun. Verbing wierds language, as Calvin (of Hobbes) said.
:-)
Click to expand...
But wanted to share this with you:

From Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictonary:
Task(1): Noun ...
Task(2): Transitive Verb
1 : to assign a task to, (employees tasked with updating the files)
2 : to impose a tax on (obsolete)
3 : to oppress with great labor, (tasks his mind with petty details)
:-)
 
You could do this:
1. Log on as the new user.
2. Reboot the machine.
3. Log on as administrator.
4. Control Panel / System / Advanced / User Profiles.
5. Click the "standard" user's name.
6. Click "copy".
7. Specify this destination:
c:\documents and settings\{new user}
Click to expand...

Thank you very much, Pegasus,

I'm sure that I'm missing something simple, but I guess I'm too simple to
figure it out...<g>
I made it down to 5. But unfortunately when I click on the "standard"
user's name, (me -- I'm the administrator), the "copy" option is greyed
out. Should there be a separate account for administrator or something?
Anyway, that's how XP originally set things up for me, and I didn't know
enough to do anything different. Do you have any ideas from here...?
Thanks again,
David
 
David said:
Thank you very much, Pegasus,

I'm sure that I'm missing something simple, but I guess I'm too simple to
figure it out...<g>
I made it down to 5. But unfortunately when I click on the "standard"
user's name, (me -- I'm the administrator), the "copy" option is greyed
out. Should there be a separate account for administrator or something?
Anyway, that's how XP originally set things up for me, and I didn't know
enough to do anything different. Do you have any ideas from here...?
Thanks again,
David
Click to expand...

In your case the "Standard" user happens to be the "Administrator",
which means the profile is locked and cannot be copied. You must
reboot and log on under a different admin account in order to perform
the copy process.
 
David
You can copy user profiles using Viceversa www.tgrmn.com. It is very fast
and effective and as it uses shadow copy service everything will be copied
except two user nt dat files which must be unique in each case. Preview
shows you what is going to happen before you start. The software is fully
supported professionally.
--
Uncle John
BTW Microsoft "Synctoy" will do most of the same but I have found it is
unreliable, it is not supported by Microsoft.

--
 
In David <[email protected]> typed:

Thank you, Lanwench -- good ideas. I need to get familiar with FAST
anyway, so I'll give it a try.
Click to expand...

It's pretty easy to use, as I recall; nothing much to go pear-shaped. Just
don't copy the documents; just settings. I think it's a separate checkbox.
But wanted to share this with you:

From Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictonary:
Task(1): Noun ...
Task(2): Transitive Verb
1 : to assign a task to, (employees tasked with updating the files)
2 : to impose a tax on (obsolete)
3 : to oppress with great labor, (tasks his mind with petty details)
:-)
Click to expand...

Crap, I hate to admit it, but you're right. Even worse, this dreadful
construction has, apparently, been around for a while!
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/t.html . In your original
sentence, "tasked" adds nothing that "asked" would not more simply convey,
and hence I still side with Calvin.

I strongly recommend "The Dictionary of Corporate Bulls__t" for some highly
entertaining reading. It's available Everywhere Books Are Sold, or something
close to it.
 
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