Roaming Profile still tries to load off network

[JN]

Even when I am not on the network my roaming profile tries to load on my
laptop when I logon. I get the error:

"Windows cannot locate the server copy of your roaming profile and is
attempting to log you on with your local profile. Changes to the profile
will not be copied to the server when you logoff. Possible causes of this
error include network problems or insufficient security rights. If this
problem persists, contact your network administrator. "

XP can't seem to detect that the computer is at some other location and
tries to load the roaming profile. Is there a way to stop it from trying to
load the profile when not on the domain?

 

[The Real Truth MVP]

Windows did detect that you are not on your network which is why you got
that message. Try logging in with the network cable unplugged.

 

[JN]

That is not exactly how it is supposed to work. If it were you would see
laptop and remote workers going crazy. When you logon, the computer knows
that it is using cached credentials first, so it should not be trying to
load a roaming profile if it already knows it is working from the cache.

I have other units working properly. Just this one unit is giving me a
problem.

 

[The Real Truth MVP]

When you boot the computer during the boot sequence if it does not detect an
active network it will use cache credentials. If it detects any type of
active connection it will try to use that connection for domain
authentication.

 

[JN]

No, that is not what is supposed to happen. The computer boots and rather
quickly the computer can see if it is on a domain because the system tries
to authenticate the computer even before you logon. This is why you see
events that the computer can't find the domain controller in the event logs
even before you logon to the computer when you are off the domain. This is
also how the computer knows to used the cached credentials and does so very
quickly istead of sitting at the logon prompt for about a minute after you
enter your password.

As long as I am not super speedy and enter my password a millisecond after
the prompt is available the computer should already realize it is off the
domain, which it did and you can tell it did because it fell back to cached
credentials. Now since the computer already knows that I am off the domain
because it already failed a check for itself and fell back to using cached
credentials it should (and does for other computers I have) used the local
copy of the profile without trying to get it from the server.

Mine is not. Even if I turn off the wireless and disable the onboard NIC I
still get the same issue.

 

[The Real Truth MVP]

Check your profile folder in there is there a file called ntuser.dat or
ntuser.man? Check the other computers to compare them.

 

[JN]

All are .dat

Check your profile folder in there is there a file called ntuser.dat or
ntuser.man? Check the other computers to compare them.

 

[The Real Truth MVP]

From what you are describing I can duplicate the issue and I see that type
of issue all the time. However, unplugging the network cable fixes it. Do
you have any drives mapped or any antivirus software that tries to update
during boot, firewall software, VPN anything like that on the troubled
system that is not on the others?