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No Comments Written by Robert on March 3, 2008 – 11:33 pm

In order to more efficiently organize Windows, Microsoft has created user profiles. Windows XP profiles are stored in a centralized location on the system drive. Profiles specify shortcuts, settings, retain ‘most recently used’ information, as well as storing My Documents and other common folders. By default, local user profiles are stored in C:\Documents and Settings\. Each folder under that folder is a user’s name, such as Administrator. In addition to your documents and settings, Internet Explorer history, cache, cookies, and Favorites are also stored here. There is a folder under your user name called Desktop that stores all of the shortcuts that will appear on your Desktop. The ‘All Users’ profile provides system-wide settings and shortcuts that all users will receive. It can only be modified by the system Administrator. In contrast, the Default User profile only specifies default settings given to each newly created user. When a user is created, the contents of the Default User profile are copied to the new user’s profile folder to provide a template. Only the Administrator may edit the Default User profile. The hidden folders Application Data and Local Settings under your user name folder is commonly where all Microsoft Internet programs store their information. Outlook and Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, and MSN/Windows Messenger all store data here, except for cookies and Favorites, which are found directly under your user name folder. Application Data stores credentials and certificates, while Local Settings stores a copy of the credentials, an icon cache, a ‘temp’ folder, your history, and Internet Explorer’s Temporary Internet Files. Desktop.ini, which you will find nearly everywhere, is a file that specifies the current look and settings of the given folder in Explorer, whether icons are shown as simply icons, Details, Thumbnails, or whether to show hidden files or system folders, and so forth. If a special icon is chosen for a folder, or if there is wallpaper applied, then it is stored in Desktop.ini as well.

When you log on to a domain controller with your user name, a roaming profile is copied from your network profile’s home directory to the local hard drive, and it is combined with the All Users’ profile. When you are done working, any changes made to your profile are saved back to the network profile’s home directory so that you may access your changes from any workstation. You can see or modify a list of profiles by right-clicking on My Computer, choosing Properties, navigating to the Advanced tab, and under the User Profiles part, click the Settings button. You will be able to change a roaming profile to a local profile (provided that there is a roaming profile for you), or copy and delete profiles from this screen. It will also list how large the profile is in megabytes, which is helpful if you are in a network environment with space limitations. A ‘mandatory’ user profile is a roaming profile that is not updated when the user logs off. The system Administrator sets up a profile of specific settings and shortcuts that is delivered to a user or group of users. Only members of the Administrator group may change the mandatory profile, as it is designed to provide consistent or job-specific functionality to your profile.

Microsoft has yet again expanded the ease of use and installation of peripherals in Windows XP. For those already familiar with Windows 2000 printer procedures, there will be little differences other than slight wording changes or merged dialogs and buttons. There are two main types of printer installations: hot-pluggable and standard. Hot-pluggable refers to newer technologies, such as infrared, IEEE 1394 (FireWire), and Universal Serial Bus (USB). Standard usually refers to serial, parallel, or Centronics connectors. Hot-pluggable printers are the easiest to install. To ensure accurate detection of hot-pluggable devices, connect them directly to your computer’s main ports, rather than through an external USB or FireWire ‘hub,’ which is designed to expand the amount of ports available. If your printer came with a CD-ROM that supports Windows XP, it is a good idea to attempt to install the driver prior to connecting and powering on the printer for the first time. An even better idea is to download the latest Windows XP driver from the printer manufacturer’s Web site and install it.

Parallel printers are not usually plug-and-play (though on very rare occasions, it has been possible). Once you connect one and power it up, you have to manually install the driver for it yourself and hope that Windows can communicate with it. If your printer is very old, then you may have to use the Add Printer Wizard. Navigate to the Start menu > Printers and Faxes. Then choose Add Printer. A wizard will appear that will walk you step by step through the installation of your printer. You may choose to install a local printer (connected directly to your machine) or a network printer (set up as a network share). You have the option to disable plug-and-play detection for your printer, and it is a good idea to do so if your printer is not new. After you choose “Local printer,” you will have to select a port that the printer is connected to. If your printer is on a special port (such as infrared), then you will be able to select it here (although most of the time, infrared printers are detected as plug-and-play). Standard parallel printers on standard PCs will most likely communicate on LPT1 (short for Line PrinTer 1, a now archaic term). There are ways to print to Communications (COM) ports (such as fax drivers and serial connection printers) or even straight to a file. There are many other instances where there can be a special port to print to, such as an Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) Writer; or if a USB printer driver has been installed but not added to the Printers folder, then you may see a special USB port here. If your serial, parallel, or Centronics printer is fairly recent, then it probably came with a CD-ROM or diskettes that you can install from, which will add the printer to the Printers folder (and the Add Printer Wizard list), as well as installing informative printer monitor software and other miscellaneous tools. Again, it is always recommended to download the latest drivers from a manufacturer’s Web site instead of using the included driver disks.

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