Tips from the Windows Pros: Setting up for Multiple Users

I have a lot of (quirky, I'm told) preferences that I like to make when I set up a new computer: Start menu settings, application settings, icon placement, and so forth. If you are setting up multiple users for your computer, you can save everyone a lot of configuration-tweaking time by setting up the default user profiles before the users log on for the first time. To do this

1.	As a Computer Administrator, create the new user accounts. Then, log off, and log back on using one of the new users.
2.	Make the changes to the computer that you want all users to have, such as power management settings, desktop icons, Start menu, wallpaper, and so on. Install application software, load up shortcuts, whatever you want each user to have. TIP To prevent the "Tour Windows XP" pop-up from appearing when each new user logs on, run the registry editor regedit and locate key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets. Create a subkey named Tour and open it. Create a DWORD value named RunCount and set the value to 0. To prevent the "Microsoft .NET Passport" pop-up from appearing, set Microsoft Messenger to not run automatically when Windows starts, or, open key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MessengerService and set value PassportBalloon to the REG_BINARY value 0A 00 00 00. For more information on editing the registry, see Chapter 32, "The Registry."
3.	Log off, and log back on with the Computer Administrator account you used to create the accounts in step 1.
4.	Open My Computer, select Tools, Folder Options, select the View tab and check Show Hidden Files and Folders. Click OK.
5.	Open the Start menu, right-click My Computer, and select Properties (or select View System Information from the System Tasks list). View the Advanced tab and click User Profile settings, to bring up the dialog previously shown in Figure 28.19.
6.	Select the profile for the user you just configured and click Copy To.
7.	Click Browse, and browse to \Documents and Settings\Default User. Click OK.
8.	Click OK.

When a users logs on for the first time, Windows will create the user profile by making a copy of the Default Users folder, which now contains all of the settings you made. They will start out with a nicely configured computer.

Unfortunately, on a domain network, default profiles are taken from the domain server. Only the domain administrator can change the default profile there.

And, also unfortunately, on standard installations of Windows XP, Microsoft puts some icons like the Windows Media player icon back on the desktop and the quick-launch bar even if you deleted them in the Default User profile.