How do I change the directory in which the system stores profiles?

A. Windows NT 4.0 and earlier versions of NT store profiles in the %systemroot%\Profiles folder. Windows 2000 stores profiles in %systemdrive%\Documents and Settings, but the OS lets you specify a different location. To change the location, take the following steps:

1. Create a new folder to host the profiles.
2. Copy all existing profiles from the %systemdrive%\Documents and Settings folder to the folder you just created. (Note: If you're copying from NTFS to NTFS, use the XCOPY command with the /o switch to maintain any ACLs on the files.)
3. Launch regedit.exe, and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList.
4. Double-click ProfilesDirectory.
5. Enter the path to the new folder, and click OK.

You can change the profile Win2K uses for default users by modifying the DefaultUserProfile string value, and you can change the profile Win2K uses for all users by modifying AllUsersProfile.