XCLN: Using Exchange Windows NT Client With Windows NT Mandatory Profile

• Microsoft Exchange Windows NT client, version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

After you install the Microsoft Exchange Windows NT client on a Windows NT Workstation computer using mandatory Windows NT profiles, you are unable to save Exchange profile information. You can use the Exchange Profile Wizard to create a profile and may be able to access your mail, but once you log off Windows NT Workstation, all the Exchange profile settings are lost. Subsequently, when you log on to Windows NT Workstation and you start Exchange Client, the Exchange Profile Wizard starts.

CAUSE

On a computer running Windows NT workstation, Exchange profile information is kept in the registry. The purpose of mandatory Windows NT profiles is to prohibit the user from modifying the registry.

RESOLUTION

To use mandatory Windows NT profiles with Exchange Client, a unique user profile file (.usr) must be created for each Exchange user. This file is kept on the Windows NT server in the same location as the mandatory profile. This filename must also be referenced in User Manager for Domains within the User Properties for the user/Profile/User Profile Path. The user must log on and create an Exchange profile and then log off Windows NT; this will save the profile information to the registry and to the .usr file.

When the Exchange profile information is saved in the .usr file, the mandatory profile can be reinstated. To do this, rename the .usr file to a .man extension and reference this file in the User Profile Path described above.

To work around the problem, run the Microsoft Exchange utility Newprof.exe from the Windows NT login script with a Default.prf configured with profile information, including the Exchange Server name and the user's mailbox. Newprof.exe can be placed in the Startup program group, or it can be run from a batch file or login script so that a new Exchange profile is created automatically each time the user logs on to Windows NT.

NOTE: No specific profile information can be saved by the user as long as mandatory profiles are in use.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q148595 XCLN: Creating Roving Users on Win95 and WinNT

Additional query words:

Keywords          : 
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : 

Last Reviewed: April 6, 1999