Windows Server – Setup Home Folders and Profile Folders

KB ID 0000739 

Problem

A while back I got an email,

Message: Hallo Pete,

Can you make a tutorial for me for sharing a Home Folder or Profile Path folder for every user?
It’s hard to get one.

Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
Matthew Wittenberg
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Well it’s taken me a while (sorry!) But here you go,

Solution

Creating and Allocating Home Folders to Users

1. Create a folder that is on a drive or volume with plenty of room.

Share Folder

2. I’ve simply used ‘Home’ as the folder name, open the folder’s properties.

Home folder properties

3. Sharing Tab > Advanced Sharing.

Sharing home folders

4. Tick to share > put a dollar ‘$’ symbol onto the end of the share name (this just stops the folder being visible to someone browsing the network) > Permissions.

Home folder share permissions

5. Grant Everyone ‘Full Control’, Don’t worry we will lock it down with NTFS permissions (Remember permissions are cumulative, and most restrictive apply) > Apply > OK.

Access home Drives

6. Security tab > Advanced.

Rights for Home Drives

7. Change Permissions.

Remove rights from home drive

8. Untick ‘Include inheritable permissions……’ > Add.

Copy permissions

9. Select CREATOR OWNER > Edit > Permissions should apply to ‘Subfolders and files only’ > Full control.

H Drive for users

10. Select SYSTEM > Edit > Permissions should apply to ‘This Folder, subfolders and files only’ > Full control.

System home folder rights

11. Select DOMAINNAMEAdministrators > Edit > Permissions should apply to ‘This Folder, subfolders and files only’ > Full control.

Home Drive Setup

12. Remove the Users (the one with Read & Execute).

Create Home Folder Structure

13. Remove the Users (the one with Special).

Base Permissions home folder

14. Add.

Home drive folders

15. Everyone > check Name (make sure it underlines Everyone) > OK

Root Home Folder NTFS

16. Sett Apply to = This folder only > Allow the following.

Traverse Folder / execute file
List Folder / read data
Read attributes
Create Folders / append data

Home Folder Permissions

Allocate the Home Folder to the Domain Users

1. From within Active Directory Users and Computers locate your users, (you can press Windows Key+A to select them all).

Users

2. Open their properties.

Multi Select Domain Users

3. Profile tab > You can connect a drive letter (I usually use H:) and connect that to the users home drive. Set the path like so;

\\Server-name\Folder-name\%username%
e.g.
\\PNL-DC\Home$\%username%

Allocate Home Folder to User

4. This is what the users will see.

User home folder mapped

5. On the server the folders are all created straight away.

Home Folders

Creating and Allocating Roaming Profile Folders to Users

The process for setting up the folder is identical to the one above for the home folders.

1. Create a folder that is on a drive or volume with plenty of room.

Windows Profile Shared Folder

2. I’ve simply used ‘Profile’ as the folder name, open the folder’s properties > Sharing Tab > Advanced Sharing > Tick to share > put a dollar ‘$’ symbol onto the end of the share name (this just stops the folder being visible to someone browsing the network) > Permissions.

setup profile folder

3.  Grant Everyone ‘Full Control’, Don’t worry we will lock it down with NTFS permissions (Remember permissions are cumulative, and most restrictive apply) > Apply > OK.

Roaming Profile Share Permissions

4. Security tab > Advanced.

base permissions profile folder

5. Change Permissions > Untick ‘Include inheritable permissions..’ > Add.

roving profile permissions for folder

6. Remove the Users (the one with Read & Execute).

Roving profile root folder

7. Remove the Users (the one with Special).

Profile folder ntfs permissions

8. Add.

Permissions for Root Folder

9. Everyone > check Name (make sure it underlines Everyone) > OK.

Roaming profile root folder

10. Set Apply to = This folder only > Allow the following.

Traverse Folder / execute file
List Folder / read data
Read attributes
Create Folders / append data

Permissions Roaming Profile

Allocate the Roaming Profile Folder to the Domain Users

1. From within Active Directory Users and Computers locate your users, (you can press Windows Key+A to select them all).

Select multiple users

2. Open their properties > Profile Tab > Tick ‘Profile path’ > Set the path as follows;

\\Server-name\Folder-name\%username%
e.g.
\\PNL-DC\Profiles$\%username%

domain user profile path

3. Unlike home folders, profile folders are only created when the users log onto the network, here you can see this profile has a V2 on the end of it (a version 2 profile means it has come from a Windows Vista or newer machine). For this reason if your users use Windows XP (or older) clients, AND Windows Vista (or newer) clients they will get TWO DIFFERENT profiles.

v2 profile

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

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Author: Migrated

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