PRB: How to Modify the Personal Directory for All New Users

ID: Q190234

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring Registry Key" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you save mail messages or attachments in Outlook 97 and Exchange Client, you are taken to the \personal directory in your profile directory, instead of to your home directory, as specified in User Manager.

This is a problem when you want to centralize the user's personal data to a Home directory.

CAUSE

Outlook, Exchange Client, and many other applications have the following registry key hard-coded for the current directory:


   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\ 
   \Explorer\User Shell Folders\Personal

NOTE: The above registry key is one path; it has been wrapped for readability.

The default value is %USERPROFILE%\Personal, in the user's profile directory under the system root of the computer on which the user is currently logged. In the case of Terminal Server clients, this directory is the user's profile directory in the system root of the Terminal server.

RESOLUTION

Existing Users

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

Users with Profile Already Configured

You must edit the registry for each user:

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).

Select the following Registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
      \Explorer\User Shell Folders

NOTE: The above registry key is one path; it has been wrapped for readability.

Modify the following value with the appropriate directory path (to specify the user's home directory, type %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%):
```
      Personal 
```

Quit Registry Editor.

New Users

To modify the default setting for all new users, modify the same registry setting in the %SYSTEMROOT%\Profiles\Default User\NTUSER.DAT:

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).

Select the HKEY_USERS Window and click Registry - Load Hive.

Open the following file:

%SYSTEMROOT%\Profiles\Default User\ntuser.dat

When prompted for a Key Name, type TEMP.

You will see a TEMP hive under HKEY_USERS. Select the following key:

TEMP\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
      \Explorer\User Shell Folders

NOTE: The above registry key is one path; it has been wrapped for readability.

Modify the following value with the appropriate directory path (to specify the user's home directory, type %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%):
```
Personal 
```

To unload Ntuser.dat from REGEDT32, highlight TEMP under HKEY_USERS and click Registry - Unload Hive.

Quit Registry Editor when finished.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

The following applications are known to use the "Personal" registry key to determine the user's current directory:

Outlook 97, 98 Exchange Client\Windows Messaging Microsoft Word 97

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

Q178156 XCLN: How to Change the Default Directory Location

Additional query words: kbDSupport kbDSupport

Keywords :
Version : WinNT:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbprb