[unsolved] copy/migrate user profile

[boarder's paradise]

Hi folks. Anybody knows how to copy a user profile (in XP) ?

Scenario: On our family PC, until now everybody has used the (preinstalled) Administrator account. Now I want to create a separate account for my kids and transfer all their data to this account (eMails, settings, etc.)

First I tried the easiest way: Create a new admin account and then downgrade the existing admin account to a normal user account. I got an error message. (I think this is because Windows doesn't allow the preinstalled admin account to change it's user groups affiliation.)

So my second best bet was to copy the admin account profile ("A") to a freshly created new user account ("B"). Following the instructions in http://www.petri.co.il/copy_user_profiles_in_windows_xp.htm I created the temporary account ("C") with admin rights as you can't transfer settings from/to an account you are currently logged in with. Now I did the following:

My computer > properties > advanced > user profiles > settings > copy to

I selected the path for the target folder: \documents and settings\accountB\

In the section below I choose access rights for the account B

Windows now deleted the content of \documents and settings\accountB\ but failed to copy the new data to that location:

"Failed to set Security on destination profile. Error: Access Denied"

I'm completely clueless why that happens given that I had previously granted full access to administrators (both the group "administrators" AND explicitely for account C) for both \documents and settings\accountA\ and \documents and settings\accountB\

(via right click on folder>properties>security>permissions for administrators>full control).

I even tried the whole procedure in Safe Mode. No luck.

So far I've found more than twenty forum posts on the Net with the same problem and in every instance a solution was found. One user didn't have enough permission and another one said he had to redefine the TMP and TEMP environment variables (but to what?). But no solution that worked for them, seems to do the trick here on my computer.

I would be incredibly thankful for any information, either how to successfully migrate a user profile or how to solve the abovementioned scenario in another way than the two I've tried so far. Thanks.

[Irene]

The following information is from the Help and Support Centre...

To copy a user profile

You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings might also prevent you from completing this procedure.

• Open System in Control Panel.
  
• On the Advanced tab, under User Profiles, click Settings.
  
• Under Profiles stored on this computer, click the user profile you want to copy, and then click Copy To.
  
• Type the location for the new profile, or click Browse to select the path.
  
• To choose a new user, in the Copy To dialog box, click Change.
  
• To start your search, in the Select User or Group dialog box, type the complete name of the user, group, or built-in security principle you are looking for, and then click OK.
  

Notes

• To open System, click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
  
• To specify a built-in security principle, user, or group, in the Select User or Group dialog box, click Look For, and then click the object you want.
  
• To specify a domain to search, in the Select User or Group dialog box, click Look In, and then select the domain.
  
• To further narrow your search, in the Select User or Group dialog box, click Advanced.
  

Hope you find the above useful. :)

Please let us know if it works for you.

[boarder's paradise]

Thanks for your help Irene. The procedure you quoted is identical to the one I had described above. It aborts with the abovementioned error message.