Profiles for Members of Guests Group Are Deleted (165398)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
This article was previously published under Q165398 SUMMARY
If a user is added to the Guests group (or the Domain Guests group, which
belongs to the Guests group), when the user logs on,
that user's profile information is only stored temporarily. When that user
logs off, the entire profile is deleted. This includes everything stored in
the %userprofile% directory: the user's registry hive information, custom
desktop icons, and so on.
If the user is assigned membership to both the Guests group and the
Administrators group, the user's profile will not be deleted when the user
logs off. If the user is subsequently removed from the Administrators group
and remains a member of the Guests group, the user's profile will be
deleted the next time the user logs off. This is by design.
MORE INFORMATION
In the versions of Windows that are listed in this article, the Guests group plays a special role that integrates
with the behavior of the Windows user profile scheme. Membership
in the Guests group should only be granted to users who are intended to be
guests on a computer or in a domain. It should never be granted to regular
users. Guest accounts are not meant for users who have data and need to log
on and off domains often. By intent, guests are people who may need to log
to on a domain for a specific reason and then log off, but they do not stay
or use the system for an extended time.
If users log on to a domain frequently enough that they would want to
customize a desktop and keep data on it, they are not guests; they should
be considered users, and should no longer be part of the Guests group.
Following this logic, if someone is made a member of the Administrators
group, that user is definitely not a guest, which is why the user profile
is not deleted when the user is a member of both groups.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 10/10/2003 |
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| Keywords: | kbinfo kbnetwork KB165398 |
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