Microsoft KB Archive/101507

= How Windows NT Determines a User's Home Directory =

Article ID: 101507

Article Last Modified on 5/4/2005

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server 3.1
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.1
 * Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server 3.1
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition

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This article was previously published under Q101507



The system administrator specifies a home directory in the User Manager, in the user profile properties. Windows NT sets the following three environment variables based on the value of the home directory:

HOMEDRIVE

HOMEPATH

HOMESHARE

For example, these three environment variables could contain the following:

HOMEDRIVE= :

HOMEPATH=\

HOMESHARE=\\ \

NOTE: HOMESHARE could contain a local drive instead of a server and share. If no home directory is specified, Windows NT uses the following values by default:

HOMEDRIVE=

HOMEPATH=\users\default

HOMESHARE=

NOTE: If the \USERS\DEFAULT directory does not exist on the drive that has Windows NT installed, HOMEPATH is set to the \USERS on that drive; if the \USERS directory does not exist, HOMEPATH is set to the drive that has Windows NT installed. The default directory the Command Prompt displays is the equivalent of HOMEDRIVE plus HOMEPATH.

If a user has the home directory set to \\ \ \, the Command Prompt does not display the specified directory if the server is not available for any reason. The only method to determine what failed when the Command Prompt does not display the specified directory involves checking the event logs and verifying that everything is installed properly.

Additional query words: prodnt

Keywords: kbenv KB101507

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