Microsoft KB Archive/190234

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

Article ID: 190234

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition

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This article was previously published under Q190234



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.



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 </li> Quit Registry Editor.</li></ol>

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).</li> Select the HKEY_USERS Window and click Registry - Load Hive.</li>  Open the following file: <pre class="fixed_text">%SYSTEMROOT%\Profiles\Default User\ntuser.dat </li> When prompted for a Key Name, type TEMP .</li>  You will see a TEMP hive under HKEY_USERS. Select the following key: <pre class="fixed_text">TEMP\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \Explorer\User Shell Folders </li></ol>

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% ): <pre class="fixed_text">Personal </li> To unload Ntuser.dat from REGEDT32, highlight TEMP under HKEY_USERS and click Registry - Unload Hive.</li> Quit Registry Editor when finished.</li></ol>

<div class="status_section">

STATUS
This behavior is by design.

<div class="moreinformation_section">

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

Office 2000 ("My Documents" on the places bar)

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

178156 XCLN: How to Change the Default Directory Location

For information about the procedures to modify Excel 97, see:

153543 XL: How to Change the Alternate Startup Folder (Directory)

Additional query words: kbDSupport

Keywords: kbfix kbprb KB190234

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