Prev: Checkpoint errors
Next: Downgrading emachine series ET1331
From: pr29 on 4 Nov 2009 11:56
After a reinstall and new domain creation on our SBS08 server, all users
needed to be added to the new domain (15 plus users). Our vendor
(consultants) decided migrating user profiles would be quicker using a
registry profile "flip".

During another project a month or so prior I had found and read up on this
method of migrating a user profile, but I'd read about many admin issues
following the process of copying user SIDs around to point at old local
profiles, and so I'd decided against it.

I brought up these issues with our vendor and was assured this process was
secure.

Once the process was done, it was reported to me that the users were given
full permission on the old profile being pointed to, so the rights issue is,
or shouldn't be, a factor in the following problems now being experienced.

**Note: From what I can gather the Hive was unloaded and reloaded during
this process. I am uncertain of how to check if that was done on every
machine though.

After the 'Profile flip' the following widespread user issues and both new
and older systems, all running XP:

1. Profiles cannot be loaded
(Message: "Windows cannot load locally stored profile...")
Users are having to shut down and reboot to get into their systems.
Unfortunately, one user's profile was completely lost- disappeared entirely-
thankfully, this was a newer computer with little on it yet.

2. Programs like Windows Live Messenger will no longer auto run at startup,
and some users are unable to even log in to start the program. When typing in
the user name and password the keystrokes are extremely delayed, to the point
that it almost looks like you're not typing at all, only to have the
characters pop up about 4 seconds later.

**Granting the user full admin rights allows them to log in to the programs,
but still no auto run.

**Curious if this was a Local Settings issue, I tested on one user's system
by copying the local settings of the old profile over to the login profile
created in the registry flip. Still no results.

3. General web sites in IE are blank or will not load; banking sites, search
sites, all various, and non-blocked by our SonicWall. Adjusting security
setting, checked firewall settings and even upgraded IE when possible with no
results.

**Again, granting full administrator rights allows the users to get to the
specific web site.

Program login and web site viewing issues can only be resolved by granting
the users full administrator rights on their computers. This was not in the
plan.

4. Office (Word, Excel, etc) corrupted and failed on one other system;
office had to be reloaded entirely.

5. Some systems are creating additional profiles at login (.000, .001); one
system doing this somehow had Outlook looking at two .pst files at the same
time in two different profile locations. (That's another story...)

Server side issues that I believe are related to the registry changes on the
local machines:

5. .VBS scripts to map users drives work irradically; some users drives are
mapped, others only a few, some none.

6. Mapping drives via Group Policy; this works for users without the
registry flip method used on their computer, but not for those whose profiles
were done that way.

**I have a suspicion that when the user logs in, they're credentials are not
being properly recognized by the server due to the registry editing
associated with their profile.

7. User's home directorys (path via AD profile) will map if .vbs script is
removed, but not if .vbs script is in use for the user.

Addtional details:

Computers with user profiles that were not migrated in this registry flip
method are not having these problems... (I know, it's obvious, but...)

Both old and new computers are experiencing identical problems; yet the
vendor is saying that there is something wrong with the computers, that
they're old, out of date and so on... Some are new, out of the box with all
updates done, and had been working perfectly well prior to the registry
'flip'.

If anyone can pick through this mess and help explain why some of this stuff
is happening, although, it would seem rather obvious, because I cannot seem
to make it clear enough to my vendor that the registry flip process is a
failure and needs to be corrected.

 | 
Pages: 1
Prev: Checkpoint errors
Next: Downgrading emachine series ET1331