2 user profiles for the same person issue

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godai73

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Ok, this has happened to two of the users at my work place and I do not know why it is happening. The user would log on to Windows and XP would create a new profile folder with .000 added to it. The user has not done anything different and is using the same password. Only way I can fix the problem is to delete the new 'user.000' folder and rename the original folder from 'user' to 'user.000'. I would then have to re-direct all Outlook PST files that was from the user folder to the user.000 folder. I've seen this happen on NT machines before and in the past, all I did was delete the new profile. We ran spyware and anti-virus and the computer is very clean. Does anyone know why this might happen and is there a way of fixing it? I assume I can go into the Registry somewhere to fix. Thanks in advance.
 
Think of it as a way to restore your files if you ever wish to go back before you upgraded.
 
The .000 extension is added when a profile with the same name is attempting to use the local computer.

This usually happens when logging into a domain profile when a local profile with the same name already exists.

For example, there's a local administrator profile on the box and you log into a domain that hosts its own administrator profile.

The local computer will then grab the administrator profile from the domain controller and copy it to the local box, adding the .000 extension. If you do this twice, it will add a .001 then .002 etc...

Lesson to learn, either host your profile entirely from the domain or make sure to log into the local box and NOT the domain when using that profile.
 
Interesting. Well, the computer is using Windows XP Pro and is on a Novell network. Is this something that I would need to contact the network administrators about? It has happend twice in a month to two different users. Thanks.
 
If they're separate departmetns, I'd contact the system administrator first, or some sort of helpdesk. But if not, yeah go for the Network Admins.
 
Not to pullup an old thread, but I thought I would shead some light on this for you...
The problem is multi parted and can come from a number of things. The most common is an admin looking at another users NTuser.dat and in so doing locking the file. And if they don't unload it, it will stay locked. So when the user goes to log on, they can't find their Registry data and so a new(default) profile is created. This is the most common reason that I have found.
Others include Account migrations in AD, (which isn't your problem since your using Novel), account changes/updates (not limited to password), and general computer problems...
The easiest way to fix it is to correct the registry, since that is where the pointers are housed. Look here...

HKLM\software\microsoft\windows NT\CurrentVersion\profilelist
here you will find a list of profiles by guid. Under these you will look for the logon name of the profile in question. Once found, (in your case you will have to look twice) change the ProfileImagePath to the folder you wish to use. This is something you can do even for testing and troublshooting as well. it's very convient when you need to change profiles... and you only have to have them log off and back on to correct the link. no reboot required, and this can also be done totally remote.

Good luck and I hope that helps...
 
Inaris, thanks for the help. I did not get a chance to use it because the user told me not to worry about it since he is getting a new computer. But I will add this to my Favorites just in case this happens to another user.
 
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