3 Nov 2003:

The recent problems with logging into the INSTTECH domain are the consequence of old data in the roaming profiles that save settings for your login account. The old data pointed to the old authentication server.

The workaround for the problem, that of renaming the old profile and creating a new one, was generalized and applied to nearly all profiles on 30 Oct 2003. That means that people who may not have had the profile problem will likely have a new profile, but the majority of students who have needed but not requested the fix will no longer have the problem.

Here are some potential questions and their answers:

1. What happens to my profile when I logon and logoff?

   When you logon, the system copies your profile from H:\.win_profile to "C:\Documents and Settings\uwnetid" (where uwnetid is your logon account name) and from there to your H:\.win_profile when you logoff.

2. Can my old profile be restored?

   As long as it doesn't reinstate the problem we were trying to fix, we can restore your old profile. Originally, we thought you could do this yourself, but since you need to be logged on to change your profile, and the profile gets copied (see #1 above), any changes you make directly to .win_profile will be wiped out when you log off. You can't delete the profile you are currently using, so you are stuck with asking one of the lab staff to do it for you.

3. What does it mean to have a new profile?

   A new profile means that you get the default interface and settings, as if you were just logging on for the first time. However, it is different from the first time you ever logged in because all of the data on your home directory (H:) is the same today as it was yesterday. So you shouldn't have "lost" any data, unless you store your files in "My Documents" (but even if you did, it isn't really lost -- it is just in the H:\.win_profile.old folder).

4. What has changed?
   • You'll notice some first-time prompts for the Start button and for novice documentation.

   • Any changes you made to your icons or taskbar will be gone, and the defaults will be in place.

   • Printer settings will be lost, so you'll need to re-add the printers.

   • TextPad configuration for Java will be gone -- see how to fix this

   • Your Internet Explorer Favorites will be gone.

     Copy them from "H:\.win_profile.old\Favorites" to "C:\Documents and Settings\uwnetid" to make sure they get written back to your profile when you log off.

   • No more documents in the "My Documents" folder.

     They can be copied from "H:\.win_profile\.win_profile.old\My Documents" to somewhere else on your H: drive.