Creating Home Folder.. and getting it to map for users

Hi all.

I am new to creating home folders on our Domain's network.
For some reason, we have never used them, but I'm playing around and am trying to get one configured for myself.

I 'think' I have everything set up right, from what I've seen on the internet.
I create a folder on a server (lets call the server 'server1') and share it as 'homefolders'.

\\server1\homefolders

and I share it out to everyone with full access. (Just for the sake of getting this to work)

then I go into my active directory account for my username (lets call it 'dgrams')
So I assign "Connect:" to "G" and TO: "\\server1\homefolders\dgrams"

After I OK out of this and save all settings, I check the directory, and a 'dgrams' folder
has been created. So far so good...?
I log back in on a client machine as 'dgrams' and go into MY COMPUTER to see if my
HomeFolder is set up on Drive G, and it doesnt show at all.

Up to this point, have I done anything wrong?

You still need to use folder redirection for my documents, once that is done it should work

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Originally Posted by p-dave

You still need to use folder redirection for my documents, once that is done it should work

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No, it should still work with or without folder redirect, should still be a drive G: in My Computer.

Don't give them "full control" just "modify", then they can't delete the actual folder just the contents, it save a lot of hassle believe me

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dgrams

Hi all.

So I assign "Connect:" to "G" and TO: "\\server1\homefolders\dgrams"

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A lazier way of doing that is \\server1\homefolders\%username% especially of you're modifying/creating a lot of accounts

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dgrams

Up to this point, have I done anything wrong?

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Can't see anything wrong!

Log on as your test user, go to a command prompt and type:

net user dgrams /domain

You'll get all the info about your user account - does that say that the home directory is set?

If so, try typing:
net use g: /home

- does that connect the drive properly? If so, that tells you the AD stuff is correct but there's something weird about the logon process. You haven't by any chance got something like a USB card reader taking drive letter G:??

Do you have more than one domain controller? It's possible that replication isn't working properly so you're updating AD on one DC but being logged on by the other (out of date) DC. If you do have more than 1 DC, use AD Users and Computers to connect to a different DC - check that the user has been updated as expected.

Here's our setup if its any help

server 1

two drives - C: and D:

C: contains windows dir etc for server install
D: contains work for students/staff (250GB)

Create directory in root of D: called 'students'
set share name to be students, with permissions to 'everyone' and security to Admins/Domain Admins only. You can then access students 09 from any workstation across the network, with Administrative privileges.

Within students, setup year of entry folder (e.g. September 2009 students Y7) in 09
Within 09, setup each users home directory to match their username. E.g. Paul Jones in Y7 would be 09JonesP, with a matching directory name within 09.

Set share name of 09JonesP to be 09JonesP$. This makes it a hidden share, which is a good idea, with lots of students, as when using UNC paths, it will list only the visible shares \\server1\.

There are utilities out there that will do this in bulk from a CSV file.

HTH

of you have done your settings correctly on the server and GPO, there is no need to make the shares hidden.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pete

A lazier way of doing that is \\server1\homefolders\%username% especially of you're modifying/creating a lot of accounts

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I've tried this. Same effect.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spitfire

Don't give them "full control" just "modify", then they can't delete the actual folder just the contents, it save a lot of hassle believe me

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I know, but I'm just trying to get this to work for now. After I get it to work, I will worry about security.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by srochford

Can't see anything wrong!

Log on as your test user, go to a command prompt and type:

net user dgrams /domain

You'll get all the info about your user account - does that say that the home directory is set?

If so, try typing:
net use g: /home

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When I type in "net user dgrams /domain" it shows my home directory path,
but the drive doesnt map.

if I type in "net use g: /home" my home directory does show up in My Computer,
BUT.... once I log out and log back in, it is gone.

I'm not very familiar with AD policies.... is there something there that may be checked that may be blocking the drive from mapping on the login?

OK; so far it looks as if nothing is wrong with AD - the user account obviously has the right values set. The net use command shouldn't have persisted - it was just a check for the data in AD.
Description of the Windows XP Professional Fast Logon Optimization feature talks about "wait for network" - it's particularly referring to folder redirection but I'd guess it could help with this (a few of the sites I found when googling "troubleshooting home directory fails to map at login" linked to it). Try setting the GPO listed here The Home Folder may be mapping incorrectly when logging on to a Windows XP-based computer (which also talks about problems with home directory connection)

Something that can often trip up users is the difference between folder and NTFS permissions. The best practice is to give Everyone Full Control in the folder sharing tab, and tweak the permissions in the NTFS Security tab.

What we do is remove everything off of the root home share (i.e. \\server\pupils) and leave only SYSTEM, Administrators group and CREATOR OWNER.

When you create the home folder in Active Directory by entering the details using the %username% trick, the folders are created and only the user and the Administrators have access to it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by srochford

OK; so far it looks as if nothing is wrong with AD - the user account obviously has the right values set. The net use command shouldn't have persisted - it was just a check for the data in AD.
Description of the Windows XP Professional Fast Logon Optimization feature talks about "wait for network" - it's particularly referring to folder redirection but I'd guess it could help with this (a few of the sites I found when googling "troubleshooting home directory fails to map at login" linked to it). Try setting the GPO listed here The Home Folder may be mapping incorrectly when logging on to a Windows XP-based computer (which also talks about problems with home directory connection)

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My clients aren't just winXP machines, i'm logging in with my user on my XP machine, on Citrix servers, on Print Servers, running various OS... So I dont think a document about a specific OS and a local modification will help me out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CraigM

Something that can often trip up users is the difference between folder and NTFS permissions. The best practice is to give Everyone Full Control in the folder sharing tab, and tweak the permissions in the NTFS Security tab.

What we do is remove everything off of the root home share (i.e. \\server\pupils) and leave only SYSTEM, Administrators group and CREATOR OWNER.

When you create the home folder in Active Directory by entering the details using the %username% trick, the folders are created and only the user and the Administrators have access to it.

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This is the way I'm setting it up, and yes, permissions seem to be added in this method.

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do I have to set a policy for myself or something with a logon script that maps the drive?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dgrams

My clients aren't just winXP machines, i'm logging in with my user on my XP machine, on Citrix servers, on Print Servers, running various OS... So I dont think a document about a specific OS and a local modification will help me out.

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do I have to set a policy for myself or something with a logon script that maps the drive?

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I know the link mentions XP but it's actually a change that was first made with XP (compared to 2000) and will affect XP, 2003 server, 2008 server, Vista, windows 7 etc etc - surely it's got to be worth a try??

You shouldn't have to do anything - you certainly don't need scripts or policies to map the drive.

Okay, I will try it out.

Question on a side note that may or may not be realeated here.
(And I'm going to make a separate thread for this issue, but I wonder if this issue could have anything to do with my drives not showing up?)

We are on a Win2000 domain :sigh:
and we are going to be upgrading soon, but I'm not holding my breath for it to happen in the next month or two... anyways...
1 of our 3 domain controllers is not replicating with the other 2.
Domain Controller 1 = dns server (seems to be working fine)
Domain Controller 2 = replicates with Server 1, but is not brining down policies created on Server 1
Domain Controller 3 = doesnt replicate with either 1 or 2

Could this have anything to do with the changes I've been making in AD with my home folders and why they are not showing up?