Advise on the best type of profile to use

[NIKKI19]

Hi, the school I work at has roaming profiles set up for all users ( set up by the previous technician). This was fine while we had a suite of PCs but we have recently purchased laptops and login times are very slow.

 

I have read all the info on here about the types of profile to use and how to set it up, and had thought a mandatory profile would be the way forward, however, I want to set up teacher laptops, meeting room pcs and classroom laptops with different shortcuts, desktops etc.

 

If I remove the roaming profiles from the server and created local default user profiles, and then use GPM to redirect my documents etc and apply policies would this work ok in anyones experience.

 

I think if I was starting from scratch life would be a bit easier but some users here are reluctant to too much change!

 

Thannks

[FN-GM]

I would use mandatory profiles - lots of info here about them - mandatory profiles - Google Search

[WithoutMotive]

Always go mandatory:)

[elsiegee40]

This thread: http://www.edugeek.net/forums/windows/18661-creating-small-mandatory-profile.html

 

And the wiki: A Guide to Profiles

 

Should help quite a bit!

 

 

Staff here have roaming profiles and can muck about with their desktops, the children have mandatory profiles.

 

I have had to institute a script to clear out cookies which build up and make roaming profiles huge and also empty the recycle bin autmatically. we have Volume Shadow Copy (my secret... the users don't know!) so I use that to retrieve deletion disasters.

 

I don't mess around with changing desktops dependent on location. the teachers accept that on some PCs, the software on their desktop may not be installed (Usually Active Primary and NetOps)

 

In the start menu (separate one for staff and pupils), I do taylor the options available by room, so the users sees something like this

 

Learning Support (containing Numbershark, Wordshark, Mind Manager, etc)Microsoft Office (containing Word, Excel, etc)

Science Room (containing Digital Blue, LogIt, etc)

Whiteboard Software (containing ActivPrimary, EasiTeach, etc)

 

As you can see, some of the folders are room specific... if you are in the science room, this software is available in addition to the standard stuff.

 

This works for us because we are a small school with a relatively small number of rooms that have non-standard software.

[Dom_]

Use a mandatory profile - you can script the shortcuts... The one I use is this:

 

' ---------Creates New Folder In Programs Menu Dependant On Room------

Dim objShell, objFSO, createfolder, strComputerName, objRegExp

set objNetwork = CreateObject("WScript.Network")
set objRegExp = New RegExp
set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

strComputerName = objNetwork.ComputerName

ProgramMenuFolder = WshShell.SpecialFolders("Programs")


If CheckRoom("ICT") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\ICT",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("E6") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\ICT",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("DT") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\DT",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("LIB") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\Library",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("MRB") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\Maths",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("SRB") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\Science",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("Eng") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\English",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("GBL") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\ICT",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("GBL") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\DT",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("GBL") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\Maths",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("GBL") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\Science",Programmenufolder, True
End If

If CheckRoom("GBL") Then
objFSO.CopyFolder "\\server\MandatoryProfiles$\Room Shortcuts\English",Programmenufolder, True
End If


Function CheckRoom(RoomName)
  CheckRoom = False
  objRegExp.IgnoreCase = True
  objRegExp.Global = True
  objRegExp.Pattern = RoomName
  CheckRoom = objRegExp.Test(strComputerName)
End Function

 

Change server share to the folder where you have created your room shortcuts, in my case it's a folder called room shortcuts - each has a folder in containing the shortcuts for each different room.

 

This adds them to start > programs > name of folder

 

The checkroom must be the start of the computers name.

 

Make this apply at logon and you're laughing

 

Dom

Edited April 30, 2009 by Dom_