You cannot use a Group Policy setting to set the same mandatory profile for all the Terminal Services users in Windows Server 2003

On a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer, you cannot use a Group Policy setting to set the same mandatory profile for all Terminal Services users.

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003, 32-bit versions

Windows Server 2003, x64-based versions

Windows Server 2003, Itanium-based versions

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

This hotfix implements a new Do not append the user name to the profile path policy setting. This policy setting has the following path:This policy setting specifies whether Terminal Services uses a specified network path for roaming user profiles.

You can use this policy setting to specify a shared location where the profiles are stored. You can also let users use the same profile on all the terminal servers in an organizational unit. By default, Terminal Services stores all user profiles locally on the server that has Terminal Services enabled.

To use this policy setting, type the path of the shared location. When you specify the path, use the following form: Do not specify a placeholder for the user alias. Terminal Services automatically appends the user alias when the user logs on. If the shared location does not exist, Terminal Services displays an error message on the server and stores the user profiles locally.

If the status of this policy setting is set to Enabled, Terminal Services uses the specified path as the root directory for all the user profiles. The profiles themselves are located in subdirectories that are named as the alias of each user. If the status is set to Disabled or Not Configured, user profiles are stored locally on the server unless the server administrator specifies otherwise.

Note The roaming profiles that are specified with this policy setting apply only to Terminal Services connections. A user may also have a Windows roaming profile. In a Terminal Services session, the Terminal Services roaming profile always takes precedence.

If the Do not append the user name to the profile path check box is selected, Terminal Services does not automatically append the user name when the user logs on. We recommend that you set this option only if you want to specify a mandatory profile for all the Terminal Services users.

The Do not append the user name to the profile path policy setting is based on the following registry entry: For more information about the terminology that is used in this article, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: