If you want to ensure that all of the user profiles created for all accounts are placed on a partition where they are not affected by Windows Disk Protection, you must customize the computer operating system installation so that the default location for user profiles is not on the Windows Disk Protection protected partition.
The only supported way to change the default location for all user accounts is during Windows XP or Windows Vista installation, and you must make the change by automating the installation of Windows with a special answer file. This method changes the location where all user profiles are stored, including the Default and All Users profiles. This directs Windows to automatically create profiles on a separate partition and overrides the default system drive location for user profiles when they are created by Windows SteadyState.
Answer files are text files that contain responses to some, or all, of the queries that occur during the installation process. This answer file is called Unattended.txt in Windows XP, and Unattended.xml in Windows Vista. After creating the answer file, you can apply it to as many computers as necessary. It can also be included in scripts that automate installation on multiple computers.
The easiest way to create an answer file for an unattended installation of Windows is to use a deployment tool. Depending on the operating system your computer is running, use one of the following tools:
- For computers running Windows XP, use Windows Setup Manager.
Windows Setup Manager provides a wizard-based interface for
creating the answer file. For more information about using Setup
Manager to automate installations, see the "Automating and
Customizing Installations" section in the Windows XP
Professional Resource Kit. The answer file you create by using
Setup Manager can include other information, such as the time zone
and network settings.
- For computers running Window Vista, use Windows System Image
Manager (Windows SIM). Windows SIM is part of the new Windows
Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK), a set of deployment tools
for Windows Vista. For more information about deploying Windows
Vista, see Windows
Vista Deployment Step-By-Step on the Microsoft TechNet Web
site.
After you create an answer file, you can change the default location where user profiles are stored by typing the following command:
- For Windows XP:
[GuiUNattended]
ProfilesDir = drive:\foldername - For Windows Vista:
[GuiUNattended]
ProfilesDirectory = drive:\foldername