KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub

Q165398: Profiles for Members of Guests Group Are Deleted

Article: Q165398
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): WinNT:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbnetwork
Last Modified: 09-AUG-2001

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY
=======

If a user is added to the Guests group (or the Domain Guests group, which
belongs to the Guests group) in Windows NT 4.0, when the user logs on, that
user's profile information is only stored temporarily. When that user logs off,
the entire profile is deleted. This includes everything stored in the
%userprofile% directory: the user's registry hive information, custom desktop
icons, and so on.

If the user is assigned membership to both the Guests group and the
Administrators group, the user's profile will not be deleted when the user logs
off. If the user is subsequently removed from the Administrators group and
remains a member of the Guests group, the user's profile will be deleted the
next time the user logs off. This is by design.

MORE INFORMATION
================

The Guests group plays a special role in Windows NT 4.0 that integrates with the
behavior of the new Windows NT 4.0 user profile scheme. Membership in the Guests
group should only be granted to users who are intended to be guests on a
computer or in a domain. It should never be granted to regular users. Guest
accounts are not meant for users who have data and need to log on and off
domains often. By intent, guests are people who may need to log to on a domain
for a specific reason and then log off, but they do not stay or use the system
for an extended time.

If users log on to a domain frequently enough that they would want to customize a
desktop and keep data on it, they are not guests; they should be considered
users, and should no longer be part of the Guests group.

Following this logic, if someone is made a member of the Administrators group,
that user is definitely not a guest, which is why the user profile is not
deleted when the user is a member of both groups.

Additional query words: policy operators power
======================================================================
Keywords          : kbnetwork 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400
Version           : WinNT:4.0
Hardware          : x86
Issue type        : kbinfo

=============================================================================

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.