Windows 7 Pro Roaming Profile not working on 2003 Domain

Forums › Microsoft Windows › Windows 7 Pro Roaming Profile not working on 2003 Domain

lyonrouge

1990 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 20

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Topic # 60538 27-Apr-2010 18:09

I've seem cross references but no solutions to this in the forums, has anyone encountered and corrected this issue? Note: I intended to use a blend of Win7 and Win XP (32/64) on the domain so hoping to avoid migration which would mean I could not continue to roam between XP machines.

boby55

1539 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 39

Trusted

Reply # 323805 27-Apr-2010 18:20

Basicly it comes down to The way 2003 redirects folders (aka roaming my documents).

Easiest solution upgrade domain controller to server 2008

quandum

204 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 5

Reply # 323912 27-Apr-2010 21:45

boby55: Basicly it comes down to The way 2003 redirects folders (aka roaming my documents).

Easiest solution upgrade domain controller to server 2008

Easiest solution, probably not. Correct technical solution - absolutely.

IMHO, easiest solution would be downgrade the client to Vista / XP ;-)

cheers

I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code

#BOFH

lyonrouge

1990 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 20

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 323919 27-Apr-2010 21:56

Thanks, migrating servers from 2003 to 2008 for one client is a little hard to justify.

I've downloaded the microsoft whitepaper for supporting XP & Vista clients. From what I've read the Win 7 architecture for roaming is the same as Vista so I'll test it and see how we go.

Question : Would 2008 support blended client architectures out of the box, or would I have to migrate all XP up to Win 7/ 2008, loosing backward compatibility?

I'll update this thread with the findings from the MS whitepaper

boby55

1539 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 39

Trusted

Reply # 323924 27-Apr-2010 22:15

lyonrouge: Thanks, migrating servers from 2003 to 2008 for one client is a little hard to justify.

I've downloaded the microsoft whitepaper for supporting XP & Vista clients. From what I've read the Win 7 architecture for roaming is the same as Vista so I'll test it and see how we go.

Question : Would 2008 support blended client architectures out of the box, or would I have to migrate all XP up to Win 7/ 2008, loosing backward compatibility?

I'll update this thread with the findings from the MS whitepaper

I havn't tried the microsoft whitepaper, so keep us posted.

Yes Windows Server 2008 supports XP clients aswell as Vista / 7, I am unsure about 2000 and earlier tho but I presume so.

lyonrouge

1990 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 20

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 325557 1-May-2010 12:59

Downloaded and installed "Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7", enabled Group Policy Management and edited teh "Default Domain Policy" for "Folder Redirection" and applied the changes as per the Microsoft whitepaper "Managing Roaming User Data Deployment Guide.doc". the redirection worked for everything except Application Data. Win 7 wants to use AppData causing "%userprofile%\Application Data" to not resolve. I'm assuming this is the root cause of being signed on with a temporary profile, but I'm continuing the investigation.

lyonrouge

1990 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 20

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 325828 2-May-2010 18:21

only solution I found was to delete the existing roaming profile directory and let Win 7 rebuild it.

lyonrouge

1990 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 20

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 330153 14-May-2010 15:01

had to do the same for XP existing profile and, oddly enough, empty the trash. The redireect makes the synchronisation transparent and showed a file lock when processing $RECYCLE, so emptied recycle and fixed that.

lyonrouge

1990 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 20

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 332949 21-May-2010 14:09

it just get worse and worse. Win7 writes redirect files that XP cannot delete. Win7 writes files that even it can not delete. Desktop exists twice. I can see why not a lot of business have made the changed, what a drama.

Roaming profile was such a good feature in XP but Vista / 7 it's catastrophic.

lyonrouge

1990 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 20

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 350357 12-Jul-2010 17:42

boby55:
lyonrouge: Thanks, migrating servers from 2003 to 2008 for one client is a little hard to justify.

I've downloaded the microsoft whitepaper for supporting XP & Vista clients. From what I've read the Win 7 architecture for roaming is the same as Vista so I'll test it and see how we go.

Question : Would 2008 support blended client architectures out of the box, or would I have to migrate all XP up to Win 7/ 2008, loosing backward compatibility?

I'll update this thread with the findings from the MS whitepaper

I havn't tried the microsoft whitepaper, so keep us posted.

Yes Windows Server 2008 supports XP clients aswell as Vista / 7, I am unsure about 2000 and earlier tho but I presume so.

Blending Win XP (Roaming Profiles) with Win 7 (redirect) with Server 2003 DC has been a cataclismic disaster. Before I rebuild the domain with 2008, can anyone confirm (from first hand experience) that this will resolve the issue and allow Win XP roaming profile and Win 7 redirect to work together, i.e. not just some users on XT and some on 7, but the same user going between the two?

ps. is there any way to get the Win 7 redirect "enhancement" to work like roaming profile, i.e. not write to the server when users are working on their desktop? Perhaps I can decommission the Win 7 client and try to repair the roaming profile, but I suspect I've gone to far to get rid of it.