5-1 Desktop Environment

> Configure and manage user profiles.

User profiles automatically create and maintain the desktop settings for each user's work environment on the local computer. A user profile is created for each user when he or she logs on to a computer for the first time.

More than one user can use the same computer, and each receives desktop settings when he or she logs on.

Customization of the desktop environment made by one user does not affect another user's settings.

A user profile defines customized desktop environments, which include individual display settings, network and printer connections, and other specified settings. You or the system administrator can define your desktop environment.

Types of user profiles include:

Local user profile. A local user profile is created the first time you log on to a computer and is stored on a computer's local hard disk. Any changes made to your local user profile are specific to the computer on which you made the changes.

Roaming user profile. A roaming user profile is created by your system administrator and is stored on a server. This profile is available every time you log on to any computer on the network. Changes made to your roaming user profile are updated on the server.

To create a preconfigured roaming user profile:

• Open the System Properties dialog box.
• Under System Properties, click User Profiles.
• In the Profiles stored on this computer list, click the profile you want to copy.
• Click Copy To, and then either type the name of the destination folder or browse the network for it.
• To change the user or group allowed to use a user profile, click Change.

Mandatory user profile. A mandatory user profile is a roaming profile that can be used to specify particular settings for individuals or an entire group of users. Only system administrators can make changes to mandatory user profiles.

To create a mandatory user profile

• Open Active Directory Users and Computers.
• In the details pane, right-click the applicable user account.
• Click Properties.
• In the Properties dialog box, click the Profile tab.
• In Profile path, type the path information ending with the .man file name extension.

> Configure support for multiple languages or multiple locations.

Enable multiple-language support.

Open Control Panel select regional options

The selected check boxes indicate which language groups are installed. To install an additional language group, click to select the check box next to the language group. To remove a language group, clear its check box. Only members of the Administrators group can install language groups.

> Manage applications by using Windows Installer packages.

Windows Installer manages the installation and removal of applications by applying a set of centrally defined setup rules during the installation process. These setup rules define the installation and configuration of the installed application. In addition, you use this service to modify, repair, or remove an existing application. The Windows Installer technology consists of the Windows Installer service for the Windows operating systems and the package (.msi) file format used to hold information regarding the application setup and installations.

Windows Installer manages the installation, addition, and deletion of software components, monitors file resiliency, and maintains basic disaster recovery by way of rollbacks. Additionally, Windows Installer supports installing and running software from multiple sources, and can be customized by developers that want to install custom applications.

To use Windows Installer packages with Windows Explorer:

• Open Windows Explorer.
• Right-click the Windows Installer package (.msi file), and then click Install, Repair, or Uninstall.

To install/remove/repair a package using the command line

• Open Command Prompt.
• To install, type msiexec /i [package|product_code] and then press ENTER.
• To remove, type msiexec /x [[package|ProductCode] and then press ENTER.
• To repair, type msiexec /f[p][o][e][d][c][a][u][m][s][v] {package|ProductCode} and then press ENTER.
  • /f enables one or more of the following command-line options:
  • p - Reinstall only if the file is missing.
  • o - Reinstall if the file is missing or if an older version is installed.
  • e - Reinstall if the file is missing or an equal or older version is installed.
  • d - Reinstall if the file is missing or a different version is installed.
  • c - Reinstall if the file is missing or the stored checksum does not match the calculated value.
  • a - Force all the files to be reinstalled.
  • u - Rewrite all the required user-specific registry entries.
  • m - Rewrite all the required computer-specific registry entries.
  • s - Overwrite all the existing shortcuts.
  • v - Run from source and recache the local package.

Where: package is the name of the Windows Installer package file. product_code is the globally unique identifier (GUID) of the Windows Installer package.