Cloning User Profiles in Win 7?

[Tunnelcat]

OK, this is pissing me off. I just want to create a duplicate standard user profile with the same desktop and browser settings as the admin profile. How do you transfer the settings from an admin user profile to a standard user profile in Windows 7? I just want to clone the admin profile to the standard profile. When you go to Advanced System settings > User Profiles, the 'copy to' button is grayed out!

[Foil]

Odd, it's not grayed out for me. [I'm logged into my normal account, which belongs to the Administrators group.]

[Tunnelcat]

Not here. When I'm logged into my administrator account, it's grayed out. The only place it's not grayed out is if I select the Default Profile.

[Heretic]

Yes it's grayed out for me too. Weird since I am the only user on here and it's admin level.

[fliptw]

thats meant for cloning the default profile to newly created accounts, not for cloning between other accounts.

[Tunnelcat]

Well that's just swell! What are you supposed to do AFTER you've created an admin account and THEN you want to create a standard account with the same settings? Go through and set up everything from memory again and I know that would be damned near impossible! There are way too many settings to remember and it took me forever to tweak it the first time! Stupid #@$^#%$^&*#@! Microsoft!

[Krom]

When I wanted to try out running W7 on a limited account, I simply created a secondary account in the admin group and the only time I ever log in to it is when I want to rapidly install a lot of software on the system and the time I downgraded my primary account to limited. If you don't actually have a need for separate accounts other than you wish to have your primary account as limited, all you need to do is create an admin user and use it to rename / limit the old account.

I never use the \"Administrator\" account which I always rename and lock down with a strong password for security purposes anyway.

[Sirius]

Only way I can think of to actually copy a user is to make a new user (preferably same type to minimise chances of breaking stuff), copy all the profile folder files from one to the other, then copy the registry tree from one to the other... and then downgrade the new user to a standard user through the UI.

Ridiculously complicated, sure (might not even work properly, especially if the user name is repeated in the registry at points) - but I don't think Windows was ever designed to facilitate account cloning.

[Heretic]

Can't copy User.dat because it's open by windows. Going to be the same for any open file in the User/username folder. There is a third party tool that can do it. Vanguard Administrator and the CLONE User Tool I have no idea how much it would cost but you can download a trial version of it.

https://www.go2vanguard.com/administrator_clone.php

[BUBBALOU]

Seriously why are you going through so much trouble, not that complicated

LOCAL USER
C:\\Users\\\"your name here\"\\AppData\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu
(you can drop Program Icons in the Default folder of this type for any new user btw)

ALL USERS
C:\\ProgramData\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu

[Heretic]

That doesn't duplicate all the settings of the user that has been modified for the account she is wanting to clone.

[BUBBALOU]

No reason to Clone an account.... That's the point, windows is not that complicated

[snoopy]

I'd go with the idea of creating a new account with admin rights, and then downgrade your normal-use account.

[spam]
Or get Linux, and copy home directories and setup user rights.
[/spam]

[Tunnelcat]

When I wanted to try out running W7 on a limited account, I simply created a secondary account in the admin group and the only time I ever log in to it is when I want to rapidly install a lot of software on the system and the time I downgraded my primary account to limited. If you don't actually have a need for separate accounts other than you wish to have your primary account as limited, all you need to do is create an admin user and use it to rename / limit the old account.

I never use the "Administrator" account which I always rename and lock down with a strong password for security purposes anyway.

Well, this method sounds like the simplest way to do it. Thanks Krom.

[Spidey]

I just tried Krom’s method in an old XP Pro box…works great.

Your new admin. account will be generic, but your old account will have it’s preferences intact.

[Tunnelcat]

It works as advertised on Win 7 too. But what I really want is to have both accounts with the same settings, desktops and slimmed down Touchsmart settings. The computer I'm dealing with is from HP and it's loaded with all sorts of extra junk programs, some of it I don't want running. It took me AGES to shut off all the crap that runs automatically at startup or in the background and when you create a new account, everything reverts to the new, out of the box system settings! That's why I want 2 nicely pruned and set up accounts, one admin and one standard and I would like to create the standard account from the already nicely working admin account's setup.

[Heretic]

So why not just uninstall all that bloatware you don't want running? Several programs will help you do it or just use the built in programs and features app that comes with Windows 7. I love the fact I can put my own machine together and buy a disk with just the OS and then put what apps I want on it instead of getting all that crap manufactures put on them.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos ... new_laptop

http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/features

[Tunnelcat]

Some of the extra stuff I do use occassionally, especially the Touchsmart features, Media Center and the TV software. I just don't want it running when I'm not using it. They always turn on that crap by default for the average user.

I only use the HP computer for surfing and media stuff. The next machine I get is going to be lean and mean for gaming with NO extra software, ONLY the OS. I'll even be turning off Windows Media Center that's been stuffed into Win 7 too. That by itself is a resource hog.

[Spidey]

I’m just curious…why do you need preferences in your admin account? You only want to be there to do changes in your machine…then you go back to your user account.

[Krom]

In Windows 7 with UAC on you can avoid even logging in to the admin account for system changes or installs you need to perform. I haven't actually logged into my admin account in months. Instead all you need to do is right click and run as administrator then supply the password for the admin account and you can change or install virtually anything from within the limited account. Most things can even automatically ask for elevation before installing even without specifically telling it to run as administrator.

If on the other hand you disabled UAC...

Now on the cloning user front, if you are completely stuck on the idea I believe there are workarounds by using sysprep to use your existing administrator profile to customize the \"Default User\" profile after which all new profiles you create will duplicate the settings. In other words you would be doing the same thing HP did when they set up the image which causes new users to have all the bloatware and etc programs installed in every profile. However sysprep is a massive amount of work and is also a major overkill for what you are trying to do.

[Tunnelcat]

Both you guys are right, I'm making a mountain out of a molehill here. What I'll do is what everyone suggested at first, make a new admin account and then downgrade my first admin account to standard. There are still a couple of obnoxious things that will have to be turned off in my new admin account though, like that stupid HP Advisor and some of the Touchsmart crapware that runs on startup. That stuff really interferes with installing or managing things when it's messing around in the background. HP just trying to make things simple for the user by having everything conveniently already running for you!