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I have got a laptop which is configured to have the user profile in a network drive. This is causing me a lot of headaches since the connectivity to my company is very slow. I want to relocate the profile of my user into a local directory. How do I do that?

Those are the settings at the moment:

C:\>set HOME
HOMEDRIVE=P:
HOMEPATH=\
HOMESHARE=\\SOMESERVER\_myuser$

The drive P is a network drive mapped to HOMESHARE.

I can't find where windows is setting those environment variables, not even in the registry.

The laptop is running Windows XP.

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migrated from stackoverflow.com Feb 16 '11 at 21:52

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3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

They're in the advanced system properties. On Vista/Win 7:

  1. Right-click "My Computer"
  2. Select "Properties"
  3. Select "Advanced System Settings" (link on left side of window)
  4. Select "Advanced" (tab)
  5. Select "Environment Variables" (button)
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Thanks, but the laptop is running Windows XP (I updated the question with this detail). And those variables are not visible nor editable from the system settings. – user26034 Feb 16 '11 at 20:47
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Some of them are just present in the environment for information, and are set/stored elsewhere. HOMEDRIVE/HOMEPATH are the home directory as set in the account's configuration in "Users and Accounts". Try running 'lusrmgr.msc' (local users and groups manager). Some of the advanced path settings are managed via that. – Marc B Feb 16 '11 at 20:49
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Unfortunately my user is a domain user (not local) so it's not listed in the local users and group manager. – user26034 Feb 16 '11 at 20:56
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Then you'd have to get it modded on the domain controller, which is where such things are kept for domain accounts. The other option is to just use a local account with access to the domain account's files for when you're offsite – Marc B Feb 16 '11 at 21:00
Thanks I'll check that (the domain controller). Found on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_controller – user26034 Feb 16 '11 at 21:34
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up vote 2 down vote

There's a good chance that whatever you change will just get put back the next time you attach to the domain (via Group Policies or alike).

Have you considered asking your company's IT folks if they can change that for you?

Perhaps create a local user on the laptop for use when outside of the domain, that way you're not waiting for these slow-link shortcuts, nor are you trying to circumvent the domain user settings as laid out by the company.

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That's the beauty of Windows. Even if you are root somebody else decides what your OS will do. – user26034 Feb 17 '11 at 22:11
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No that's the beauty of having a job where they supply and control the computers. OR it's the beauty of being able to unify and centrally manage a network full of company computers that users keep trying to hack at because they think it's their's. Windows has nothing to do with your boss deciding how you use company resources (notebook, network, etc.). ;) – techie007 Feb 17 '11 at 22:31
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