I have had a roaming user on my network that occasionally experiences crippling log on times, upwards of 40 minutes sometimes. After fighting with it for a month and learning what I can of this problem, this is caused by the NTUSER.DAT file being replicated over and over into prfXX.tmp files (The x's are random numbers.) According to the Microsoft information I read, when a roaming user logs off, a temporary file copies the current roaming profile information, then overwrites the stored version on the server, deleting itself when completed. Should something interrupt the process, or not let go of the roaming profile, the temporary file never writes over the server copy, and just saves itself to the user's profile. This article is seen here... http://support2.microsoft.com/?kbid=328607
I am creating this post to see if anyone else has had this problem. If so, what could be causing the hangup? My first guess was the user getting frustrated and shutting off the computer rather than waiting for the log in or log off process. However, I know there has to be more than just this one person doing that, and I haven't seen the problem for anyone else. Are there any known programs that refuse to "let go" of the roaming profile? I have recreated the profile and replaced the computer, with no change.
Any input would be appreciated. For technical information, we have a mixed environment of XP, 7, and a small handful of 8.1 computers. The user has only been using XP as far as I am aware. Our current domain controller is running on Windows Server 2012. Our previous domain controller was running server 2003, and currently serves as the backup controller.