How do I copy a user profile when changing domains?

Question

I am going to be joining my computer to a different domain than the one it is on right now.

How can I copy my current user profile and preferences to the new user profile that will be created when I login on the new domain?

Answer 1

This is a list of references (in preferred order of reference).

1. How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile in Windows XP
   Microsoft support KB811151

   • Copy a user profile -- Microsoft XP Product Information

   • How do I copy one user profile to another? (Indiana Univ KB)
     They also have these two interesting notes.

     Note: At Indiana University, the University Information Security Office (UISO) recommends that you normally refrain from running your Windows computer as an administrator. For more, see What is the principle of least privilege?
     Note: As copying one profile to another will completely overwrite the target profile, you should back up any important data before copying over a profile. It is also a good idea to test these steps on a test profile before copying over a profile in use.

   • eHow: How to Copy a Windows User Profile

   • Petri IT KB: Copy User Profiles in Windows XP

Answer 2

In XP (possibly works like this in 2000, no promises about Vista):

• right-click on My Computer, click Properties (or bring up the System control panel).
• On the Advanced tab, click the User Profiles > Settings button.
• In the User Profiles dialog, select your profile, click "Copy To", and enter a location. You've just made a backup of that profile. You may need to be logged in as Administrator, and logged out of the profile you're copying, to properly copy the profile's registry.

To restore this into another profile, just copy the files in your backup into the other profile. Again, don't be logged into the profile you're copying into.