A roaming profile is a type of user account that stores all your settings and documents in Windows that can follow you from machine to machine on the same network. It's quite easy to set one up too if you're using Windows 2000 or later.
Your profile when created stores everything about your Windows environment from simple things like desktop settings, to it including everything in your Documents folder. If you have multiple machines in your workplace, or at home, and want to be able to log in as yourself on any machine on that network then the trick is to set up a roaming profile. To be able to do this though you need a version of Microsoft Windows that supports Active Directory. You should be able to do this on Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 2008, Windows 7 and possible Windows XP Pro (I've not tried it in this one). Note that in non-server versions of Windows that the snap-in for Active Directory is not available until you install the Administration Pack.
The first thing you'll need to do is to create a shared folder on the server that will store each user's profile in - this should be done whilst logged in as an Administrator. If you're setting up many profiles then the first one you create should really be a template which you use to create the others from - this should have any default programs, permissions and files that you wish each user to have as this will save a lot of time creating the profiles.
The profiles themselves are created from the Active Directory Users and Groups window (usually accessible from the Administrative Tools folder in the Control Panel), if not then you can add it using the "Add/Remove Snap-in" feature. Once you've made sure you've got a shared folder you're ready to start creating the first profile. The location of this folder will then need to be used in the "User Profile Path" field when creating a new profile by clicking on the profile button from the user properties dialogue for the user you want to use. Note: you should include the name of the user in this path also so that you have control over how they are named.
Next, go to the System window (from the Control Panel), and click on the User Profiles tab - depending on your operating system you may find this hidden slightly. For example, in Windows Vista it isn't a tab, but a button under "Advanced system settings". When you've found the window click on the User you wish to use (which must be one you're not logged in as), and then click the "Copy to" button. You will then be asked to enter a "copy to" path which maybe something along the lines of:
\\akhenaten\user_profiles\dpaulIn this example "akhenaten" is the name of the computer on the network, "user_profiles" is the name of the network share the profile is stored in, and "dpaul" is the name of the profile I want to use. Once you've okayed all the open windows the profile should then exist in that folder.
If you now go to one of the client Windows machines and go to their user profile tab in System (via the control panel) the user profile type should now be set as roaming.
