Creating and Configuring User Accounts

To configure user accounts on a local machine the Local Users and Groups console is used.

Click on Start.

Right-click on My Computer.

Select Manage.

The Computer Management Console will appear. Expand Local Users and Groups to configure user and group accounts.

Open the Users folder to configure user accounts.

A list of all current user accounts is shown. To create a new account right-click on the Users folder.

Select New User.

Fill out all of the details for the new user account. The User name is the name the person will use to logon to the machine.

Choose a password for the user.

The User must change password at next logon is a handy option which allows the user to choose his or her own password.

The User cannot change password and Password never expires option are only enabled when the User must change password at next logon box is unchecked.

It’s a good idea to disable a user account when the user goes away on holiday. Certain security settings can also disable accounts.

Click on Create to create the new account.

Click on Close once you are finished creating user accounts.

The new user has now been created. Right-click on the user to view additional properties.

Select Properties. N.B. To reset a user’s password select Set Password.

The General page displays the settings you selected when you created the user. Select Member Of to view group memberships.

Currently this user is a member of the Users group. The user can be added to additional groups from here. Click on Profile to view the user’s profile settings.

By default a user’s profile is stored on the local computer. A network path can be entered here so that the profile becomes roaming.

A home folder is a folder where the user can store his/her files. A home folder can be stored on a remote machine and automatically mapped to a drive letter when the user logs on.

Roaming Profiles and Home folders are dealt with in greater detail later on in this course.

Ross Jackson’s details now appear alongside other users’ folders in the Documents and Settings folder.

Ross Jackson’s details now appear alongside other users’ folders in the Documents and Settings folder.

The Default User Profile folder contains the settings that are copied to every new user created. By changing the contents of this folder, you can set a standard desktop environment for any new users on a system.