Windows 2000 Folder Redirection for Roaming Profiles

This article examines how Microsoft Windows 2000 handles folder redirection in environments utilizing roaming user profiles. It explains the mechanics of separating critical user data from profile synchronization, outlines the role of Group Policy, details which folders can be redirected, and highlights how this architecture reduces logon times and minimizes network bandwidth consumption.

The Relationship Between Roaming Profiles and Folder Redirection

In Microsoft Windows 2000, a roaming user profile downloads a user's entire profile directory from a network share to the local workstation during logon and uploads any changes back to the server upon logoff. While this allows users to maintain a consistent environment across multiple machines, large profiles—primarily caused by heavy directories like "My Documents"—lead to severe network bottlenecks and extended logon and logoff delays.

Windows 2000 addresses this challenge by pairing roaming user profiles with Folder Redirection. Rather than copying designated folders back and forth across the network during authentication, Folder Redirection points specific profile subdirectories directly to a server-based path (a Universal Naming Convention, or UNC, share). The operating system bypasses these folders during the standard profile synchronization routine, allowing immediate access to network data while dramatically speeding up local session startup.

Folders Eligible for Redirection in Windows 2000

Windows 2000 allows administrators to redirect four specific profile folders:

  • My Documents (including the nested My Pictures folder)
  • Application Data
  • Desktop
  • Start Menu

All other profile components, such as the registry hive (NTUSER.DAT), Favorites, and local temporary files, remain within the standard roaming profile structure.

Configuration via Group Policy

Folder Redirection is configured through Active Directory Group Policy Objects (GPOs) located under:

User Configuration \ Windows Settings \ Folder Redirection

Administrators configure the redirection mechanism using two primary methods:

  1. Basic Redirection: Redirects everyone's folder to the same network share. This is typically configured using the %username% variable to automatically generate dedicated subfolders for each account (for example, \\Server\Share\%username%).
  2. Advanced Redirection: Directs the folder to different network locations based on the user's Active Directory security group membership.

Policy Settings and Permissions

Windows 2000 provides three core settings under the Settings tab for each redirected folder:

  • Grant the user exclusive rights to [folder name]: Enabled by default. Windows 2000 sets NTFS permissions so that only the user and the local system have Full Control over the target directory, excluding even domain administrators unless permissions are manually adjusted.
  • Move the contents of [folder name] to the new location: When checked, Windows automatically migrates the existing local or existing server files into the newly configured path when the policy is applied.
  • Policy Removal Behavior: Determines what happens if the Group Policy Object is removed. Administrators can choose to leave the data in the redirected network location or redirect the folder back to the local user profile location.

Offline Files Integration

To ensure users have access to redirected folders when disconnected from the corporate network (such as laptop users), Windows 2000 tightly integrates Folder Redirection with Client-Side Caching (Offline Files). By default, redirected folders—particularly My Documents—are automatically configured for offline caching, allowing local reads and writes that synchronize back to the server via the Windows Synchronization Manager when network connectivity is restored.