Deleting old profiles only

[mbledsoe]

We have several PCs that are shared by multiple users. Each user that logs onto a PC creates a profile. Every time someone logs onto that PC, the operating system has to go through all of the existing profiles and choose the correct one. That slows down the logon process exponentially. We have searched for a tool to manage the profiles and have had no luck. Microsoft provides a tool to delete ALL profiles, we would like a tool that would delete old profiles only. Can you help?

 

[dankelt]

Can you just right click my computer, properties, user profiles, and delete the ones you don't want?

 

[mbledsoe]

We have 40-50 such PCs spread through out the local campus - some buildings up to 2 miles apart. The typical PC user will not be expected to perform this opeation and will not have the desire. Also we try to avoid the requirement that tech support make regular visits to the PCs. Automated solution - if possible - would be ideal.

 

[wolluf]

Is this a domain network? (cos if it is, domain admin could sit at one PC and access all the others, and do clean up. Or you could use a utility like psexec - part of

http://www.sysinternals.com

pstools to start remote jobs to remove 'old' profiles -- once you've decided on what constitutes an old profile, if you're adept with batch files).

PS. I'm not convinced having a lot of local profiles is what's slowing things down - you'd have to have literally thousands - it just doesn't take windows that long to find a folder on the hard drive - especially when they're all in the same place. Individual users having LARGE profiles certainly slows things down (for that user). As does having a hard disk more than 90% full and a host of other things.