Outlook Roaming Profile/PST

[djtech2k]

I have a topic posted in the server 2003 forum that may be better suited here. I will post a brief description of it and post a link to that post and its replies.

Here is the thread:

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1171726&page=1

Here is my original post:

Hello Everyone.

I have a GPO question that I would like to bounce off of some of you. This is an issue that I need to resolve for outlook client settings. I have loaded the office GPO adm's so i have anything available as far as I know.

I have a remote site with a couple thousand users that currently uses roving outlook profiles with a product called redfox. We need to get away from this product. What this product is doing is kepping track of a user's pst files no matter where they login. Each user gets a home drive mapped inside of a logon script. Each person's pst files are stored in an exchange folder inside of their own home drive.

I need to use group policy to do away with this redfox product. I am looking for a policy setting that forces their outlook to look into the location I mentioned. A system variable can be used since everyone's should be the same. I noticed the "Default location for PST files" policy, but that only sets a default. The only thing that I have been able to come up with is one of the following:

1) Script a registry entry to do it and include the script as a local machine logon script via GPO.

2) Possibly use the Profile entry in AD. I am not sure that this would do what I want it to, but I thought it may. If I implemented roaming profiles and specified the "%HOMEDRIVE%" as the address for the profile, I was wondering if this would cause outlook to automatically look in that location for pst files.

Either way, I am looking for a hands-off GPO solution to ridding ourselves of redfox. Any ideas are definetely appreciated.

I know centrally located pst's are not a good idea, but this is not an option for me to change. I need a way to make sure that all email users at this location can logon to any computer and maintain access to their mailbox and pst without manual intervention. Any ideas are appreciated.

 

[djtech2k]

I actually found the answer and am testing it now. If it works, here is the answer:

In the [General] section, add this entry:

BackupProfile=No

I will post back the results.

 

[djtech2k]

I seem to be getting the previous issue again. As I am making changes to the prf file, now when you run outlook.exe /importprf example.prf, it launches the outlook wizard and it tries to build a profile.

It was doing that initially, but it stopped along the way as I made changes. Now, it is doing it again. Any idea why this happens? I need this to run via logon script or GPO and be transparent to the user.