hardware profiles and software profiles

[richnsue]

i am finding the hardware profiles facility useful, but what i am now wondering, is it possible to set up software profiles without having to run seperate operating systems for each one?

[BipolarBill]

OS please?

[richnsue]

windows xp and me.

[BipolarBill]

In WinXP, go to Users and Passwords in Control Panel. Create ne for other users at either Admin or User level.

In ME, look in Control Panel > Passwords > User Profiles.

[richnsue]

thanks for that, i am now using that feature.
i suppose i was dreaming of the impossible, that is to only install the software a user uses in his/her profile, to keep the system as lean and mean as poss.

[BipolarBill]

Windows lean and mean? :p No...that will never happen.

Most times, in Win2K/XP, an Administrator is the only one who can install a program. If someone else want to install, they must ask. That is a bit impractical at home. While you cannot use roaming profiles in XP Home, you can change the default installation path to a specific drive/partition for each user. Unfortunately that usually wastes even more space because you may end up with three Office folders on one PC. :eek:

No...the default setup makes sense at home.

[richnsue]

ok then, so what if i used several operating systems like xp for example, so that each one was configured for specific useage?
and trim out all the features that i didn't need in each one. and only install the exact software to be used in each one. would that be worth it for the speed and stability gains?
and how many times can i install xp on one hard drive?

[BipolarBill]

how many times can i install xp on one hard drive? With simple product activation, just once. If you get creative and call MS rather than connecting over the net, you can activate at least 3 times.

This sounds like an interesting idea. You'll have to do without "fast user switching" naturally. All you need is 3 partitions/drives.

[richnsue]

hmmmmmmmmm...thanks. :)