XP user preferences

[littlewill]

It seems that when setting up multiple users on XP that it is a mirror with everyone else.
For example, if one person installs a program and you aren't given the choice of saying "just current user" or "all users" everyone has that program. Also if you delete things on the desktop everyone's are deleted.
I thought that the idea of current user in the registry was so everyone had their own computer?
A confused Littlewill

[Butuz]

The shortcuts for programs etc are held in C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\

When a program installs a shortcut for "all users" it puts it in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\ Whatever you put in here - all users will get it be is shortcuts in \Start Menu\ or shortcuts in \Desktop\

If you want to install shortcuts for particular users only, copy the short cuts into C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\ and then delete them from C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\ - that way only the users you want get the shortcuts you want them to.

Butuz

[littlewill]

Thanks !

[yamangman]

It isn't really 'every user getting their own computer', all they get is their own frontend if you will, as anything can still be accessed through the hard disk unless you setup the security. Other than that you can arrange shortcuts as Butuz said.

[directhex]

this is much a legacy issue as anything - windows begain as a single-user only operating system, and in the interests of backward compatability, the multi-user setup isn't very well developed. single-user unix (as opposed to multi-user multics) didn't last long, and a multi-user design is one of the root principles o unix-style systems such as linux