Windows XP multiple users; Feedback on XP multiple user

  • Thread starter Thread starter jdbacz
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J

jdbacz

Hi,

I have a brand new PC running Windows XP.
Day 1 my connection to the internet was blazing fast using
a cable modem. I then installed multiple users with
limited access for the other users. Shortly after this,
my connection to the internet slowed down noticeably.
When switching between users, the system leaves "Compaq
connection agent" application running on original user.
The CPU runs at 100% for as long a 10 to 60 seconds.

Compaq's Help recommends that I reload the system from
recovery disk.
1. Can anyone help with this problem?



2. I'm also looking for general feedback on multiple
users for Windows XP. Research I did indicates there
appears to be general kinks with it. When it works things
are fine. When it doesn't work it's a big headache.

I generally understand the benefits of multiple users but
I'd appreciate others weighing in on the benefit/
headaches of multiple users.

Thanx
 
Try turning off fast user switching. That way, you will be forced to log off
before another user logs on. That may help.
 
I'm also relatively new to XP but have been avid pc professional for 20
years. That said, I'm extremely disappointed/confused with the way security
seems to work in XP. Ignoring some "harder to find and designate" (e.g.
Power User etc.) groups, everyone seems to have to belong to either an
Administer, User or Guest group. You designate security by simply what group
they are in. You control the security by controlling what that group is
allowed to do.

No-where can I find anywhere to designate that I want "User A" to be able to
do "this" while "User B" can't. It's just "user group" can either do or not
do "this".

What I expected to find was that when logged in as Administrator, I could
pull up a dialog box of all "known" users. I could then designate a specific
user and set their specific "policy". I also expected to easily be able to
create both additional groups and additional policies and control in minute
detail EXACTLY what that policy allowed, e.g. down to things like "no
navigation of any sort up from "home" folder in open/save dialogs, no right
click mouse on anything, no can do ... whatever, can do "this".

GD it, my house, kids and wife aren't a call center with robots at the desk.
I don't dare allow any of them to be Administrator but my wife knows
considerably more than my older who knows more than my younger child and I'd
like to be able to specify certain "policies" for each individually. No one
on these XP newsgroups has answered the query in over a month now and I've
not been able to find anyway to do it although I'm more or less sure it can
be done if one can figure out where and what to do within the registry
itself, e.g. manually.

Full security model demands using NTFS formatted hard disk as it appears
that's how navigating around the hard disk (exploring) is controlled. This
means that if anything goes severely wrong, you'll not be able to simply
boot with an old DOS startup floppy and copy any files etc. you might want
off the hard disk easily. I've already found booting using the XP cd to get
to a command prompt lacking and clearly not what I want, e.g. still enables
some controls.

Hardly no-where can I find any details on what's actually being "set" etc.
regarding setting up a network. Help tells you little to nothing with going
online for additional help being futile. Everything seems to have to fit
into some wizard. This same lack of information so one can control things
"manually" extends thru the whole package. For example, ask about what a
specific service actually does (rather than just some catchphrase or "bunch
of letters") and it'll not help at all. I often seem to find myself doing
the cyclic lookup bs, e.g. a-> see b -> see c -> see a and go round again.
Another favorite is 'if this service isn't running then "other" services
that depend on this service ..." without stating what those "other" services
even might be!!! In other words, guess, reboot and see what's screwed up to
find out if you should or shouldn't have done something!!!

I can see it coming and fear the worst ... You'll have to be internet
connected when using MS OS so you belong to some group and that user of that
group pays this much for this use of that feature.
 
Notice (again), no one's jumping in and telling one how to control a
specific individual user hence I have to assume either the "experts" don't
know or you can't.
 
if in your research you'd dug in a little bit further you may have noticed statements like "group policies", and "user accounts belong to groups" and "assigning group policies" etc...

there are no settings for individual users other than those they make themselves while logged in as far as preferences. assigning individual security rights based against the user account itself is not gonna happen in windows from the admin policies, good luck finding any os that does this. if you need user1 user2 and user3 to have different policies you need to create a group-a group-b and group-c and then assign these individuals into these groups. you are looking at win xp from a home user perspective as far as security and networking for multiple individuals. security and networking concerns are traditionally a non-home user concern. the way win xp is set up is for larger orginizations to more easily administer large amounts of users. hence a group policy scheme

sooooo sorry if you one dude out of 100,000 wants it the other way but the product was written for the vast majority
so quit complaining about lack of help and do what the reference material says and set up group policies and place users in them instead of asking for the impossible and then complaining cause no one can pull a miracle out their @$$ to give you what can't be given
 
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