The %HOMEDRIVE% Environment Variable Does Not Point to the Partition That Hosts the User Profiles (818134)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP1
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP1

SYMPTOMS

If you configure Windows XP to host user profiles on a drive or drive partition other than the boot drive partition, after you start Windows XP, the %HOMEDRIVE% environment variable points to the boot drive partition instead of to the drive or partition that the user profiles are hosted on.

RESOLUTION

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322389 How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack

Hotfix information

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The typical support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.
   Date         Time   Version        Size     File name
   -------------------------------------------------------
   07-Apr-2003  13:39  5.1.2600.1201  969,216  Msgina.dll				

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.

MORE INFORMATION

The only way to change the location of the User Profiles directory is during an unattended setup. For additional information about how to specify a different folder during an unattended setup, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

236621 Cannot Move or Rename the Documents and Settings Folder


The resolution procedure in 236621 also applies to Windows XP.

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/11/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbWinXPsp2fix kbQFE kbWinXPpreSP2fix kbfix kbbug KB818134