Hello,
Does anyone know the difference b/t ntuser.dat and NTUSER.DAT? I will see both the caps and lower case on the same system, but in one user dir it will be lowercase and in another it will be all caps.
thanks
no difference at all.
Jake,
Have you parsed the two files or looked at them to see if there are any differences?
What are the paths of the files?
All,
Both files reside in the users root home dir. It is just interesting that sometimes the file is capitalized (NTUSER.DAT) and sometimes its listed in lowercase (ntuser.dat). Obviously each file is different for the different users on the system. Just wondering why the inconsitance with the naming convention. Or is it done for a purpose.
Thanks,
Just a stab in the dark…
is 'NTUSER.DAT' on a FAT volume and 'index.dat' on an NTFS one?
I had the same thought as Paul that one was FAT and one NTFS but by chance the job I'm working on has both formats and both were in upper case. However the ntuser.dat.log is in lower case.
Jerry W
The uppercase version of the file 'usually' comes from the original installation and may indicate that it has been copied.
The lowercase version is what is usually created by the OS on the creation of a new account.
It is possible that what you might be looking at is a machine that has been upgraded from an older version of Windows. The uppercase version being a relic of the older install.
The timestamps, both on and in the files, should give you an indication if this is the case.
The uppercase version of the file 'usually' comes from the original installation and may indicate that it has been copied.
The lowercase version is what is usually created by the OS on the creation of a new account.
Do you have any testing or documentation to support that?
I ask, as I have several XP systems available and on one, the "All Users" profile has an "ntuser.dat", but all of the other profiles have NTUSER.DAT. On another XP system that is part of a domain, several accounts have ntuser.dat files, while others have NTUSER.DAT files.
It is possible that what you might be looking at is a machine that has been upgraded from an older version of Windows. The uppercase version being a relic of the older install.
The timestamps, both on and in the files, should give you an indication if this is the case.
What this thread points out is a lack of information from the OP…which version of the OS, what are the paths and full names of the various files, etc.
No I have not found this documented yet.
Just out of curiosity I have just been playing about with my XP VM.
It seems the case of the NTUSER.DAT filename comes from the "Default User" profile when the account first logs on. If the file is in lowercase in "Default User" profile then the file created in the new profile is lowercase too and visa versa.
Not had the chance to check domain profiles but I doubt it will be any different.
I believe this comes from the initialization of a new profile as it is copied from the "Default User" profile.
If you want a definitive then get your SPOC to raise a call with MS.