Roaming Profiles

What is a roaming profile?

Your roaming profile is your GCNET account and all of the files associated with it. Your roaming profile contains your documents, pictures, music, and other files like which screensaver and wallpaper to use. Roaming profiles are stored on a server here at Greensboro College and are downloaded to a computer once you log into it under your GCNET account. When you log off of the computer, your roaming profile is uploaded to the server with any files that you have created or modified. We are able to keep backup copies of your profile for seven days so that if a file gets lost, deleted, or corrupted we are able restore it for you. To have a file restored, send an email to infotech@gborocollege.edu letting us know which file to restore.

"It takes a long time for my profile to load"

Your profile contains all of the files that travel with you so that you will have them no matter which computer you log into. This means that each time you log into a computer under GCNET, your files must be downloaded to the computer you are logging into. One way you can speed up your profile, so that you can log into the computer quicker, is to change the location where you save files. Instead of saving to your "My Documents", "My Pictures", "Desktop", or anywere else within your profile you can save your files to the H: drive. The H: drive is found by looking under "My Computer". By default, it contains a folder named "profile" and a folder named "public". DO NOT delete the folder named "profile" since that is, obviously, the storage location of your roaming profile and DO NOT change or move any files inside the "profile" folder that you did not create (only move your documents and files you downloaded). The "public" folder is your personal web space, hosted by the college, which you can access at http://gborocollege.edu/~username. Anything you place in your H: drive, outside of the "profile" folder is saved on the server but is not automatically downloaded to a computer you are logging into. Logging in becomes faster with each file that does not have to be automatically downloaded to the local computer. Files that are saved to your H: drive can still be accessed as you need each file by selecting it from the appropriate program or by running them directly from the H: drive.