roaming profile is inconsistent or overwritten

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Terminal Services Client Roaming Profile Is Inconsistent or Overwritten

Symptom: When using the same roaming profile for a Windows client and a Terminal Services client, the profile may be inconsistent or overwritten. Configuration changes made on the local Windows desktop can overwrite changes made in the Terminal Services client desktop or vice-versa, depending on which desktop is closed last. This is also true for multiple Terminal Services client sessions that use the same roaming profile concurrently.

Cause: When the two separate sessions run simultaneously and you make a change (for example, you create a persistent drive mapping), the change is kept only if you make it in the session that logs off last. If you make the change on the client that logs off first, the profile is updated and the change lost when the second client logs off. This does not occur for a disconnected session because it does not write any of the profile back to the network location. The same rules apply to multiple Terminal Services client sessions that use the same profile, whether it is a roaming or local profile.

Resolution: To prevent this behavior from occurring, do not use roaming profiles for Terminal Services clients. Microsoft recommends that Terminal Services clients use local profiles because they are unique to an individual Terminal Services server and installed programs. If you must use a roaming profile, specify one profile for the Windows client and another for the Terminal Services client. This decreases the chance for data loss; it occurs only if you log on at multiple local desktops or multiple Terminal Services client sessions.