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How Do I Set Up Multiple Users on One PC?

Q: How do I set up my computer so several people can use it, and keep everyone's stuff private? And how do I convert a FAT32-formatted hard disk to NTFS format without wiping the hard drive clean?

A: Since Windows 2000 was created as a business OS from the ground up, it's designed to work in situations where multiple users share one PC.

You need to create a user profile for each person who will use the computer. Select Start, Settings, Control Panel, then open the Users and Passwords applet. Click the Add button, then assign a user name and password using the Add New User wizard. When you reach the wizard's last screen (which begins "What level of access do you want to grant this user?") you have two choices in addition to Administrator:

Restricted user: Although this is the best category to place kids, PC beginners, and careless users, it may not always be a good fit. Restricted users can't access other users' info, and (if the hard drive is formatted with NTFS) can't make changes to the OS or remove installed programs. These users also can't run most programs written for earlier editions of Windows, or legacy applications. A favorite game that was created for Windows 98 but works under Windows 2000 might be unavailable to a Restricted user.

Standard user: Also known as power users, these folks have considerable privileges, including some potentially risky abilities to make changes to the system through the Control Panel applets. Standard users can run legacy apps.

Anyone who logs on with a user name and password will see their own version of the desktop and have access to their slice of the My Documents folder only. (They can access other folders, just not other users' files in My Documents.) Users can run software they installed, as well as programs the Administrator installed.

Windows 2000 reserves its best internal security, though, for hard disks formatted with NTFS. Only on NTFS volumes can you set by-user privileges for files and folders, making it possible, for instance, to lock the family's copy of Quicken so that only you and your spouse can access it, not the kids (or your nosy Aunt Cookie). If you're sharing a Windows 2000 PC--and you haven't set up the drive for dual booting to another OS, nor do you plan to--convert your drive from FAT32 to NTFS by performing the following steps:

1. Open a Command Prompt window by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt.
   
   
2. Type convert C: /fs:ntfs and press Enter. If you're converting a drive other than C:, replace the C: above with the appropriate drive letter.
   
   
3. Press the Y key when you see the message "Would you like to schedule it to be converted the next time the system restarts?"
   
   
4. Restart the PC.
   
   

If you want to go further, take a look at this detailed information about locking files and folders on an NTFS-formatted drive.

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