[Samba] Domain user cannot load profile when logging on to samba domain

[James B. Byrne]

samba-tool --version
samba-tool: no such subcommand: --version

4.13.14

freebsd-version
13.0-RELEASE-p6


First, we use roaming profiles.

We have a Samba AD domain user who recently visited the office after working
from home since 2020.  When they attempted to log on to the domain from their
workstation the logon succeeded but their profile would not load.  No other
domain users reported having this problem.  The user previously had logged on
from this workstation.

I have checked the samba server host and the user's profile was present and had
what appeared to be the correct ownership and permissions.

I could not get that user's profile to load on their workstation.  Profiles of
other users that logged on from that workstation did load.  In the end I
renamed the existing PROFILES and USERS sub-directories of the problem user on
the Samba server, deleted their user id using RSAT, recreated their username
using RSAT, and then logged on from their workstation without difficulty and
they had an empty, but permanent profile.

I logged off the user from the domain and then copied the contents of their
original PROFILE and USERS sub-directories back into the newly created
versions; changing the owner id to match the new user's. Logging that user on
from their workstation now brought up their profile with its original contents.

There is no problem to solve as I have effected a work-around.  However, I do
not understand why this problem arose in the first place and why it resisted
the approach of deleting that user's profile from their local machine and then
logging them on to the domain. I expected that the samba profile would simply
download as it would with any first time user on a new workstation.  But it
would not.

In the dim recesses of my memory I seem to recall having run into a similar
problem.  If memory serves it was with a user id that had not logged onto the
domain for a very long time.

Has anyone else had this kind of experience?

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James B. Byrne                mailto:ByrneJB at Harte-Lyne.ca
Harte & Lyne Limited          http://www.harte-lyne.ca
9 Brockley Drive              vox: +1 905 561 1241
Hamilton, Ontario             fax: +1 905 561 0757
Canada  L8E 3C3