I have found the utility DELPROF useful for some situations based on my work colleagues mention of it. Yet they don't trust it yet might rely on it. Whoa. It's okay. Given my review of it and in this case, it makes sense to share the utility from Microsoft since it was last published in 2019, though it shows latest applicability as of 2003. Yet, it works. Use at your own risk.

 

Note to self - the following copyright Microsoft. I preserve the contents in case the utility and help and xml suggestions disappear. One can go to WayBack machine Internet Archive possibly to retrieve details.

 

REF: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5405

 

more to come...

 

 

 

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit and Support Tools
Tool Download Release Notes

This document is included with the software tool you have downloaded and installed. It contains important general information not found in the specific documentation file for this tool.

The Microsoft^® Windows^® Server 2003 Resource Kit and Support Tools can help you streamline administrative tasks such as troubleshooting operating system issues, managing Active Directory®, configuring networking and security features, or automating application deployment. Over 200 such tools are included in the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools package.

For more information about the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit, including new tools, hotfixes, and updated documentation, visit the Windows Deployment and Resource Kits Web site.

This tool is designed to be installed and run only on Microsoft^® Windows Server 2003.

Important   The Resource Kit tools are not localized; they are written and tested in English only. Using these tools with a different language version of Windows Server 2003 might produce unpredictable results.

Contents

Setup for the Resource Kit and Support Tools Downloads

Installing and Uninstalling This Tool

Installing from the Command Prompt

Unattended Installation

Support Policy

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Setup for the Resource Kit and Support Tools Downloads

Installing and Uninstalling This Tool

The download from which this readme is extracted also contains a documentation file and the file or files necessary to run the tool.

The download file is a self-extracting executable, either an .msi (Microsoft Software Installer) file or an .exe (executable) file. When you run this file, it installs the tool and documentation onto your computer.

When you install a downloaded tool, you are prompted to choose an install directory. It is recommended that you install all future tool downloads and versions of the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit into the Resource Kit directory and Windows Server 2003 Support Tools into the Support Tools directory to avoid an overly large system path and to ensure more reliable upgrades. The recommended directory for the Resource Kit is C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools (the default directory for the Resource Kit companion CD) and C:\Program Files\Support Tools for Support Tools (the default directory for the Support Tools installation package).

You can uninstall any downloaded tool by using Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. Or, you can run the download file, and then select Remove in the Setup Wizard.

Installing from the Command Prompt

You can install tool downloads from the command prompt. If necessary, you can also use the /q option of msiexec to install or uninstall in silent mode, which requires no further action from the user.

For example, to install the contents of toolname.msi in the default directory, type the following at the command prompt:

msiexec /i toolname.msi

The following table lists the msiexec command-line options for installing .msi files from the command prompt.

Option	Parameters	Meaning
/i	toolname.msi	Installs or configures the product
/q	[n|b|r|f|n+|b+|b-]	Sets the user interface level
/x	toolname.msi	Uninstalls the product
/l	[i|w|e|f|a|r|u|c|m|p|+]logfile	Specifies path to log file. The flags indicate the information to log. i – Status messages w – Non-fatal warnings e – All error messages f – List of replaced files a – Start up of actions r – Action-specific records u – User requests c – Initial UI parameters m – Out-of-memory p – Terminal properties + – Append to existing file
/?		Displays online Help.

Unattended installation

To perform an unattended installation of toolname.msi, run the following command line:
msiexec /i toolname.msi /qb

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Support Policy

The software supplied on the Resource Kit and Support Tools download web site ("Software") is not supported under any Microsoft standard support program or service. You can, however, report issues and bugs by sending e-mail torkinput@microsoft.com. Microsoft will, at its sole discretion, address issues and bugs reported in this manner, and responses are not guaranteed.

Any Software that is made available to download from this web site is the copyrighted work of Microsoft and/or its suppliers. Use of the Software is governed by the terms of the end user license agreement, if any, which accompanies or is included with the Software ("License Agreement"). An end user will be unable to install any Software that is accompanied by or includes a License Agreement, unless he or she first agrees to the License Agreement terms.

THE SOFTWARE IS WARRANTED, IF AT ALL, ONLY ACCORDING TO THE TERMS OF THE LICENSE AGREEMENT. EXCEPT AS WARRANTED IN THE LICENSE AGREEMENT, MICROSOFT CORPORATION HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THE SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT AND/OR ITS RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF SOFTWARE, DOCUMENTS, PROVISION OF OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, OR INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM THE SERVICES.
 

© Copyright 1985–2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

 

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SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to delete user profiles on Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003 based computers by using the User Profile Deletion Utility (Delprof.exe).

Delprof.exe is available in the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit. It is a command-line utility that you can use to delete user profiles on a local or remote Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003 based computers. User profiles can grow large and may take up considerable disk space, especially if there are several users using one computer. Because of this, you may want to use Delprof.exe to free disk space by deleting profiles that are no longer required. However, because each profile on the computer is presented in order when you run the utility, you may want to use the Graphical User Interface (GUI) instead of the command-line tool whenever this is possible.

You must be logged on as administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to delete user profiles.

Overview of the Delprof.exe Tool

Delprof.exe uses the delprof /q /i /p /r /c:\\computer name /d:days syntax. You can use the following parameters with Delprof.exe:

           /q: This parameter runs Delprof.exe in quiet mode. When you use this parameter, you are not prompted to confirm the deletion of each profile.

           /i: This parameter ignores any errors that may occur.

           /p: This parameter specifies that a message is displayed that prompts you to confirm the deletion of each profile.

           /r: This parameter specifies that delete the roaming profile cache only. Local profiles on the machine will not be deleted.

           /c:\\computer name: This parameter specifies the computer name on which to run Delprof.exe.

           /d:days: This parameter specifies the number of days after which Delprof.exe considers the profiles as inactive. Profiles that have not been used for a period of time that is longer than the specified value are deleted.

 

WARNING: Delprof.exe deletes all data that is stored in a user profile. This includes desktop settings, favorites, program-specific data that is contained in the Application Data folder, and the contents of the My Documents folder. Please be aware of any user documents that may be deleted before you use this tool.

Examples

How to Use Delprof.exe to Delete User Profiles on a Remote Computer

The following example describes how to use Delprof.exe to delete user profiles on a remote computer that is named Server1. Note that if you do not specify a computer in the command, Delprof.exe defaults to the local computer.

1.        Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.

2.        At the command prompt, type delprof /p /c:\\server1, and then press ENTER. For each cached user profile on Server1, a message is displayed in the command prompt window that prompts you to confirm its deletion. For example, you receive a message that is similar to the following message:

Delete \\SERVER1\D$\Documents and Settings\User1? (Yes/No/All)

3.        Complete one of the following actions for each user profile that you are prompted to delete:

·               Type y, and then press ENTER if you want to delete the profile.

·               Type n, and then press ENTER if you do not want to delete the profile.

4.        Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit the command prompt.

How to Use Delprof.exe to Delete User Profiles After a Specified Period of Inactivity

The following example describes how to use Delprof.exe to delete user profiles on the local computer that have been inactive for 30 days:

1.        Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.

2.        At the command prompt, type delprof /p /d:30, and then press ENTER. For each user profile that has not been used on the computer for 30 days, a message is displayed that prompts you to confirm its deletion. For example, you receive a message that is similar to the following message:

Delete \\MYCOMPUTER\D$\Documents and Settings\User2? (Yes/No/All)

3.        Complete one of the following actions for each user profile that you are prompted to delete:

·               Type y, and then press ENTER if you want to delete the profile.

·               Type n, and then press ENTER if you do not want to delete the profile.

4.        Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit the command prompt.

 

Troubleshooting

You may receive the following message when you attempt to use Delprof.exe to delete user profiles:

Failed to open list of profiles.
Access is denied.

This behavior can occur if you are not logged on to the computer as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.

To resolve this behavior, log on to the computer as an administrator or as a member of the administrators group, and then use Delprof.exe to delete the appropriate user profiles.