On computers running Windows NT Workstation or Windows NT Server, the contents of the user profile are taken from the user portion of the Windows NT Registry. Another portion of the registry, the local computer portion, contains configuration settings that can be managed, along with user profiles, using System Policy Editor. With this tool, you create a system policy to control user work environments and actions, and to enforce system configuration for all computers running Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server.
With system policy, you can control some aspects of user work environments without enforcing the restrictions of a mandatory user profile. You can restrict what users can do from the desktop; such as restrict certain options in Control Panel, customize parts of the desktop, or configure network settings.
To enforce system policy on your network, you need at least one computer on your network running Windows NT Server, configured as a primary domain controller (PDC). For information on enforcing system policy on your network, see Chapter 3, "Managing User Work Environments" in Windows NT Server version 4.0 Concepts and Planning.