Speeding up Winstat Logins

When you log into Winstat the server must download the "profile" that contains all your personal Winstat settings. The larger your profile, the longer it will take to log in. Unfortunately your profile includes all the files in several commonly used folders. Cleaning out these folders can speed up your Winstat login time significantly. Also keep in mind that files stored in profiles are not backed up like files stored on network drives.

This article will show you how to clean out the folders that are most likely to contribute to large profiles and slow Winstat logins. If after cleaning out these folders you find that your Winstat logins are still taking unusually long (about 30 seconds is typical) then contact the Help Desk and there are further steps SSCC staff can take to speed up your logins, such as giving you a new empty profile.

Your Desktop

The first place to clean up is your desktop--what you see when you first log in. Move any files on your desktop to your U: drive or some other location on the network.

You are welcome to put shortcuts to files or folders on your desktop for quick access. Shortcuts are trivial in size. To make a shortcut, right-click on the file or folder you want to create a shortcut to, choose Send to, then Desktop (create shortcut).

The Documents Library

Many programs save files by default in the Documents library. Be sure to note where programs are putting your files, and if needed change the location to an appropriate network drive.

To remove existing files from the Documents library, go to your Winstat desktop, double-click on Computer, and then click on Documents under Libraries on the left. The folders there that are associated with particular programs contain settings for those programs and can be left alone. However, move any files you've created to a network drive.

Downloads

The folder where your web browser stores downloaded files is also part of your profile. Most likely you've already done whatever you wanted to do with these files and you can just empty the folder.

Go to your Winstat desktop, double-click on Computer, and then click on Downloads under Favorites on the left. Move any files you still need to network drives, then delete the rest.

Last Revised: 3/20/2012