Windows SteadyState 2.5 Is Now Available!

Question

Windows SteadyState 2.5 Is Now Available!
We are pleased to announce the release of Windows SteadyState 2.5, available in 9 languages from the Microsoft Shared Access Site:  
http://www.microsoft.com/sharedaccess
Providing solutions to help manage shared computers has been a consistent request from partners, end users around the world.  Microsoft has a very compelling solution with SteadyState enabling our shared access partners to protect shared access computers by cleaning the system with every restart, making them easier to manage and protect. It also restricts users from accessing system settings and data, preventing inadvertent or malicious damage, and thus, improving the up time of these PCs.
Besides offering excellent desktop security, SteadyState is user-friendly and reliable, it reduces downtime, is easy to maintain, and is free of charge to genuine Windows XP and Windows Vista customers.
SteadyState is a great solution for schools, libraries, families, internet cafés, telecenters, rural kiosks, and community centers, providing better computer access to underserved markets where non-technical managers are often responsible for shared computers.
New features in SteadyState version 2.5 include the following:
•       Full support for Windows Vista
•       Full support for Internet Explorer 7 and tabbed browsing
•       Overall improved performance
•       Faster booting
•       Faster system caching
•       Remote management of Windows Disk Protection through scripting
•       Improved importing & exporting  of user information
To learn more, or download SteadyState 2.5 go to:
 http://www.microsoft.com/sharedaccess

Answer 1

I have a major gripe about the instructions for SteadyState.  I have gone over the handbook and each and every time I read it, I come back with more questions than answers.  Very frustrating.  I have two major issues I would like to resolve. 
The first is that when I imaged drive when SteadyState was installed, I could not open my Sophos anti-virus any longer with the admin account.  I kept getting message saying I was not part of Sophos Administrator group, which I was.  I even removed
and re-added my user to the group, and it did nothing.  Uninstalling did not let me in either.  What a nightmare!  What good is it to install something if I cannot do something as simple as opening an installed program to check settings or quarantine? 
Second major issue is the whole ambiguosly confusing explanation of User accounts in the handbook.  What a crock!  If I set up the computer, add the users and setup each profile before installing SteadyState, then install SteadyState, there should
be no User restrictions except what I say after the install.  For instance, I only tell SteadyState to not allow users to save to C:\ drive.  That should mean any user, non-admin, should not be able to save to the drive.  Period.  When
reading the handbook, it goes on and on about shared users, shared accounts, blah blah blah.  Do I have to go into SteadyState and change User accounts no matter what?  If so, that seems like a real nightmare to setup over and over.  Does that
mean with that simple protection setting of no saving to drive, I need to also go and create User accounts in SteadyState as well so I can do something as simple as having the desktop wallpaper from the original setup show up for the user?  Will
the screen saver settings stay the same, or do I have to go into SteadyState and change that as well in User settings?  Which, of course, will create a whole new profile for the user, which is NOT what everyone really wants.  Can't we just install
SteadyState and say no saving to drive and leave the disk protection, etc. off and be done with it?  It sure does not seem like it.  Maybe we are just idiots here, but it is no help whatsoever for me to read this handbook again.  Since one cannot
talk to someone for free, not sure what else to do.  We used this software before for 66 computers in one of our labs, and after installation, we wanted to simplify the setup as much as possible due to continual issues with users not being able to do
this and that even though they were supposed to have "permission" to do so.  No internet on these machines, just wanted to prevent users from saving to drive to prevent drive filling up and to allow the drivers we installed on admin account to work when
non-admin user plugged in USB equipment into port.