ok, i'll start again.
main pc in office, running MC18. all wonderful.
new pc in loft, set up with two windows 7 user profiles - i can log in to windows as me with all my settings just how i like it, or i can log in as my missus with all desktop full of foxes and flowers.
if i log in to my windows profile and open up MC18 it presents me with a brand new clean MC18 with no library files (as there is no media on the pc). the pc is networked to the other pc downstairs so i can tell MC18 to look in the network folder and it will add all the media from the other pc. however, it is still a separate entity, with all the default MC18 settings. which is fine however...
...if i log in to windows using the wife's profile and open up MC18 i get a message flash up saying something along the likes of 'please wait while i connect to the server', then i am presented with an exact copy of my MC18 set-up from downstairs. it's basically just letting me access my downstairs MC18 by remote, rather than being a separate entity just sharing the same library.
this is awesome. why doesn't it do this when i access it through my windows log in? can i make it do so? i have tried completely uninstalling MC18 and installing it again but it just does exactly the same thing - new install on my windows profile, access by remote on the other.
and help/suggestions appreciated. many thanks.