PROBLEM: User Accounts

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Guest

Hello, I have had quite a bit of grief lately. I created for a few of my
friends (3 of them) their own user accounts, I restarted and when I tried to
log back into my account(Administrator) I found to much dismay, that it was
not on the list. I set one of my friend's accounts to Computer Administrator
and logged in. After I was in his account, I went to C:\Documents and
Settings and found the "Administrator" folder still there. I tried opening
it, but it was inaccesible.

I checked my opened Control Panel / User Accounts, and Administrator was
not on that list either. I tried to create a new user named "Administrator"
but it said that name was already taken. I rightclicked My Computer and check
my harddrive space, and it still showed the normal size as it has always been
so my files had not been deleted. I checked all of the accounts Recycle bins
and nadda. I also tried accessing C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\
from CMD prompt, but it said I also denied access...


Any clues on what to do? I have all my stuff on that account... Reply or
e-mail me at (e-mail address removed)

Oh, and if it matters; I run XP Pro.

Thank you in advance.
 
Hi,

The default administrator account (which you were using) is hidden once
normal user accounts have been created. What you need to do is create a user
account for yourself and copy the user data from the administrator account
to it. How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811151

Note that one step not listed in the article is that after creating the
destination profile you must log into it once first to create the necessary
file structure before you do the copy procedure.

To access the default administrator account:

In WinXP Pro, hit ctrl+alt+delete twice at the logon screen and type it in.

In WinXP Home, you must restart and enter Safe mode by hitting F8 at
startup. The administrator logon will be one of the options.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
SWolf15 said:
Hello, I have had quite a bit of grief lately. I created for
a few of my friends (3 of them) their own user accounts, I
restarted and when I tried to log back into my
account(Administrator) I found to much dismay, that it was
not on the list. I set one of my friend's accounts to
Computer Administrator and logged in. After I was in his
account, I went to C:\Documents and Settings and found the
"Administrator" folder still there. I tried opening it, but
it was inaccesible.

I checked my opened Control Panel / User Accounts, and
Administrator was not on that list either. I tried to create
a new user named "Administrator" but it said that name was
already taken. I rightclicked My Computer and check my
harddrive space, and it still showed the normal size as it
has always been so my files had not been deleted. I checked
all of the accounts Recycle bins and nadda. I also tried
accessing C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\ from CMD
prompt, but it said I also denied access...


Any clues on what to do? I have all my stuff on that
account... Reply or e-mail me at (e-mail address removed)

Oh, and if it matters; I run XP Pro.

Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

Since you were using the usually hidden built-in Adminstrator
account, once you created another account that was a Computer
Adminstrator the Administrator account went back to being a
hidden account.

There are ways of logging on to that account but what you
should really do is create a new user account for yourself. Log
on to that account at least once. Log off and log back on with
one the account you created for your friend that's a Computer
Adminstrator. You can now copy the User Profile for the
Adminstrator account into the new account as described in this
article:

How do I copy a user profile in Windows XP?
http://www.petri.co.il/copy_user_profiles_in_windows_xp.htm

Basically, what you're doing is copying the contents of this
file:
C:\Documents and Settings\Adminstrator
into this file:
C:\Documents and Settings\(YOURACCOUNT)

Here are some other articles you may find helpful:

How to login as Administrator in Windows XP
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/admins.htm

Show Administrator on the Welcome Screen
http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/1165/

Using the built-in Adminstrator account as your full time
account isn't a real good idea. You should leave the
Adminstrator account for emergency use only.

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
Is this also the way to get rid of accounts (I have written this question
myself). Will the account that's being "swallowed" disappear? I mean from the
welcome screen?
 
Go into Control Panel and double click on User Accounts.
Click on the icon of the account you want to delete.
On the page that's displayed, click on "Delete the account".
You will be offered the opportunity to save the users files. If
you opt to save the files, a folder contaning the files will be
created on your Desktop.

Deleting the account in this manner removes the account's icon
from both User Accounts and the Welcome Screen. It will also
result in the removal of the folder associated with that
account in C:\Documents and Settings.

Note: You must be logged on with an account that is a Computer
Adminstrator in order to delete accounts. You will not be
allowed to delete the account that's currently logged on. You
will not be allowed to delete an account if it is the only
Computer Adminstrator remaining on the computer.

Here are a couple of articles that you may find helpful:

HOW TO USE WINDOWS XP: DELETING A USER ACCOUNT
http://uis.georgetown.edu/software/documentation/winxp/winxp.deleting.accounts.html

How To Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783&sd=tech

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
I have a related problem. I used a second user account on my XP Pro sp2 PC
for business correspondence. I suppose I protected the files from access by
other accounts.
I deleted that account last year, but copied the files in that account's "My
Documents" folder onto a second hard drive before deleting the account.
Now, I see the files in the copied "My Documents" folder, but can't open any
of them. (For example, Word tells me it can't open the document because user
does not have access privileges)

(1)Are the files forever inaccessible, or is there a way for me (My main
account is an "administrator" account) to get access to the files again?
(2)If they are inaccessible, must I reformat the drive to reclaim the space?
 
You may need to take ownership of the files. Take a look here
for
the procedure:

How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

Note: If you are running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, you
must start the computer in safe mode, and then log on with an
account that has Administrative rights to have access to the
Security tab. To start in Safe Mode, reboot your computer and
start tapping the F8 key as soon as you see anything displayed
on the screen. Keep hitting F8 until the Advanced Startup
Options menu appears. Use the up and down arrow keys on your
keyboard to select Safe Mode. Hit Enter.

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
SWolf15 said:
Hello, I have had quite a bit of grief lately. I created for a few of my
friends (3 of them) their own user accounts, I restarted and when I tried to
log back into my account(Administrator) I found to much dismay, that it was
not on the list. I set one of my friend's accounts to Computer Administrator
and logged in. After I was in his account, I went to C:\Documents and
Settings and found the "Administrator" folder still there. I tried opening
it, but it was inaccesible.

I checked my opened Control Panel / User Accounts, and Administrator was
not on that list either. I tried to create a new user named "Administrator"
but it said that name was already taken. I rightclicked My Computer and check
my harddrive space, and it still showed the normal size as it has always been
so my files had not been deleted. I checked all of the accounts Recycle bins
and nadda. I also tried accessing C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\
from CMD prompt, but it said I also denied access...


Any clues on what to do? I have all my stuff on that account... Reply or
e-mail me at (e-mail address removed)

Oh, and if it matters; I run XP Pro.

Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...


As you've "discovered," once any additional administrative user
accounts have been created, the built-in Administrator account will no
longer be displayed on the Welcome Screen. This is a default security
feature. By design, the only way to log into the Administrator account
of WinXP Home is to reboot into Safe Mode. For WinXP Pro, pressing
CTRL+ALT+DEL twice at the Welcome Screen will produce the standard login
dialog box.

The built-in Administrator account really isn't intended to be
used for day-to-day normal use. The standard security practice is to
rename the account, set a strong password on it, and use it only to
create another account for regular use, reserving the Administrator
account as a "back door" in case something corrupts your regular account(s).

A wiser course of action would be to create another user account
for your daily use and copy desired the files and settings from the
Administrator account to this newly created user profile.

HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783

How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151


--

Bruce Chambers

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