Hurricaine Rita did a job on my pc's. My new one has all users, Compaq_Owner
and Default User. Each account has different folders, programs, etc. Whic is
the correct account and how can I delete the others.
These are all normal accounts. "All Users" holds items that appear for all
users. "Default User" is the template used to create new user accounts.
Don't delete these accounts or folders.
Compaq_Owner is a user account created by Compaq - targeted to be used by
the new owner of the Compaq system. This is probably your active everyday
account. To check, type %userprofile% into the Start> Run box. Explorer
will open, displaying the folders of the user that is currently logged on.
When your account is logged on, it pulls the info from All Users and its
own folders to create your start menu and desktop and shared documents
lists.
The only editing that I would recommend doing is moving items from All
Users that you do not want appearing for all users into your own folders.
Leave items created by Windows in place -they're usually there for a reason
- but items added from software installations can be moved.
When you install software designed for XP, one of the installation
questions is if the install is for all users or just for yourself. The
answer determines where shortcuts for the program will be placed - All
Users or your folders.
Personally, I answer "all users" - if I ever add a user to this system
(even a second account for myself), the program will be readily available
and will not have to be reinstalled.
