Carol said:
I am, and will forever remain, the sole user of my newest
computer which came loaded with Win XP Pro. In Windows
Explorer, in the C:\Documents & Settings folder, there are
4 sub-directories (folders) one each in my name, Carol,
Administrator, All Users & Default User. There is also a
folder for Local Service (which also appears in each of
the preceding 4 folders). Would it be safe to clean up my
cluttered file system by deleting all but my folder (i.e.,
C:\Documents and Settings\Carol {me}) since I am also the
administrator, all users & default user?
Windows XP is and will remain a MultiUser OS. If you delete some of the
users in the Documents and Settings directory, you will affect your user and
possibly other things. It could cause things you had set to go missing and
the directories, in most cases, will recreate themselves.
HOW TO: Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783&Product=winxp
HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove Special Permissions for Files and
Folders in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308419&Product=winxp
Doug's Windows XP Security Console
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm
Windows XP is a multi-user OS, even when used by one person only, the
fundamentals don't change.
Documents and Settings is the directory that contains your user
information/documents/etc. It also contains a few extra directories used by
Windows.
One is "Default User" - This is used whenever a new account is created. It
bases the initial setup of that account off this directory.
Another is "All Users" - This is used by.. all users. If you want something
to appear on the desktop of every user of the machine, you put it on this
users desktop (in the desktop folder.) Etc.
You may also see "Administrator" - depending on your setup, this is the
original administrator user and if you know that account's password, you
should leave him alone and use him only in an emergency.
You could also (if you have it where you can see ALL files) see
"LocalService" and "NetworkService" folders. These are service accounts,
normally unused by the standard user.
Should you erase any of the above? No. No reason to. The only ones that a
single user will really ever use is the one under their username (ie:
whatever username you log in with) and the "All Users" account. If
something goes wrong(or you add a new user), the default user will be used
(recreated if not there) to create the new account needed. The
Administrator account will hopefully never be used and would just be
recreated if you logged in as administrator (assuming you even have the
user - which you do.) Sometimes your account may be listed as "owner" or
"administrator" under the documents and settings folder.. This all depends
on how things were setup. The name you use and the name of the folder do
NOT have to correspond if the name was changed manually after the account
was created initially.
