Deleted all administrative priv profiles! Help!

[kurtsgirl]

To start: my user profile wouldn't load so I was using the "default user
profile" everytime I logged on. The default had admin privs, so I changed my
daughter's profile to have admin privs, and removed them from my user profile
(the one that failed to load). Don't know why I needed to do that! What
happened as a result of those actions was disappearance of the guest user
profile (icon is just gone), disappearance of my
failing-to-load-user-profile, and with that all of my files disappeared, all
of the programs I used on the failing-to-load-profile also disappeared.
Perhaps making things worse, I tried to use system restore to restore to last
night, which was before I did any of this. The result of using system restore
was not to restore the user profiles that had disappeared, but what did
happen was my daughter's profile was restored to a "limited access" profile
instead of an administrator's profile. What I am left with, if you can follow
along here, is only ONE profile and it is a "limited access" profile. So I
cannot even try to "undo" the system restore since I am not logged on as an
administrator. Help!

I am running Windows XP which a computer "expert" (read here *former*
friend) installed somehow in place of the factory Windows Vista install.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

To start: my user profile wouldn't load so I was using the "default
user profile" everytime I logged on. The default had admin privs,
so I changed my daughter's profile to have admin privs, and removed
them from my user profile (the one that failed to load). Don't know
why I needed to do that! What happened as a result of those actions
was disappearance of the guest user profile (icon is just gone),
disappearance of my failing-to-load-user-profile, and with that all
of my files disappeared, all of the programs I used on the
failing-to-load-profile also disappeared. Perhaps making things
worse, I tried to use system restore to restore to last night,
which was before I did any of this. The result of using system
restore was not to restore the user profiles that had disappeared,
but what did happen was my daughter's profile was restored to a
"limited access" profile instead of an administrator's profile.
What I am left with, if you can follow along here, is only ONE
profile and it is a "limited access" profile. So I cannot even try
to "undo" the system restore since I am not logged on as an
administrator. Help!

I am running Windows XP which a computer "expert" (read here
*former* friend) installed somehow in place of the factory Windows
Vista install.

Windows XP what?
- Home?
- Professional?
- Media Center Edition?

Log in as the actual administrator.

Boot into safe mode, try there - the user administrator may not have a
password. If it does - (it's not blank) - come back and we can show you how
to blank that password.

 

[kurtsgirl]

Windows XP what?
- Home?
- Professional?
- Media Center Edition?

Media Center Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 3.

 

[kurtsgirl]

Media Center Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 3.

Sorry, am I doing something wrong? To log in as administrator the
log on is "Administrator"? I tried it, I do have a password set for that, but
it doesn't work. I get the same message for any and all log ons except the
one I am using now which has limited access. Safe mode was no exception.

 

[Malke]

Sorry, am I doing something wrong? To log in as administrator the
log on is "Administrator"? I tried it, I do have a password set for that,
but it doesn't work. I get the same message for any and all log ons except
the one I am using now which has limited access. Safe mode was no
exception.

I can't actually follow what you did. It's too confusing. I'll give you some
suggestions but probably you should take the machine to a real computer
tech, not a "friend who thinks he knows something about computers". If you
go that route, don't use a BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place.

You don't need to go into Safe Mode to access the built-in Administrator
account in XP MCE. Do Ctrl-Alt-Del twice at the Welcome screen and you will
get the classic logon box. Type in "Administrator" without the quotes for
the username and whatever password you assigned. Make sure you aren't using
all caps or have Numlock on.

If the system won't accept the password you think is right, then you need to
blank it by using NTpasswd. Then log into the built-in Administrator (which
will no longer require a password) and fix whatever it was you did.

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Download the CD image (.iso) and burn as an image, not as data. You will
need third-party burning software. Then boot with the CD you created and
follow the directions. After you've finished with NTpasswd, remove the CD
and reboot the computer. Log into the Administrator account.

Viruses and malware infection can cause problems with user accounts and
passwords. Is your computer clean?

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Malke

 

[kurtsgirl]

I know the password for the administrator account, but the point that seems
to be missed here is that there is no longer any profile for administrator. I
can't log on as administrator; I know the password; I can clear the password;
none of this has any effect. I still get the same error message.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

To start: my user profile wouldn't load so I was using the "default
user profile" everytime I logged on. The default had admin privs,
so I changed my daughter's profile to have admin privs, and removed
them from my user profile (the one that failed to load). Don't know
why I needed to do that! What happened as a result of those actions
was disappearance of the guest user profile (icon is just gone),
disappearance of my failing-to-load-user-profile, and with that all
of my files disappeared, all of the programs I used on the
failing-to-load-profile also disappeared. Perhaps making things
worse, I tried to use system restore to restore to last night,
which was before I did any of this. The result of using system
restore was not to restore the user profiles that had disappeared,
but what did happen was my daughter's profile was restored to a
"limited access" profile instead of an administrator's profile.
What I am left with, if you can follow along here, is only ONE
profile and it is a "limited access" profile. So I cannot even try
to "undo" the system restore since I am not logged on as an
administrator. Help!

I am running Windows XP which a computer "expert" (read here
*former* friend) installed somehow in place of the factory Windows
Vista install.

Windows XP what?
- Home?
- Professional?
- Media Center Edition?

Log in as the actual administrator.

Boot into safe mode, try there - the user administrator may not
have a password. If it does - (it's not blank) - come back and we
can show you how to blank that password.

I know the password for the administrator account, but the point
that seems to be missed here is that there is no longer any profile
for administrator. I can't log on as administrator; I know the
password; I can clear the password; none of this has any effect. I
still get the same error message.

The point is not missed - we just believe you are incorrect in your
thinking.

You cannot delete/demote the local built-in "administrator" account in
Windows XP (without some fancy hacking - and even then, I have my doubts.)

By the way - have you noticed you mention this "same error message" a lot -
but never actually give the verbage of said error? That might further your
cause. ;-)

 

[Malke]

I know the password for the administrator account, but the point that
seems to be missed here is that there is no longer any profile for
administrator. I can't log on as administrator; I know the password; I can
clear the password; none of this has any effect. I still get the same
error message.

As Shenan said, we haven't missed your point. You can't delete the built-in
Administrator account. Either you are not really understanding what you are
seeing or you're not communicating what is really happening.

As I said in my first reply - and again, I'm not writing this to hurt your
feelings - I can't untangle what you did and what actually happened by
reading your post. I strongly urge you to take the machine to a competent
local tech who can see for him/herself and give you an accurate diagnosis.
If you don't want to do this - and of course this is your choice - and if
you were using the only administrative account on the system (the built-in
Administrator) - and this is regrettably possible to do in XP MCE - then
possibly the account is corrupted beyond repair. In that case, back up your
data by using a Linux Live CD (I like Knoppix) or a Bart's PE and copy the
data to an external hard drive. Then do a clean install of Windows. Next
time make a separate user account for your own work and don't use the
built-in Administrator. It should never be used except in emergencies
anyway.

If you have an OEM machine (Dell, HP, etc.) then restore the computer to
factory condition using whatever method was provided by the OEM. Otherwise:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows - What
you will need on-hand

Malke

 

[kurtsgirl]

The point is not missed - we just believe you are incorrect in your
thinking.

You cannot delete/demote the local built-in "administrator" account in
Windows XP (without some fancy hacking - and even then, I have my doubts.)

By the way - have you noticed you mention this "same error message" a lot -
but never actually give the verbage of said error? That might further your
cause. ;-)

Here is the error message: "The system could not log you on. Make
sure your User Name and Domain are correct, then type your password again.
Letters in passwords must be typed using the correct case."

You doubt that they all could be deleted, but I didn't tell you the
former friend who was working on my computer (experimenting without
authorization) is actually a computer software "expert". He works for the
government making computer programs compatible with each other (and other
stuff). The first thing that went wrong (that I know of) was my profile began
to give an error message that it "could not be loaded" and the "default"
profile would be loaded.

All I really want is to find the missing pictures of my little girl.
All the rest can be wiped for all I care. Would a software program for
finding lost files be my best bet?

Thank you.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

<snip>

Here is the error message: "The system could not log you
on. Make sure your User Name and Domain are correct, then type your
password again. Letters in passwords must be typed using the
correct case."

You doubt that they all could be deleted, but I didn't tell
you the former friend who was working on my computer (experimenting
without authorization) is actually a computer software "expert". He
works for the government making computer programs compatible with
each other (and other stuff). The first thing that went wrong (that
I know of) was my profile began to give an error message that it
"could not be loaded" and the "default" profile would be loaded.

All I really want is to find the missing pictures of my
little girl. All the rest can be wiped for all I care. Would a
software program for finding lost files be my best bet?

Thank you for the wording - that message likely means you *do not* know the
correct password for the account you are attempting to log in with. Please
reset the password - blank it out - as suggested earlier. Quoting Malke:

"
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Download the CD image (.iso) and burn as an image, not as data. You will
need third-party burning software. Then boot with the CD you created and
follow the directions. After you've finished with NTpasswd, remove the CD
and reboot the computer. Log into the Administrator account.
"

That *is* your best bet. Your expert friend may be a computer programmer -
but doesn't sound like a system administrator. ;-)

Trust me - blank your "adminstrator" password as shown above, log in as the
"administrator" and change the other accounts as needed.

 

[kurtsgirl]

<snip>


Thank you for the wording - that message likely means you *do not* know the
correct password for the account you are attempting to log in with. Please
reset the password - blank it out - as suggested earlier. Quoting Malke:

"
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Download the CD image (.iso) and burn as an image, not as data. You will
need third-party burning software. Then boot with the CD you created and
follow the directions. After you've finished with NTpasswd, remove the CD
and reboot the computer. Log into the Administrator account.
"

That *is* your best bet. Your expert friend may be a computer programmer -
but doesn't sound like a system administrator. ;-)

Trust me - blank your "adminstrator" password as shown above, log in as the
"administrator" and change the other accounts as needed.

I have blanked it. It started out blank "clear". It didn't work
that way. I added a password. It doesn't work that way either. Same error
message either way.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

<snip>

I have blanked it. It started out blank "clear". It didn't
work that way. I added a password. It doesn't work that way either.
Same error message either way.

http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI

 

[Phantom]

And the error message is............???????

<snip>

Thank you for the wording - that message likely means you *do not* knowthe
correct password for the account you are attempting to log in with.  Please
reset the password - blank it out - as suggested earlier.  Quoting Malke:

Download the CD image (.iso) and burn as an image, not as data. You will
need third-party burning software. Then boot with the CD you created and
follow the directions. After you've finished with NTpasswd, remove the CD
and reboot the computer. Log into the Administrator account.
"

That *is* your best bet.  Your expert friend may be a computer programmer -
but doesn't sound like a system administrator. ;-)

Trust me - blank your "adminstrator" password as shown above, log in asthe
"administrator" and change the other accounts as needed.

         I have blanked it. It started out blank "clear". It didn't work
that way. I added a password. It doesn't work that way either. Same error
message either way.

 

[kurtsgirl]

<snip>


http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI

Thanks for the link. It won't help since I don't have an XP
installation disk. I would like to ask your opinion on my trying file
recovery software just to recover the few files on this laptop that I hadn't
backed up. The reviews of such software indicate they might help. The files
I can't find on the computer must still be accessible to such software,
wouldn't you agree?

Thanks for the help.

K

 

[kurtsgirl]

It just occurred to me that since I can't log on as administrator, even if I
get file recovery software, I can't install it since the computer won't let
anyone but an administrator do that!!!

So my final question --- this is an HP laptop. HP authorized tech services
are at Best Buy. This is not a warranty issue nor will it be. Is Best Buy a
safe place for this problem or should I look for a different tech service?
Suggestions?

Thank you.

 

[Malke]

You don't need data recovery software to back up files when you can't get
into Windows. Use a Linux Live CD like Knoppix or a Bart's PE, boot the
machine with it, copy the data to a USB thumb drive or external hard drive.
If you are talking about files that you previously deleted, then you don't
install recovery software on the target machine anyway. Then you can
restore your computer to factory condition.

However, restoration may not be necessary and a competent computer tech
should be able to untangle the mess. Best Buy is one of the worst places
you could go. Get a recommendation from friends, colleagues, family
instead. Even if the computer is too b0rked and needs to be restored, a
good tech can back up your data first.

Malke

 

[Leonard Agoado]

Is Best Buy a
safe place for this problem or should I look for a different tech
service?

NO! Best Buy's default is to wipe the disk clean and start anew. Find
someone local by asking around. Emphasize that your first priority is
to recover photos from your drive before they take any further steps.


Regards,

Len Agoado