Deleting Multiple Users

[Larry Samuels]

Hi Dave,

The list of users is normal, except you should also have an ASP.NET account
if you have .NET framework installed and a SQLDebugger account if you have
Visual Studio .NET installed.

What worries me more is the inability to work in Safe Mode. Try booting to
regular Safe Mode (without networking) and log into the Administrator
account. We need access to that account to make the necessary
changes/deletions.

Post back the results of trying to get into that account without locking up.

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-

 

[Dave]

Good morning - glad to hear from you -

Search finds nothing for ASP.NET, SQLDebugger, or Visual Studio.NET

Got into Safe Mode w/o networking - took a couple of trys, but finally
worked. Defaults the Log On to OWNER, won't accept any changes. Did manage
to type in Administrator once, screen stopped at Please Wait --- "Logging
settings" Screen didn't freeze, the moving I'm-still-doing-something
indicator was moving, but never finished whatever it was doing (I waited
about 5 minutes.).

Got into Safe Mode/command prompt OK. Great fun cruising around the old
dir, cd.., etc commands.

That's it. Hope this gives you some ideas.

Dave


| Hi Dave,
|
| The list of users is normal, except you should also have an ASP.NET
account
| if you have .NET framework installed and a SQLDebugger account if you have
| Visual Studio .NET installed.
|
| What worries me more is the inability to work in Safe Mode. Try booting to
| regular Safe Mode (without networking) and log into the Administrator
| account. We need access to that account to make the necessary
| changes/deletions.
|
| Post back the results of trying to get into that account without locking
up.
|
| --
| Larry Samuels Associate Expert
| MS-MVP (2001-2005)
| Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
| http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
| Expert Zone-
| | > My list of users seems to be growing - no idea why. Under
| > Explorer/Documents and Settings I now have Administrator, All Users,
| > David,
| > Default User, Guest and Owner.
| >
| > Can't wait to see what's in there tomorrow.
| >
| > Confused
| >
| >
| > | > Hi Dave,
| >
| > I need you to do something for me.
| > Please boot to safe mode with networking
| >
| > I need a list of the following items as they are now:
| > 1>the full computer name
| > 2>the computer description
| > 3>the workgroup or domain (this sounds like useless info but domain
policy
| > overrides local policy if it is in effect)
| > 4>A list if all user accounts that appear in safe mode and a separate
list
| > of all user accounts that appear in normal mode
| >
| > I also need:
| > 5>A list of the user accounts that were on the PC before you first tried
| > changing the user names
| > 6>a list of user accounts that you have created/deleted or renamed
| >
| > Sorry for requesting all the info, but something strange is going on
that
| > is
| > hard to diagnose without physical access to the pc.The steps I listed
| > earlier should have resolved the problem unless there is still an
account
| > I
| > am not aware of or a change was made that hasn't been mentioned.
| >
| > --
| > Larry Samuels Associate Expert
| > MS-MVP (2001-2005)
| > Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
| > http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
| > Expert Zone-
| >
| >
| >
|
|

 

[Larry Samuels]

Hi Dave,

Don't worry about the other accounts--those only exist if the relevant
program(s) are installed.

With all the freaky things going on with your PC it was probably trying to
recreate the super administrator account when it appeared to be frozen. Try
the safe mode Administrator again, but allow it more time. I have seen it
take 30 minutes or more to get to a working desktop on hosed systems.

We have to get into that account (the true administrator account) to make
the changes.

If it does not boot to the Administrator account in Safe Mode after 30
minutes to an hour, reboot the system and use System Restore to go back to
the oldest restore point that works. Start with the oldest SR point you have
and work forward until you find a working SR point if that one fails to
restore. What I am trying to do by doing this is to get you to a place where
the Administrator account works in Safe Mode.

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-

 

[Dave]

OK - I sure can do that.

BTW, I found and installed the .net framework thing, after doing a restore
point. Don't know what it does - but we can get to that in due time.. (I
can also deleted it, of course.)

I'll get back to you
Thx
Dave

| Hi Dave,
|
| Don't worry about the other accounts--those only exist if the relevant
| program(s) are installed.
|
| With all the freaky things going on with your PC it was probably trying to
| recreate the super administrator account when it appeared to be frozen.
Try
| the safe mode Administrator again, but allow it more time. I have seen it
| take 30 minutes or more to get to a working desktop on hosed systems.
|
| We have to get into that account (the true administrator account) to make
| the changes.
|
| If it does not boot to the Administrator account in Safe Mode after 30
| minutes to an hour, reboot the system and use System Restore to go back to
| the oldest restore point that works. Start with the oldest SR point you
have
| and work forward until you find a working SR point if that one fails to
| restore. What I am trying to do by doing this is to get you to a place
where
| the Administrator account works in Safe Mode.
|
| --
| Larry Samuels Associate Expert
| MS-MVP (2001-2005)
| Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
| http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
| Expert Zone-
|
| | > Good morning - glad to hear from you -
| >
| > Search finds nothing for ASP.NET, SQLDebugger, or Visual Studio.NET
| >
| > Got into Safe Mode w/o networking - took a couple of trys, but finally
| > worked. Defaults the Log On to OWNER, won't accept any changes. Did
| > manage
| > to type in Administrator once, screen stopped at Please Wait ---
"Logging
| > settings" Screen didn't freeze, the moving I'm-still-doing-something
| > indicator was moving, but never finished whatever it was doing (I waited
| > about 5 minutes.).
| >
| > Got into Safe Mode/command prompt OK. Great fun cruising around the old
| > dir, cd.., etc commands.
| >
| > That's it. Hope this gives you some ideas.
| >
| > Dave
| >
| >
| > | > | Hi Dave,
| > |
| > | The list of users is normal, except you should also have an ASP.NET
| > account
| > | if you have .NET framework installed and a SQLDebugger account if you
| > have
| > | Visual Studio .NET installed.
| > |
| > | What worries me more is the inability to work in Safe Mode. Try
booting
| > to
| > | regular Safe Mode (without networking) and log into the Administrator
| > | account. We need access to that account to make the necessary
| > | changes/deletions.
| > |
| > | Post back the results of trying to get into that account without
locking
| > up.
| > |
| > | --
| > | Larry Samuels Associate Expert
| > | MS-MVP (2001-2005)
| > | Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
| > | http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
| > | Expert Zone-
| > | | > | > My list of users seems to be growing - no idea why. Under
| > | > Explorer/Documents and Settings I now have Administrator, All Users,
| > | > David,
| > | > Default User, Guest and Owner.
| > | >
| > | > Can't wait to see what's in there tomorrow.
| > | >
| > | > Confused
| > | >
| > | >
| > | > | > | > Hi Dave,
| > | >
| > | > I need you to do something for me.
| > | > Please boot to safe mode with networking
| > | >
| > | > I need a list of the following items as they are now:
| > | > 1>the full computer name
| > | > 2>the computer description
| > | > 3>the workgroup or domain (this sounds like useless info but domain
| > policy
| > | > overrides local policy if it is in effect)
| > | > 4>A list if all user accounts that appear in safe mode and a
separate
| > list
| > | > of all user accounts that appear in normal mode
| > | >
| > | > I also need:
| > | > 5>A list of the user accounts that were on the PC before you first
| > tried
| > | > changing the user names
| > | > 6>a list of user accounts that you have created/deleted or renamed
| > | >
| > | > Sorry for requesting all the info, but something strange is going on
| > that
| > | > is
| > | > hard to diagnose without physical access to the pc.The steps I
listed
| > | > earlier should have resolved the problem unless there is still an
| > account
| > | > I
| > | > am not aware of or a change was made that hasn't been mentioned.
| > | >
| > | > --
| > | > Larry Samuels Associate Expert
| > | > MS-MVP (2001-2005)
| > | > Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
| > | > http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
| > | > Expert Zone-
| > | >
| > | >
| > | >
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|

 

[Dave]

OK - left it alone for a while (don't know how long) but it got into Safe
Mode/Administrator

CP/Users shows:
Administrator - Computer Administrator, and
DAVID - Computer Administrator

Chance visit to MSIMN - interesting
Security Tab shows:
Administrators (David\Administrators)
System
Users (DAVID\Users)

The left the Add/Remove/Allow/Deny buttons alone

Dave






| Hi Dave,
|
| Don't worry about the other accounts--those only exist if the relevant
| program(s) are installed.
|
| With all the freaky things going on with your PC it was probably trying to
| recreate the super administrator account when it appeared to be frozen.
Try
| the safe mode Administrator again, but allow it more time. I have seen it
| take 30 minutes or more to get to a working desktop on hosed systems.
|
| We have to get into that account (the true administrator account) to make
| the changes.
|
| If it does not boot to the Administrator account in Safe Mode after 30
| minutes to an hour, reboot the system and use System Restore to go back to
| the oldest restore point that works. Start with the oldest SR point you
have
| and work forward until you find a working SR point if that one fails to
| restore. What I am trying to do by doing this is to get you to a place
where
| the Administrator account works in Safe Mode.
|
| --
| Larry Samuels Associate Expert
| MS-MVP (2001-2005)
| Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
| http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
| Expert Zone-
|
| | > Good morning - glad to hear from you -
| >
| > Search finds nothing for ASP.NET, SQLDebugger, or Visual Studio.NET
| >
| > Got into Safe Mode w/o networking - took a couple of trys, but finally
| > worked. Defaults the Log On to OWNER, won't accept any changes. Did
| > manage
| > to type in Administrator once, screen stopped at Please Wait ---
"Logging
| > settings" Screen didn't freeze, the moving I'm-still-doing-something
| > indicator was moving, but never finished whatever it was doing (I waited
| > about 5 minutes.).
| >
| > Got into Safe Mode/command prompt OK. Great fun cruising around the old
| > dir, cd.., etc commands.
| >
| > That's it. Hope this gives you some ideas.
| >
| > Dave
| >
| >
| > | > | Hi Dave,
| > |
| > | The list of users is normal, except you should also have an ASP.NET
| > account
| > | if you have .NET framework installed and a SQLDebugger account if you
| > have
| > | Visual Studio .NET installed.
| > |
| > | What worries me more is the inability to work in Safe Mode. Try
booting
| > to
| > | regular Safe Mode (without networking) and log into the Administrator
| > | account. We need access to that account to make the necessary
| > | changes/deletions.
| > |
| > | Post back the results of trying to get into that account without
locking
| > up.
| > |
| > | --
| > | Larry Samuels Associate Expert
| > | MS-MVP (2001-2005)
| > | Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
| > | http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
| > | Expert Zone-
| > | | > | > My list of users seems to be growing - no idea why. Under
| > | > Explorer/Documents and Settings I now have Administrator, All Users,
| > | > David,
| > | > Default User, Guest and Owner.
| > | >
| > | > Can't wait to see what's in there tomorrow.
| > | >
| > | > Confused
| > | >
| > | >
| > | > | > | > Hi Dave,
| > | >
| > | > I need you to do something for me.
| > | > Please boot to safe mode with networking
| > | >
| > | > I need a list of the following items as they are now:
| > | > 1>the full computer name
| > | > 2>the computer description
| > | > 3>the workgroup or domain (this sounds like useless info but domain
| > policy
| > | > overrides local policy if it is in effect)
| > | > 4>A list if all user accounts that appear in safe mode and a
separate
| > list
| > | > of all user accounts that appear in normal mode
| > | >
| > | > I also need:
| > | > 5>A list of the user accounts that were on the PC before you first
| > tried
| > | > changing the user names
| > | > 6>a list of user accounts that you have created/deleted or renamed
| > | >
| > | > Sorry for requesting all the info, but something strange is going on
| > that
| > | > is
| > | > hard to diagnose without physical access to the pc.The steps I
listed
| > | > earlier should have resolved the problem unless there is still an
| > account
| > | > I
| > | > am not aware of or a change was made that hasn't been mentioned.
| > | >
| > | > --
| > | > Larry Samuels Associate Expert
| > | > MS-MVP (2001-2005)
| > | > Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
| > | > http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
| > | > Expert Zone-
| > | >
| > | >
| > | >
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|

 

[Larry Samuels]

Good job!!

Now while in safe mode logged on as administrator I need for you to make
sure the computer name is NOT David, create a new account called test with
administrator privileges, then delete the David account.
When deleting the David account it will ask if you want to keep the files.
Click yes and it will save your personal files to a folder named David on
the desktop.

Reboot the pc to normal mode and log in as test. Verify that the David
folder on the administrator's desktop \Documents and
Settings\Administrator\Desktop\David contains your personal files, then
delete the folders under Documents and Settings for everyone **EXCEPT**
Administrator, test, All Users, Default User (hidden folder), Local Service
(hidden folder), and Network Service (hidden folder). DO NOT DELETE any of
the folders I listed!!!

Once the folders have been deleted, create a new user named David with
administrator privileges.

Reboot the PC and log in as David. Delete the test account.

Copy your personal files from \Documents and
Settings\Administrator\Desktop\David to \Documents and Settings\David

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-

 

[Dave]

Larry -
Some success -

General - FWIW
Default folder comes up NOT as hidden
No Local Service folder - even under Show Hidden
No Network Service folder - even under Show Hidden

Other results/comments -

Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\David is empty. But NOTE - I
have all that stuff backed up/copied all over the place, so I should be OK
once we (actually you <G>) get the rest of this straightened out.

Did get the comp name changed - although it wouldn't buy DELL 3000 because
of an "illegal character" in the number 3000. (Go figure. Who cares - it
is now named DELL.)

NOTE: Windows folder is only under David so I stopped before deleting David.

CP/Users currently shows 'test -Computer Administrator and 'Guest - Guest
account is on''

Tried to log on as Administrator - error message "Unable to log you on
because of an account restriction"
I am currently logged on 'test'

Your thoughts?

Dave

 

[Larry Samuels]

Hi Dave,

You cannot log on to the Administrator account except in safe mode. This is
a restriction of XP home and is expected.
The Windows folder in the David folder is nothing to worry about--it is
probably empty except for a folder named system which is also empty.

Now do the following:
1>Rename the David folder to David OLD. You will have to do this before you
can recreate the David account.
2>Create a new account named David with administrator privileges.
3>Restart the PC and log into the David account.
4>Verify all is working, then delete the Test account.

This will leave you with your primary account named David, a working Guest
account, and a hidden Administrator account which only works in safe mode.

This gets your users back to what is desired. You can then save any files
from the David OLD folder, then delete it.
Copy your saved files back to the David folder and you're done.

Let me know when this works and I'll really confuse you by telling you how
to make your PC safer. <G>
Hint--you should never be running as an admin all the time, but let's get
the accounts working correctly before I bog you down with security issues.

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-

 

[Dave]

Larry -
Much progress

A couple of questions linger -

With do not show hidden files, I have the following users under Docs &
Settings ----------

Administrator - several sub folders but essentially all practically empty

All Users - ditto Administrator

David - PERFECT - just like old times. Lost a few things here and there,
but nothing that's going to be a problem

David Old - Now this is interesting. Tried to delete it and got an error
message that it was too big for the Recycle bin, did I just want to delete
it anyway (or whatever)? Chickened out, and switched to Show Hidden Files.
Then we see all kinds of files. Expanded a few, seem to go down many levels
and wind up at the location of the correct file. Anyway, I was hesitant to
delete David Old until I asked about this

Default User - many folders, most empty

Great progress - really appreciate all this

Dave (starting to breath again)

 

[Larry Samuels]

Hi Dave,

Replies inline below

Larry -
Much progress

A couple of questions linger -

With do not show hidden files, I have the following users under Docs &
Settings ----------

Administrator - several sub folders but essentially all practically empty

Normal and expected

All Users - ditto Administrator

Normal and expected

David - PERFECT - just like old times. Lost a few things here and there,
but nothing that's going to be a problem

glad to hear that it is working now

David Old - Now this is interesting. Tried to delete it and got an error
message that it was too big for the Recycle bin, did I just want to delete
it anyway (or whatever)?

That is because that was the primary account that got changed so many times.
Most of your missing material is probably buried in there somewhere.

Chickened out, and switched to Show Hidden Files. Then we see all kinds of
files. Expanded a few, seem to go down many levels and wind up at the
location of the correct file. Anyway, I was hesitant to delete David Old
until I asked about this.

It is safe to delete, but I would scour through there for your missing items
before deleting it.

Default User - many folders, most empty

Normal and expected

Great progress - really appreciate all this

You're very welcome--I enjoy a challenge.

Dave (starting to breath again)

See--I told you we would get there. Are you ready to start on security now?
<G,D,+Rvvvf>


--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-

 

[Dave]

OK, fire away. I've always known etc., etc.

Dave

 

[Dave]

A couple of addition questions before you start on my case (deserved) about
my use/abuse of my administrator role:

1) Can I delete Administrator and Default users (as they appear in DO Not
Show Hidden Files)?

2) Would like to change back to David for Full Computer Name. Have one
other comp (also DELL) that shares
a printer, and "DELL" for my comp name is confusing. I could (would rather)
change my MY Docs folder name to something else if necessary.

Dave

 

[Larry Samuels]

You cannot delete the Administrator and Default User accounts. They are
system accounts.

You cannot use David as the computer name if you are going to have an
account named David. You can use anything BUT David, so I would suggest
naming the computer David-1


--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-