Files/Folders missing after creating new user account

[Virginia]

I created an administrators account in order to have a password required at
when signing on. I may have deleted the END USER account which was the one I
originally had and where everthying was. Now I cannot find any of my files. I
want to know if there is a way of retrieving these files and folders and have
my old account back.

 

[Malke]

I created an administrators account in order to have a password required
at when signing on. I may have deleted the END USER account which was the
one I originally had and where everthying was. Now I cannot find any of my
files. I want to know if there is a way of retrieving these files and
folders and have my old account back.

Your post is pretty light on details (what version of XP? Pro, Home, Media
Center?) but here's what my Crystal Ball(tm) sez:

1. You have XP Pro or Media Center.
2. You were using the built-in Administrator account for your daily work.
3. You created a new user account with administrative privileges.
4. Your system behaved as it was designed and hid the built-in Administrator
account after the second administrative account was created.

What to do if my Crystal Ball(tm) was accurate:

1. Since you were already using the built-in Administrator account, you
might as well keep on using it. Keep the second administrative user account
for emergencies; don't use it for daily work. You want this extra
administrative user account in case the daily one becomes corrupted.

2. You can use the classic logon box and type "Administrator" for the user
and whatever password you've assigned. To get the classic logon box, go to
Control Panel>User Accounts>Change how users log on>uncheck "use Welcome
Screen" and uncheck "Fast User Switching".

3. Or if you prefer the Welcome Screen, here is a fix by MVP Doug Knox:

Enable Administrator account on Welcome Screen -
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_admin_ok.htm

If my Crystal Ball(tm) wasn't accurate, post back with a better description
of what you really did.

Malke

 

[Virginia]

Your Crystal Ball is CORRECT about the HP Pro!!!

Ok.....Details:

When I started using this computer, I never made any changes or set up any
accounts. Therefore, im not sure whether it was or wasnt a built-in admin
account. I think it was the End-User account because the files I find that I
cannot open say End-User on properties.

Recently, I tried to create an account, admin, in order to have the computer
request a password when loggin in. Additionally, I disabled the other
accounts. After doing this, a brand new desktop screen displayed and none of
my original programs or icons were there. After this happened I tried going
back and enableling the End-User account which was the original one, but even
after doing this, my files are not showing up. The problem now is that I know
the files are still in my computer because I've done searches including all
user accounts and I see the files but I cannot open them. My pictures are
missing, my documents and my limewire(music) program with all my downloaded
songs are missing. There's one icon of limewire on the desktop now but it
contains no songs. I have no idea whats going on. Now Im having trouble
loggin in because I disabled the admin and all other accounts thinking I
would be able to retrieve my files using only the End-User account. I was
wrong. And I cant make any changes because Im not authorized as a regular
account user. But I cant enable the admin account because i have no access.

I think I've just made everything worst! And I have no idea what to do!

Im so sorry for this confusion, if you dont understand the mess I've gotten
into it's ok. Im still trying to figure it out. Thank you so much I
appreciate your post, and would greatly appreciate if you could post another
on this reply.

(Im going to follow your link and see what happens)

Thanks again,
Virginia

 

[Malke]

Your Crystal Ball is CORRECT about the HP Pro!!!

Ok.....Details:

When I started using this computer, I never made any changes or set up any
accounts. Therefore, im not sure whether it was or wasnt a built-in admin
account. I think it was the End-User account because the files I find
that I cannot open say End-User on properties.

If you never made any changes, then you probably were using the built-in
Administrator for your own daily work. There is no such thing as an
"End-User" account unless you are just calling it that. Possibly you mean a
Standard (or Limited) user. I have no idea what "cannot open ... End-User
on properties" means, sorry.

Recently, I tried to create an account, admin, in order to have the
computer request a password when loggin in.

There was no need to do this. You simply had to assign a password to
whatever account you are using. If you had already assigned a password and
were going directly to that account's Desktop, you probably had set it to
automatically log in. In that case, all you would need to do is reverse
this:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

Additionally, I disabled the
other accounts. After doing this, a brand new desktop screen displayed and
none of my original programs or icons were there.

Disabling the other accounts was the wrong move. The only user account that
should be disabled is Guest, because Guest is a special System account that
is normally disabled for security purposes.

After this happened I
tried going back and enableling the End-User account which was the
original one, but even after doing this, my files are not showing up.

The files are not showing up because you were using the built-in
Administrator account and not "End-User". Do as I told you and log into the
built-in Administrator account and all your files should be there.

There's one icon of limewire on the desktop now but it contains no songs. I
have no idea whats going on

Of course, since you are doing P2P (Limewire), there is also a very good
chance your computer is infected. This probably has nothing to do with your
user account issues but I mention it because scanning for malware once you
get the user accounts straightened out would be A Good Thing.

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

. Now Im having trouble loggin in because I disabled the admin and
all other accounts thinking I would be able to retrieve my files using
only the End-User account. I was wrong. And I cant make any changes
because Im not authorized as a regular account user. But I cant enable the
admin account because i have no access.

If you really think you disabled the built-in Administrator account (have
tried to log into it by doing Ctrl-Alt-Del at the Welcome Screen etc.),
then you can use a Linux boot disk called NTpasswd to enable the built-in
Administrator account and blank its password so you can get into the
system. I have no idea whether this will be technically difficult for you,
but here are the instructions:

Download the bootable CD .iso, burn with third-party burning software (as an
image, not as data), boot with the media you created. You may need to
change the boot order in the BIOS or get a temporary boot order menu with a
special keypress. NTpasswd will run. Follow the instructions carefully.

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

If you can't do the work yourself (and there is no shame in admitting this
isn't your cup of tea), take the machine to a professional computer repair
shop (not your local equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If
possible, have all your data backed up before you take the machine into a
shop.

Malke

 

[Virginia]

I did try to log into it by doing Ctrl-Alt-Del at the Welcome Screen, but the
account that shows up is the one I mentioned before "END-USER" and I leave
the password blank because one was never created. This is the only way I can
log back in.

Im going to try the boot disk to enable the built-in Administrator account
and blank its password.

Thanks so much Malke!

I will let you know the results!

 

[jd]

I created an administrators account in order to have a password required at
when signing on. I may have deleted the END USER account which was the one I
originally had and where everthying was. Now I cannot find any of my files. I
want to know if there is a way of retrieving these files and folders and have
my old account back.