User Profile Data Not Found?

[indigo791]

I have always had only one user profile on my computer (not password
protected) as I am the only one who uses it. When I turned on the computer
the other day, it said my user profile data could not be found and it led me
to the desktop after several minutes basically as a guest login. All of my
settings were gone and I could not access any programs.

I created a new user profile and set it as my administrative profile, and
now I can see my files from my other profile but all of my settings have
basically been wiped clean and i'm starting from scratch. I cannot get my
firefox bookmarks to show up and I now have to open up every program once and
it thinks i'm a new user so I have to redo all of my settings.

I basically want to know first of all why this happened, and can I fix it
without just transferring all my date over to the new profile? I have run a
virus program (Kaspersky) but it didn't find anything. The last time I used
the computer before this happened, I did not download anything nor was I even
on the internet. Could this be a virus anyway? Any help would be appreciated!

 

[donald huang]

It seems the profile corrupted. The reason could be quite a few things.
Software conflicts, sudden power loss, virus or antivirus software itself
all add up to it.

You can try to use System Restore from All Programs->System Tools and see
whether that will restore the status of your computer. If system restore is
enabled on your computer (through Control Panel-> Systems -> System Restore
tab), you may get your computer retrieve the status of any registry change
or software update so it may restore your settings. It is a good thing to
always create a customize restore point with system restore from system
tools or even backup your computer before you do anything about changing
settings of application or antivirus stuff.

If a system restore does not restore the settings, after you create a new
profile, you can copy your original profile from where it was and retrieve
some settings. The steps are mentioned on the following page.

How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile in Windows
XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151/

You can backup your profile only. To do that, open Control Panel-> System.
Then select the Advanced tab and click on setting within the User Profiles
box. Then you can click to choose the specific user profile you want to work
with and click on the Copy to button on the bottom of the dialog box.

Hope it helps.

 

[indigo791]

I forgot to mention I did do a system restore, but it didn't change anything
as far as my user profile goes. I will give check out the link you posted to
try and copy the data from the old profile. Thanks for the info!

 

[Kelly]

Which settings are wiped out?

In the meantime:

How to take ownership of a file or a folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

How to Copy or Remove a User Profile
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/win_xp_logon.htm#usercopy

HOW TO: Create a Custom Default User Profile:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q305709

Corrupt Hive
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_sys32.htm

How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q307545

--

All the Best and Happy Mardi Gras,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm

 

[indigo791]

Which settings are wiped out?>

It's as if all the settings on the computer returned to the default
settings. Even simple things have been reset, ie. my background was back to
the standard windows background, I could not see any files that I usually
keep on the desktop even though I could still find them by searching in the
folders saved on my hard drive, any applications I added to the "quick
launch" toolbar were no longer there, and every program I have previously
registered with opens up as if it is the first time i've ever used it. For
example, I use Picasa and it has to reload all of my pictures, or I use
iTunes and it has to reload all of my songs, which sucks because the songs
can only be loaded so many times and it thinks i'm adding them to a new
computer, which obviously I am not. I cannot even access any of my saved
bookmarks. I realize I can just move all of this stuff over to the new
profile, but its annoying nonetheless.

Will copying the data from the old profile also move my bookmarks over? Is
there an easier way to do that or a folder I can find those in from my new
profile? I had A LOT saved on there and its a pain trying to remember all the
links I frequently used. I will check out the links you've posted in the
meantime. Thanks!

 

[Kelly]

You are viewing a whole new profile.

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm