Accounts in WindowsXP

[Rob van Albada]

Hi,

A week ago I installed Windows-XP Pro on my computer.

After working afew days as Administrator, I decided to set up
accounts.

The first new account I created was thaof of a friend, Ben Arps, who
was installled as an administrator.
(I supposed the computer could have more than one administrator).

The other accounts were guest accounts for family members.

(Ben has to have access to the computer in case I die.)

To my surprise, my own account in my name (Rob van Albada)
disappeared.

I could only log on as Ben Arps or as a guest.

Therefore deleted the account 'Ben Arps' and set up a new
administrator account under my own name.

But when I now log in, the desktop is still Ben Arps' desktop. Though
Rob van Albada is Administrator and owner of the account, maps are
still called Documents and Settings\Ben Arps\Etcetera

The maps Documents and Settings\Administrator and Documents and
Settings\Rob van Albada are not used.

How do I correct this?

I tried using the Wizard Documents and Settings but this does not
help.

Kind regards,

Rob van Albada, Amsterdam.

 

[Ron Sommer]

What I think happened is that you were using the only administrator account.
When you created the second administrator account, the original account
became hidden.
Boot to SafeMode and see what accounts you have.

From another post:
The names of the user profile folders cannot be changed. To have an "Edna"
folder you would need to logon to the administrator account and create a new
user account named "Edna". Then you can copy the stuff from the account
you've been using into it.

How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811151

Note that one step not listed in the article is that after creating the
destination profile you must log into it once first to create the necessary
file structure before you do the copy procedure.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

Do you realize that just being another administrator may not give access to
your files?

 

[Rob van Albada]

Hi Nutcase,

In Dutch we have an expression 'met meer geluk dan wijsheid', which
translates as 'with more luck than wisdom'.

This is applicable to the way in which I resolved the problem, after
reading and printing your answer.

I shut down the computer and restarted it while pressing F8.

Next I chose Safe Mode.

I was asked whether I wanted to restore the system (sorry, I am not
sure of the English terminology, in Dutch it is called Wizard
Systeemherstel).

I chose a date two days ago, and had the system restored to the then
state.

When restarting, the only user laft was the Administrator (me).
But the screen resulotion was very coarse, and other settings gad also
changed.
Therefore I used the Restore System facility again, now choosing a
date only one day ago (i.e. yesterday).

Now everything worked as it should, I had the Administrators desktop
back no other users.
Only I had to reinstall a CD/DVD-burning tool, which of course I did.

I created new users, with only Guest accesss.

Everything now works fine (for the time being). More luck than wisdom
indeed!
So far the use of being a bit nervous and impatient.

Thanks very much for your most helpful posting!

Kind regards,

Rob van Albada in overcast Amsterdam.