Duplicate users in Documents and Setting

[Robert Pohl]

Recent problem with Win XP required reinstallation. Now in Documents and
Settings there are duplicate users, i.e., for user Bob there are two users
listed; "Bob" and "Bob.Home" (computer name is Home) both users apparently
have same folders (My Documents; Application Data; Favorites; etc.)

New files, from Word, for exemple are saved in My Documents under "Bob" not
"Bob.Home".

Can or should I delete "Bob.Home"?

TIA
Bob

 

[Thorsten Matzner]

Recent problem with Win XP required reinstallation. Now in Documents and
Settings there are duplicate users, i.e., for user Bob there are two users
listed; "Bob" and "Bob.Home" (computer name is Home) both users apparently
have same folders (My Documents; Application Data; Favorites; etc.)

New files, from Word, for exemple are saved in My Documents under "Bob" not
"Bob.Home".

Can or should I delete "Bob.Home"?

You can, but there is no need to do it. To make sure that "Bob" is the
active profile, type
SET
in a DOS box and check the value of USERPROFILE. Then check "Bob.Home"
for data which you still need. After this is done, you can safely
delete the BOB.HOME folder from the Safe Mode.
"A Description of the Safe Boot Mode Options in Windows XP"
(http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315222)

 

[Robert Pohl]

tks .... "Bob.Home" is gone! ..... however, I now also notice that in
Documents and Settings there are folders: "Default User" and "Default
User.Windows" plus "All Users" and "All Users.Windows" . May I assume that
the "*.Windows" are expendable and were also created unnecessarily when I
reinstalled Win XP and can also be safely deleted just like the "Bob.Home"
folder?
TIA
Bob

 

[Thorsten Matzner]

tks .... "Bob.Home" is gone! ..... however, I now also notice that in
Documents and Settings there are folders: "Default User" and "Default
User.Windows" plus "All Users" and "All Users.Windows" . May I assume that
the "*.Windows" are expendable and were also created unnecessarily when I
reinstalled Win XP and can also be safely deleted just like the "Bob.Home"
folder?

No. The duplicates in most cases are created when you reinstall
Windows. Leave the DEFAULT USER folders alone. For ALL USERS you can
test which folder is in use: type
SET
at a DOS prompt and check the value for
ALLUSERSPROFILE. Delete the other folder.