Missing Users

[Monika]

Hello,

I tried other groups but nobody seems to know how to solve my XP
problem. Perhaps the good people of this group are more knowledgable.

On Windows XP Home SP1a.

Recently I discovered that there is a way to restrict users without
doing it to the extent the "Limited" account does in Control Panel.

Here's what I did:

Start > Run > "Control Userpasswords2"
In the "User Accounts" dialog:
clicked user name > "Properties" > "Group Membership" tab > "Standard
User" > OK

Here's what happened:

I received an error that the user could not be modified because the
group name was not found, so I clicked "Cancel" on everything and the
user vanished. When I tried to create the user again (from "Control
Userpasswords2" and the Control Panel) I received a message the user
already exists. I did not accidentaly delete the user.

The users are also gone from the Welcome Screen. The only place they
exist is in the Profiles dialog. The folders for the vanishing users
also remain.

Note: I know about System Restore but at the time I forgot about it and
haven't made a restore point. Further, since this happened I updated
Windows, updated key software and installed two more. So, using System
Restore is a last resort option for me.

How do I get those user accounts back?


Thank you kindly for your assistance.

 

[Monika]

Hello,

I tried other groups but nobody seems to know how to solve my XP
problem. Perhaps the good people of this group are more knowledgable.

On Windows XP Home SP1a.

Recently I discovered that there is a way to restrict users without
doing it to the extent the "Limited" account does in Control Panel.

Here's what I did:

Start > Run > "Control Userpasswords2"
In the "User Accounts" dialog:
clicked user name > "Properties" > "Group Membership" tab > "Standard
User" > OK

Here's what happened:

I received an error that the user could not be modified because the
group name was not found, so I clicked "Cancel" on everything and the
user vanished. When I tried to create the user again (from "Control
Userpasswords2" and the Control Panel) I received a message the user
already exists. I did not accidentaly delete the user.

The users are also gone from the Welcome Screen. The only place they
exist is in the Profiles dialog. The folders for the vanishing users
also remain.

Note: I know about System Restore but at the time I forgot about it and
haven't made a restore point. Further, since this happened I updated
Windows, updated key software and installed two more. So, using System
Restore is a last resort option for me.

How do I get those user accounts back?


Thank you kindly for your assistance.

I solved a piece of the puzzle. The accounts have become disabled. The
dialog I used is an old NT dialog and is available standard in XP Pro,
where it's easy to enable an account disabled this way by opening the
Computer Management console and under the "Local Users and Groups" node
double clicking the account(s) in question and clearing the "Account is
Disabled" checkbox.

So, the question now becomes how do I enable the missing account in XP
Home where the "Local Users and Groups" node in not available in
Computer Management.

Thank you.

 

[george]

I solved a piece of the puzzle. The accounts have become disabled. The
dialog I used is an old NT dialog and is available standard in XP Pro,
where it's easy to enable an account disabled this way by opening the
Computer Management console and under the "Local Users and Groups" node
double clicking the account(s) in question and clearing the "Account is
Disabled" checkbox.

So, the question now becomes how do I enable the missing account in XP
Home where the "Local Users and Groups" node in not available in Computer
Management.

Thank you.

run: mmc
File: Add/Remove snap-in
Add button
select from list Local Users and Groups
hit Add
hit Finish
hit Close
hit OK
and voila, your 'missing' Local Users and Groups

hth

george

 

[Monika]

run: mmc
File: Add/Remove snap-in
Add button
select from list Local Users and Groups
hit Add
hit Finish
hit Close
hit OK
and voila, your 'missing' Local Users and Groups

hth

george

Can't be done. I get the following error:

This computer is running Windows XP Home Edition. This snapin may not
be used with that version of Windows. To manage user accounts for this
computer, use the User Accounts tool in Control Panel.

 

[george]

Can't be done. I get the following error:

This computer is running Windows XP Home Edition. This snapin may not be
used with that version of Windows. To manage user accounts for this
computer, use the User Accounts tool in Control Panel.

Monika,

My bad. Wrong advise. (Can you tell I'm not using home edition actively at
all since I'm a pro user?? ))
I replayed your actions on a pristine home I set up to see what's going on,
with the same results. :-((
The 'Standard User' selection refers to a built-in group (Power Users) that
does not seem to exists in home edition and therefore the account gets
disabled.

So, how to get things back on track?

Go to http://www.systemtools.com/hyena/ and get a copy of Hyena. The 30 day
evaluation is plenty time to get this sorted.
It will allow you to make these users a member of the available groups and
they will 'automagically' be 'reinstated' for normal use.
(At least that's what happend when I tried it. )

Other management tools will probably also do, but this is the one I used.

hth

george

 

[Monika]

Monika,

My bad. Wrong advise. (Can you tell I'm not using home edition actively at
all since I'm a pro user?? ))
I replayed your actions on a pristine home I set up to see what's going on,
with the same results. :-((
The 'Standard User' selection refers to a built-in group (Power Users) that
does not seem to exists in home edition and therefore the account gets
disabled.

So, how to get things back on track?

Go to http://www.systemtools.com/hyena/ and get a copy of Hyena. The 30 day
evaluation is plenty time to get this sorted.
It will allow you to make these users a member of the available groups and
they will 'automagically' be 'reinstated' for normal use.
(At least that's what happend when I tried it. )

Other management tools will probably also do, but this is the one I used.

hth

george

Yippee!! THANK YOU!! As you may have guessed, things are back the
way they were--the rest of my family is back online. That'll teach me
to try and customize my computer without a Computer Science degree.

Thank you.