User accounts - can they be deleted?

[Guest]

I got two identical laptops at the same time. On one, my husband and son set
up user accounts for themselves. On the other, only I use it and there are
no user accounts. Now, with son gone to college, the user accounts on my
husbands are a pain. Just one more step on an already not so fast computer.
We only need one desktop on that computer. Can we delete the whole system so
it works like mine does? I don't even remember how I set it up to be like
that. The computer just boots to my desktop.
I understand the story about increased protection from viruses when not
using an administrator account but on our home computers that doesn't seem
like such a risk.
Is there a way to get rid of the screen that directs us to open only one
user account, move any still wanted documents from our son's folders to my
husbands, delete anything else from his user account, delete the guest
account, and make the whole thing simpler as it seems to be on my computer?

 

[Guest]

You can download the TweakUI.exe PowerToy from Microsoft.com (I don't know
exactly where it is, I just Google "TweakUI" when I need to download it to a
new machine.)

One of the settings in TweakUI is for Autologon (In the "Logon" set). You
can choose which user will be logged in automatically at startup, skipping
the user-select screen. You can even enter a password there so that the
account can remain password protected.

 

[Ziggy Zigman]

I assume you are using XP on both systems. First off, you can not delete the
Guest or Administrator's accounts, as they are built-in to XP and can only
be disabled or renamed. The easiest way to get the system to log right in
when it's booted is to remove any excess user accounts so you only have 1 on
the system. To check the accounts, log on as your husband, right click My
Computer and select Manage. Double click Local Users and Groups, then click
on Users. You should see all of the user accounts on the system. Delete all
you created except your husband's, which should be an admin user. When done,
you should only have your husband's account, the original Administrator's
account, Guest, and 2 Windows Techsupport accounts. Reboot the system and
when it comes back up it should log right in. You can access any old data
from your son's user account by going to C:\Documents and
Settings\username - where username is the name of you son's old account. By
using the Account Manager you delete the user account, but retain the old
profile info. You can leave that on forever, or create more disk space by
removing it once you move any data you wish to save. To remove the profile:
Control Panel, Performance and Maintenance, System, Advanced, User Profiles
click settings and delete anything that says Account Unknown.

 

[Rock]

I got two identical laptops at the same time. On one, my husband and son
set
up user accounts for themselves. On the other, only I use it and there
are
no user accounts. Now, with son gone to college, the user accounts on my
husbands are a pain. Just one more step on an already not so fast
computer.
We only need one desktop on that computer. Can we delete the whole system
so
it works like mine does? I don't even remember how I set it up to be like
that. The computer just boots to my desktop.
I understand the story about increased protection from viruses when not
using an administrator account but on our home computers that doesn't seem
like such a risk.
Is there a way to get rid of the screen that directs us to open only one
user account, move any still wanted documents from our son's folders to my
husbands, delete anything else from his user account, delete the guest
account, and make the whole thing simpler as it seems to be on my
computer?

There has to be at least one user account to login to the desktop. That's
how it works. Every system has at least one account, the built in
Administrator account. There is also the Guest account, possibly an Asp.net
account (if .Net has been installed), several accounts used strictly by the
system, and whatever other user accounts you created.

When you boot the computer and login to an account that login can be setup
to be automatic, which is apparently what you have done. To see what
account you're logging into go to Start | Run. Type in %Userprofile%.
Click Ok. It will display the folder for the current user.

To see all the user accounts on the computer go to Start | Run | cmd | Ok.
At the command line type in
net user
(Press Enter)

If you happen to be using the built in Administrator account that's not good
practice. If something damages that account then you won't be able to login
to the computer. Create at least one other account with admin level
privileges, and login to it at least once. Then copy the data and settings
from the Administrator account to this new account. Work in the new
account. If things are ok then put a strong password on the Administrator
account and set it aside.

Note that when another admin level account is created the built in
Administrator account disappears. To login to it for XP Pro at the Welcome
Screen do Ctrl-Alt-Del twice, then type in Administrator as the user name
and the password. For XP Home the Administrator account can only be
accessed from Safe Mode.

Here are links with info on how to create user accounts and how to
copy/delete user accounts.

HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=279783

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

I don't know what you mean by the user accounts on that one laptop being a
pain. A computer runs fine with multiple user accounts. But in any event
you can delete unneeded accounts. See the about link on how to create and
configure user accounts for info on how to delete and account. When
deleting an account you are given the option to retain the data. You decide
if you want to or not.

To set up a computer to auto login to a given account there are several ways
to do it.

1. Go to Start | Run and type in: control userpasswords2 | Ok.

2. On the Users tab, clear the Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To
Use This Computer check box and then click OK.

3. In the Automatically Log On dialog box that appears, type the user name
and password for the account you want to be logged on each time you start
your computer.

You can accomplish the same thing by:

Download and install tweakui for xp and use its auto logon feature.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

Lastly you can add the Dialog box that comes up when running control
userpasswords2 to the Control Panel with the following tweak:

Add Control User Passwords2 to the Control Panel (Line 1)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm