Windows XP Lost Personal Settings

[Dick Jia]

I was using Windows XP yesterday, and suddenly, I found out My Computer, My
Documents were missing from the desktop (I set them on there before). And my
frequently used programs were gone from the left of the Start menu. I then
restarted my computer. When I log in again, I found out all my personal
settings are missing, but all my files, programs are ok. I have to redo the
settings for almost all programs, including e-mail accounts in Outlook XP
etc. How could that happen? Can anyone give me a reason? Thanks a lot.

Dick Jia

 

[purplehaz]

Sounds like the user account got corrupted. You might want to try a system
restore or creating a new user account.

 

[R. McCarty]

Sometimes a profile can be reset/duplicated. Under the folder
C:\Documents and Settings\ will be a distinct folder name for
each user on the PC. If you look, you may find that your user
name is duplicated with an extension.
C:\Documents and Settings\JohnDoe
C:\Documents and Settings\JohnDoe.Workgroup (Example)
If you find a situation like that described, Windows has indeed
replicated the profile. It is possible to merge/reload certain parts
of the missing data, but the process is detailed and can result in
a really corrupted profile if not done correctly.