Lost Docs & Settings

[bozo]

After going to a DSL line from a dial-up yesterday...I woke up to a computer that was COMPLETELY different today.

I did do some updating last night, which more than likely caused the problem. On boot this AM it appeared that I had a first run system i.e. XP startup tutorial, Bigfix first run tutorial, Opera running as "first run" ect.

3/4 of my desktop icons are missing, all of my contacts & bookmarks in Opera are missing. Many of my personalized settings in XP (display & performance) were changed.

I have my Windows update set to "Notify me of updates, but don't install". My first suspect was that SP2 got DL'd & installed...In my "Add-Remove" applet...It does show SP2...which I have not manually installed, but in Accessories\System Tools\System Information, it shows SP as 00.

I use XP's built in Backup utility to make various backups, including Docs & Settings. Twice I have tried to restore the Docs & Settings from a backup of a week ago...but the restore does NOT change anything (it does load the backup device, and then procede to be doing the restore...about 7 minutes...and at the end says "Restore complete").

The updates as listed at the bottom in the "Add\Remove" applet are:
Windows hotfix (SP1) Q810577
Windows hotfix (SP1) Q810833
Windows XP hotfix (SP2) [see Q329115 for more info] as I said, I did not manually do any SP2 update
Windows XP hotfix package [see Q328145 for more info]

1. Any ideas of how to undo this mess??? System Restore does not show any restore points except today which are worthless.

2. Is there another location I can look to see if SP2 got mysteriously installed?

3. Has the XP Backup utility been changed in SP2 from SP1...thus rendering my backups useless?

Thanks-Larry

[bozo]

Anybody????

[wedor]

You want to check if your profile had become corrupted, this would display the symptoms you are describing.

Check under documents and settings to see if you have multiple profiles listed.

[bozo]

Under My Documents & Settings I have this listed:
All Users
Default User
Larry
Larry BS-NZXXXXXXXXXXX (comp number)

Is it possible that I have two separate profiles for me (Larry) which could be causing this, If so, how would I correct this?

In Control Panel/User Accounts...I have "Larry" listed as the administrator, and :guest" which is turned off.

Thanks-Larry

[rjfvillarosa]

Lost Doc's and two smoking barrels

sorry I just couldn't resist that.

[wedor]

This link provides information on how to fix your problem and the possible cause.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;318011

[Force Flow]

You may want to try a system restore if all else fails.

[bozo]

wendor...the link you posted is one of many sites that I, NOW, cannot go to (aslo Internet Explorer, Google, and some other favorites). I am using Opera, & Foxfire and several sites I get "Can't Locate Remote Server", other sites work just fine.

Would it be possible to cut & paste that info here.

Force Flow...System Restore is NOT an option...since all previous restore points are gone.

[wedor]

Here,

This article describes how to copy user data from your Windows XP profile to a new profile.

When you copy user data into a new profile, the new profile becomes a near duplicate of the old profile, and contains the same preferences, appearance, and documents as the old profile. If your old profile is corrupted in some way, you can move the files and settings from the corrupt profile to a new profile.

Note The method that is described in this article may not transfer the Outlook Express e-mail messages and address user data that are associated with the user profile where you are transferring data from. When you delete the old profile, you may delete that data if it you do not first transfer it by using other methods. For additional information about transferring Outlook Express user data, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
313055 OLEXP: Mail Folders, Address Book, and E-mail Messages Are Missing After You Upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP
MORE INFORMATION
Create a New User Profile in Windows XP Professional
1. Log on as the Administrator or as a user with administrator credentials.
2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3. Click User Accounts.
4. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Advanced.
5. In the left pane, click the Users folder.
6. On the Action menu, click New User.
7. Enter the appropriate user information, and then click Create.

Create a New User Profile in Windows XP Home Edition
1. Log on as the Administrator or as a user with administrator credentials.
2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3. Click User Accounts.
4. Under Pick a task, click Create a new account.
5. Type a name for the user information, and then click Next.
6. Click an account type, and then click Create Account.

Copy Files to the New User Profile
1. Log on as a user other than the user whose profile you are copying files to or from.
2. In Windows Explorer, click Tools, click Folder Options, click the View tab, click Show hidden files and folders, click to clear the Hide protected operating system files check box, and then click OK.
3. Locate the C:\Documents and Settings\Old_Username folder, where C is the drive on which Windows XP is installed, and Old_Username is the name of the profile you want to copy user data from.
4. Press and hold down the CTRL key while you click each file and subfolder in this folder, except the following files: • Ntuser.dat
• Ntuser.dat.log
• Ntuser.ini

5. On the Edit menu, click Copy.
6. Locate the C:\Documents and Settings\New_Username folder, where C is the drive on which Windows XP is installed, and New_Username is the name of the user profile that you created in the "Create a New User Profile" section.
7. On the Edit menu, click Paste.
8. Log off the computer, and then log on as the new user.

Note You must import your e-mail messages and addresses to the new user profile before you delete the old profile. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
313055 OLEXP: Mail Folders, Address Book, and E-mail Messages Are Missing After You Upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP


But at least make an attempt to spell my name correctly in the future.

[bozo]

wedor...Spelling better hehe!

Thanks for C&P that article for me.

I have zero'd in on my problem. It appears that I have two user names (Larry & Larry BS-NZXXXXXXXXXXX comp number) that both contain
Docs & Settings for username "Larry", which I think is what is the basis for the corruption I am experencing. I have clearly identified that the "Larry" Docs & Settings has the FULL set of settings that should be used, yet the computer is choosing the "Larry BS-NZXXXXXXXXXXX (comp number)" Docs & Settings to load.

To correct...I have tried to "cut" the Larry BS-NZXXXXXXXXXXX (comp number)\Docs & Settings & paste it to the desktop (or another location), but windows won't allow me to change it. I thought by getting it out of the user folder, it would force the computer to use the correct Docs & Settings.

Heres a couple of ideas I had:
1. I have a proggie "Sure Delete" that might just delete the "Larry BS-NZXXXXXXXXXXX (comp number)\Docs & Settings"...and then reboot & see if I can force the computer to use the correct Docs & Settings.

2. Along the lines of the article you pasted...Create a new Adimistrator User...copy the files from the good Docs & Settings to the new user...then delete the "Larry" user...does this seem like it would work???

Or do you or anyone, have a better suggestion?

[wedor]

I forget why it chooses one over the other, I know that the MS method works, you might get something else to work but I would back up first just in case your plan goes south.