Created New User Account and Old User Account Disappeared!
I created a new user account on my computer running windows xp sp3 and now can't see my original user account. How can I restore my old user profile? I tried a system restore point but it failed. I appreciate any help you can provide.1 person needs an answerI do too
July 27th, 2010 9:08pm

You probably have XP Pro or Media Center and were using the built-in Administrator for your daily work (not recommended). When you created a second administrative account the built-in Administrator was hidden. This is by design. At the Welcome Screen do Ctrl-Alt-Del twice to get the classic logon box. Enter "Administrator" without the quotes for the user name and put in your password. If you didn't have a password, leave that field blank. Log in and see all your stuff. It's good to have the extra administrative user you made (you don't want only one administrative user on the system because if it gets corrupted you'll have no way into Windows in an emergency) so you want to keep the second account.To show your own user account on the Welcome Screen:Enable Administrator account on Welcome Screen -http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_admin_ok.htmMS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
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July 28th, 2010 3:54pm

Thanks so much. I'll try this and let you know what the results are. I appreciate your response.
July 29th, 2010 3:03am

It seems ridiculous to write this but the Welcome screen flashes by so quickly I only have time to press control-alt-delete once. I tried doing it once when the blue screen comes up just before the Welcome screen but it just loads the new user I created (after the black Windows XP screen). Ideas? Thanks so much.
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July 30th, 2010 12:30am

It seems ridiculous to write this but the Welcome screen flashes by so quickly I only have time to press control-alt-delete once. I tried doing it once when the blue screen comes up just before the Welcome screen but it just loads the new user I created (after the black Windows XP screen). Ideas? Thanks so much.Hold the shift key while booting up. See these articles for details:Cancel Automatic Logon in Windows XPConfigure Windows XP to Automatically Login
July 30th, 2010 1:18am

I tried holding down the shift key while booting up but no luck. Then I used Method 2 from the link you provided and now can see the original Administrator account as a User Account but don't know what settings will make it visible on the Welcome screen. Can you tell me what to check/uncheck? Thanks again so much,Method 2Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type control userpasswords2 , and then click OK. In the dialog box that appears, enable Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer check box, and then click OK.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
August 3rd, 2010 9:58pm

Log into your account (the Administrator). Then if Administrator is not appearing on the Welcome Screen (I can't tell from your post), do as previously suggested:Enable Administrator account on Welcome Screen -http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_admin_ok.htmIf you aren't able to see Administrator on the Welcome Screen and holding down Shift doesn't help, then just boot into Safe Mode. You will definitely see the built-in Administrator there. Or do your Ctrl-Alt-Del twice at the Welcome Screen if for some reason you don't. Get into Safe Mode by repeatedly tapping the F8 key as the computer is starting up. Normally you don't need to do this to see the Administrator in XP Pro/MCE but since you're having problems that might help.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
August 4th, 2010 12:16am

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