Mysterious user accounts in documents & settings.
Hi, I would like to remove two additional accounts I have found in documents and settings. There are now two accounts called "Administrator". One of them is followed by my computer ID number. There were also two user accounts called "admin", again with one followed by my ID number. I went into computer management and it only displayed one of each account (without the ID numbers). I removed the "admin" account, but it only removed the onewith my ID number, so the account named "admin" persists in documents and settings. I barely remember using the "admin" account, but it is now using over 2g of the HD. I read these accounts may have been created from a change to the registry.I would like to safely remove the account named "admin" and one of the Adminstrator accounts but have not figured out where to find them as they don't seem to appear on my login screen or computer management. It's like there's another computer on my computer. Please advise. Thanks,Mike 1 person needs an answerI do too
July 20th, 2010 7:59pm

Those accounts are created when your normal user profile becomes corrupted. Windows creates a new user profile for you then. While I wouldn't do the profile restore referenced in the linked article below (it is for Windows 2000 and not XP), MVP Ramesh has a good explanation of the situation and how to find out which profile you are really using here:Duplicate profile folders exist under the "Documents and Settings" folder -http://windowsxp.mvps.org/restprofile.htmOnce you've determined which profile is your active one, you can then delete the extra accounts. I would certainly look at their My Documents directories first to make sure there isn't any data stored there which you need.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
July 21st, 2010 3:33pm

Hi Malkeleah,Thanks for your help. I checked out the link and tried a fix-it program that popped up, but it didn't change the documents & settings folder.Based on the dates of the last modified folders and that link I would say that I am using the "Administrator.computer name" account and that the account called "Adminstrator" is the old one.Can you help me to safely delete the old "Adminstrator" account and the user account "admin" as they do not appear in my computer management windows. I'm a bit puzzled by the user account named "admin" as there doesn't seem to be much data in the folders (800 MB), yet properties says there's 5600 files in 400 folders using 2.55 GB of my hard drive. I have no idea where this data is but it doesn't matter as I don't use the account anymore and I'd rather have the disk space.Thanks,Mike
July 22nd, 2010 5:09am

I would leave the old Administrator account alone. Just go into its My Documents to get any data you want. There's no need to keep the data there if you're not using that account. As for the "admin" account, go into its My Documents to first make sure there is nothing you want. Then just delete the folders. The reason you don't see everything is that you have some files/folders hidden. To see everything:Control Panel>Folder Options>View taba. Check "Display the contents of system folders".b. Check "Show hidden files and folders".c. Uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types".d. Uncheck "Hide protected operating system files" and click "OK" to the dialog box.Profile corruption can be caused by a variety of reasons - malware infection, failing hardware, improper shutdowns, etc. Be proactive and:a. Make sure your computer is virus/malware-free:http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malwareb. Make sure your hard drive and RAM are healthy by testing them:http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshootc. Make sure your data is backed up to external media regularly:http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Backing_UpMS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
July 22nd, 2010 2:43pm

I deleted the "admin" folder and cleaned out the old administrator account. It was a virus scan that made me aware of some corrupt data in "admin". That's when I went fishing in docs & settings. I will follow up on your recommendations in your links.Thanks again,Mike
July 22nd, 2010 4:05pm

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