Windows files broken after a series of unsolicited shutdowns

[QUOTE=NoelDP;2389179]

Steve06 said:

2)
The net user command just lists all user accounts and the second command terminates with system error 1376 and saying that this local group does not exist.[/QUOTE]


There's your problem then!
The question then becomes how to recreate that group without access to the registry.
VK - any ideas??

if regedit is not possible, is command REG ADD HKLM\....... possible?

just thoughts.

i can confirm that regedit.exe works with new task... just what do i need to enter?

Did not find any events related to explorer.exe, however there's an event along the lines of "possible heap damage". can post more about this later as I will now be AFK for the next 3h.

You can try booting into DVD or System Repair Disk Command Line to Enable Built-in Administrator from WinRE - Windows 7 Forums.

This should get you into the OS if it is salvageable to see if you can resurrect your accounts, and if not create new ones if it is the accounts that are unstable and not overall OS.

You might be better off wiping the HD against infection and proceeding with a Clean Reinstall. The OS may have been ruined by TuneUp Utilities which are a frequent problem seen here. Stick with the tools and methods in the blue link to get and keep a perfect install (even for retail).

1. The heap-related issues reported in the event log are the following:
Source: WER-Diagnostics
Event ID: 2
"Possible heap corruption detected (exception code 3221225477). Initiating further diagnostics."
This event occurred a couple of times during the day.

2. Under compmgmt.msc there is in fact an administrators group among plenty of other groups.

UPDATE:
I have found why NET LocalGroup Administrators did not work and threw an error:
Due to a localization of my (German) Windows license, the administrators group is spelled differently, and when I type NET LocalGroup Administratoren it indeed works. So at least we have ruled this out.

This was one of my earlier ideas. I can certainly do this from my secondary admin account. The question is then how to migrate my user data and settings. Should I try to start the migration wizard (don't remember the exact name) from the corrupted profile, or is there a checklist outlining how to do this manually?

gregrocker said:

You can try booting into DVD or System Repair Disk Command Line to Enable Built-in Administrator from WinRE - Windows 7 Forums.

This should get you into the OS if it is salvageable to see if you can resurrect your accounts, and if not create new ones if it is the accounts that are unstable and not overall OS.

You might be better off wiping the HD against infection and proceeding with a Clean Reinstall. The OS may have been ruined by TuneUp Utilities which are a frequent problem seen here. Stick with the tools and methods in the blue link to get and keep a perfect install (even for retail).

Hi greg and thanks for joining the discussion. I might ultimately do a clean reinstall, probably taking the opportunity to transition to Windows 8 then (as it seems promising in terms of security and performance), if I see that things remain unstable or inaccessible. In the beginning I was reluctant to do this because of having to install and configure all apps all over again and also because I was not sure how to go about retrieving all personal data and settings effectively without losing something. I think that by now I am over the first concern, but am still not certain how to save all important data.

I'm not quite sure what to make of your tip related to enabling the administrator account, that is what the ultimate goal would be, or what I could do then which I cannot now?