Can't Access "Default User" folder in Users Folder

[Wandering Flame]

And that is because of my unintentional hacking and fiddling with the junction called "Default User" that IDIODICALLY shows up in the "Users" folder despite the fact "Hide protected system files" is checked in folder options. What bull...

Anyway, someone please answer my previous question...does Startup Repair affect any personal data? I didn't see an answer in the link for Startup Repair provided by Thorsen.

And what is really my best option now, considering system restore failed me? To give better information, when I create a new user account, it cannot even load up. The User Service fails and it logs right off to the switch user menu.

 

[CarlTR6]

Unless someone has a better idea, it looks to me as if it is time for a http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html. Can you back up your personal data?

 

[Wandering Flame]

I'm doing that now.

Would anyone know what the repair install would do in my specific case? Say the "Default User" junction, as well as the "Default" folder were deleted completely...would the repair install just remake those?

And if they were edited, would the repair install just re-edit them back to what they were initially (what they contained, and their security settings)

Just wondering that's all. I know I can just try it but I'm deciding between doing a clean install or a repair.

 

[logicearth]

Do you have more then one account already established? Like Administrator or another user? If so just copy one of the user account folders and rename it to "Default" or setup a virtual machine with Windows 7 and copy the "Default" folder to the host machine. Really all you actually need are the NTUSER.DAT (Registry) files.

I, by-the-way, have no "Default User" junction on my machine any longer. I don't need that level of compatibility.

 

[Wandering Flame]

Virtal machine?

And dude, I have the default folder in my users folder. It's just not shown, and it has all the right folders inside it.

Despite that, I can't create new account and log onto them.

I really hope this repair install fixes the problem...which makes me ask my next question, what if my public folder was deleted? Would a repair install fix that?

I don't seem to get what exactly the Repair Install resets and what it doesn't...

It says it doesn't change personal data...and downloaded drivers and programs I suppose.

So, does that mean it changes EVERYTHING but personal user folders (so that means it WOULD change folders "Public" and "Default", as well as the junction for "Default" in the folder "Users" and just not the personal user folders?) and except programs and drivers you have downloaded?

 

[CarlTR6]

If you have backed up all your data to another partition or another drive, you can do a clean install and you will know you have gotten rid of any problems, However, I would try the repair install first and see what you have.

The repair install will change most of your custom settings settings back to default.

 

[CommonTater]

Do you have more then one account already established? Like Administrator or another user? If so just copy one of the user account folders and rename it to "Default" or setup a virtual machine with Windows 7 and copy the "Default" folder to the host machine. Really all you actually need are the NTUSER.DAT (Registry) files.

I, by-the-way, have no "Default User" junction on my machine any longer. I don't need that level of compatibility.

Except that the copy of NTUSER from another account is branded with their account code, software settings and customizations they've made. That is literally the HKEY_CURRENT_USER branch of the registry.

 

[Wandering Flame]

Fine, I'll try the repair install first, then the clean install if it doesn't fix the problem.

 

[Wandering Flame]

Boy, do I seriously wish on the first page notsograymatter's post came AFTER logicearth's, because logicearth's post is what told me I should even go near what I did...and notsograymatter's post told me how to take access of something I SHOULDN'T have tried getting access to, no offense to NSGM, just saying.

Over at Vista forums, I got the following reply:

"The attached is what your Users\Default folder should contain (produced using following command):

C:\Windows\System32>dir c:\users\default /A /s > "C:\Users Default.txt"

I think the only critical file is NTUSER.DAT (but I wouldn't bet the farm on it). You can create the others directly or by copying from your own Users folder. You could also try copying the NTUSER.DAT file from Windows\System32\Config\SystemProfile.

If the actual Users\Default folder still exists in your Recycle bin, I'd try checking to see if any/all of these files are still there, but that's unlikely, and restoring that folder directly instead of the "Users\Default User" folder. The only entry "Users\Default User" needs is the junction point redirecting to the Users\Default folder.

The Repair option might do it for you. If it doesn't work as is, I'd try deleting the whole Users\Default folder and retrying.

Otherwise, sounds like a reinstall if you need to add a User ID...

Keep in mind that I'm flying by the seat of my pants here; as I said, screwing around with these folders is dangerous, and often brings the "law of unintended consequences" into play."



Is this guy saying what I think he is? If I just go to that address on my computer, and copy+paste an unnaffected version of the text file (his) that it would re-create the junction that was destroyed?

 

[CommonTater]

Boy, do I seriously wish on the first page notsograymatter's post came AFTER logicearth's, because logicearth's post is what told me I should even go near what I did...and notsograymatter's post told me how to take access of something I SHOULDN'T have tried getting access to, no offense to NSGM, just saying.

Well... this is a volunteer forum, nobody gets trained or paid for the advice they offer here... Even worse we are divorced from the problem; that is, we're not sitting at the computer where we can really see what's going on... We're all going to be right sometimes and wrong others. The best we can do is offer you choices and opinions so the old saying applies: Caveat Emptor.

Just do bear in mind that ALL of us have sincerely tried to help you with your problem... I didn't see anyone attempting to misguide you or hassle you.

 

[Wandering Flame]

I know, I don't blame anyone on this matter but myself. Is the fix given by Ed (the post I put in quotes above) a solution to the problem, you think?

 

[CarlTR6]

Boy, do I seriously wish on the first page notsograymatter's post came AFTER logicearth's, because logicearth's post is what told me I should even go near what I did...and notsograymatter's post told me how to take access of something I SHOULDN'T have tried getting access to, no offense to NSGM, just saying.

Well... this is a volunteer forum, nobody gets trained or paid for the advice they offer here... Even worse we are divorced from the problem; that is, we're not sitting at the computer where we can really see what's going on... We're all going to be right sometimes and wrong others. The best we can do is offer you choices and opinions so the old saying applies: Caveat Emptor.

Just do bear in mind that ALL of us have sincerely tried to help you with your problem... I didn't see anyone attempting to misguide you or hassle you.

A very good, thoughtful and diplomatic response. Unfortunately, the system won't let me rep you...

 

[CommonTater]

I know, I don't blame anyone on this matter but myself. Is the fix given by Ed (the post I put in quotes above) a solution to the problem, you think?

Ok, I'll cut to the chase for you...

1) Get a backup of all your pictures, documents, financials etc... BUY a backup drive if you have to.

2) Do a total cold start on your system... delete and recreate partitions, format everything, clean install, restore your data, sorting it as you go.

3) Use your computer.

4) When it ain't broke... don't fix it.

 

[Wandering Flame]

Well I'll do a start up repair, then repair install, then clean install if neither of the previous two will work.

I've backed up everything.

And it's broke. It's not letting me even create new user accounts.

Also I was just wondering if the suggestion by Ed was something you happened to agree with...just asking about that in particular.

 

[Thorsen]

Sorry I haven't posted in here for a while Wandering Flame. I have been lurking to try and not overload the thread with posts. I see people suggesting the same thing. Try the Startup Repair, and then Repair Install. I hope it works. If it doesn't, then do a clean install. You could try Ed's advice (but I don't have enough info on it) if the repair install doesn't fix it. Since you would have to do a full re-install anyway.

As CommonTator stated, good advice is to back all of your data to an external drive. I would do this any way with or without problems. This is definitely worth the cost of an External Hard Drive. They are fairly cheap and a good 500G HD is plenty of space for regular users. Unless you are copying every movie you watch to it, then I would go for a 1 Terabyte HD.

 

[CommonTater]

Well I'll do a start up repair, then repair install, then clean install if neither of the previous two will work.

I've backed up everything.

And it's broke. It's not letting me even create new user accounts.

Also I was just wondering if the suggestion by Ed was something you happened to agree with...just asking about that in particular.

No I don't... it's more fooling around that's just going to stand between you and the eventual solution...

I'm a little presceint about stuff like this (pisses my family off to no end) and I won't pull punches with you... You are about to keep trying to fix this, you will try thing after thing after thing... because your pride says you have to fix it or admit defeat. In the end you will admit defeat and hopefully you will realize there's no pride here; just a broken machine that is soaking up significant amounts of about 20 people's time. So as I see it you have your choices... mess with this for 3 months or fix it in 2 hours... It's up to your pride, I guess.

(No flames... just the thing as I see it)

 

[Wandering Flame]

Thorsen, thanks for that. I was willing to try out Ed's advice before the Repair Install, which I will do before a clean install, if repair install fails. I am going to do Startup repair before Ed's advice also.

CT, dude there's no pride here in fact, I have been very depressed over this (to the point anyone without OCD would think I'm easily affected by small things in life) my goal is to try the easiest solution first...that is why I asked you if you thought Ed's advice (who I quoted over from Vista forums) would work. His solution was as easy as typing in an address and copying some text from a file he sent me! That is MUCH easier than a repair install...and a clean install.

And I was just asking some questions, my goal was not to annoy anybody...I am just impatient with answers especially since I've been already waiting for a LONG time to get my lists of things to do finished (since early February) so if I've pissed off anyone with my cries of help, I apologize...next step: Start-up repair most likely.

 

[CommonTater]

Thorsen, thanks for that. I was willing to try out Ed's advice before the Repair Install, which I will do before a clean install, if repair install fails. I am going to do Startup repair before Ed's advice also.

CT, dude there's no pride here in fact, I have been very depressed over this (to the point anyone without OCD would think I'm easily affected by small things in life) my goal is to try the easiest solution first...that is why I asked you if you thought Ed's advice (who I quoted over from Vista forums) would work. His solution was as easy as typing in an address and copying some text from a file he sent me! That is MUCH easier than a repair install...and a clean install.

And I was just asking some questions, my goal was not to annoy anybody...I am just impatient with answers especially since I've been already waiting for a LONG time to get my lists of things to do finished (since early February) so if I've pissed off anyone with my cries of help, I apologize...next step: Start-up repair most likely.

I don't see anyone getting pissed off... heck, if you were here you would have heard me chuckling that evil little grunt of mine as I was typing....

To boil the whole thing down to an anecdote...
I once knew a guy who had a leak in his roof. He went off to get shingles, nails, buy a ladder, get a tar pot, tools etc. While he was out getting all this stuff, his son climbed up a tree, found the hole and brushed a little tar over it and came back down. An hour later daddy comes back with a truck load of stuff and everyone's sitting in the back yard having just finished a barbeque supper...

The moral of the story? Sometimes the quickest fixes get you the best burgers...

 

[Wandering Flame]

Well I went with the a factory restore...dell guy helped me out on the dell site. Just a little dissapointed at how the menu options were changed for the factory restore than what they used to look like for their machines, but that shouldn't be an issue really.

 

[Wandering Flame]

Oh and about the above, I found it kind of sad that half of Dell reps weren't aware of their own factory restore menu options that they recently updated.

Anyway, came here to ask if Brink or someone else created a tutorial on how to do a factory restore on Windows 7.