Damaged user profile

[Dave74]

Win7 ultimate x64
I have accidentally deleted some files from my user profile (and possibly Windows) so when I now log on I get a black desktop, icons on my taskbar are blank "pages" and the desktop.ini file opens.

If I try to run windows explorer from the taskbar it tells me it can't open this item, it might have been moved, renamed or deleted but explorer.exe is in the windows folder. I can get an explorer type window by clicking on "Computer" in the start menu.

I have tried various fixes I found on the internet, one from this forum for "User profile service failed" which advised looking at SID keys, I have numerous S-1-5 keys but none with .BAK and only 1 relating to my user account.

Desktop.ini is in \windows\system32\config\systemprofile

Can anyone offer any help please?

PS I also created another user but it showed the same symptoms.

 

[samuria]

Welcome to the forum. It sounds as if you have done something drastic your best bet would to try a system restore or restore from backup failing that a repair

 

[Dave74]

Problem is the restore points I created are nowhere to be seen. I even went into system volume to see if i could find them

 

[z3r010]

I think at this point you should try a Repair Install

 

[sobranie]

Safe mode/command line/type rstrui.exe
If no joy then it's Repair install.

 

[Dave74]

Safe mode/command line/type rstrui.exe
If no joy then it's Repair install.

"No restore points have been created..."

They were created, goodness knows where they've gone.

I'll try a repair install. I really don't want to do a fresh install, I have so much software on the affected PC it will take ages to reinstall.

Thanks to you all for your input.

Repair install Startup repair could not detect a problem

System restore no restore points created

Startup repair -> view diagnostics... how do I scroll that window to view the repair details?

 

[Paul Black]

Hi Dave74,

Welcome to SevenForums!

Win7 ultimate x64
I have accidentally deleted some files from my user profile (and possibly Windows) so when I now log on I get a black desktop, icons on my taskbar are blank "pages" and the desktop.ini file opens.

I think a repair install is needed, please see below . . .

A repair install differs from a clean install in the fact that it ONLY replaces the corrupted OS with a new fresh copy. This means that ALL your User Accounts, Folders, Files, Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, Data Files, Icons, and any installed programs are left intact. It does however, delete ALL the Window updates, and can affect, sounds, services, visual effect settings and device drivers by re-setting them to default. You cannot do a repair install at boot, in Safe Mode, using a system repair disk, or using an integrated Windows update disk. Basically, this process can ONLY be performed from within the LIVE OS.

I hope this helps!

 

[Dave74]

Hi Paul,

F8 -> repair your computer

Windows failed to start.....insert windows installation disk & restart your PC

Which just takes me back to the same situation as booting from the installation disk.

Am I doing something wrong?

I recovered deleted files using the attrib command in the hope that might fix the issue, it didn't

 

[SIW2]

Am I doing something wrong?

Yes, completely wrong.

You should have looked at the link Z3 provided.

 

[samuria]

We are struggling as we don't know what you delete and altered. You could try using a file recovery software and restore deleted files as a last resort

 

[Dave74]

Yes, completely wrong.

You should have looked at the link Z3 provided.

Oops, sorry. I'll have a go tomorrow.

 

[Paul Black]

Hi Dave74,

Oops, sorry. I'll have a go tomorrow.

IMPORTANT:

[1] Make sure that you backup ALL your essential files etc to an external HDD or USB BEFORE you start the repair install just in case!

[2] You must have MORE than the currently used HDD space available BEFORE you start the repair install process. This is because during this process, a C:\Windows.old backup folder gets created which is a FULL copy of the current OS.

NOTE: This backup folder can either be used to restore the OS back to the pre-repair install version, or to restore individual files etc that weren’t properly copied. Once you are happy, you can delete this folder.

[3] REMOVE any connected drives BEFORE you start.

SUGGESTION: It is advisable that you run an Extended Disk Cleanup [with ALL the options checked] and defragment the HDD [NOT SSD] BEFORE you start the repair installation. This gets rid of all the superfluous files and will reduce the size of the original OS, the install processing time, and the size of the C:\Windows.old backup folder.

You can download and run my Extended Disk Cleanup batch file from here [it is a lot easier and quicker] => View attachment Extended_Disk_Cleanup.bat.

To perform a Repair Install you need to BOOT the installation DVD/USB.

I hope this helps!

 

[Dave74]

Thanks for all the help guys but after 3 failed repair attempts it looks like I'll have to do a fresh install.

1st attempt resulted in getting as far as "transferring files, settings and programs" about 2/3 along the "Upgrading windows" progress bar and then no further progress. HDD LED on full (no flickering) suggesting no files are being transferred. Left the PC in this state for 12 hours and no progress. rebooted.

The above was done with M:\users\username which is where the existing windows is installed.

As that didn't work I tried moving \username to C:\username as per the repair instructions in case that loder had to be on C: drive.
That attempt didn't get very far (can't remember the exact error, but it didn't work).

Today i tried again after using Paul Black's extended disk cleanup batch file but has the same result, no progress during "transferring files, settings and programs"

 

[Paul Black]

Hi Dave74, did you disconnect all other drives before you started the process?

 

[Paul Black]

Hi Dave74,

Disk Management

Can you post a screenshot of the Disk Management please => Click Start => right-click Computer => click Manage => click Disk Management.

I hope this helps

 

[Dave74]

Hi Dave74, did you disconnect all other drives before you started the process?

Yes Paul.

Attached screenshot of disk management