Solved Search programs and files blank/no results

[Britton30]

Or if you want to create User Account in a Command Prompt

 

[sloth1]

Haha, whoa. That is a lot to take in for a first timer. I will have to read thoroughly...

I just wanted to know if there was a way to copy this 'profile' or 'account' to a new one.
If it is, it just copies all of my settings, correct? Will all my programs work?
also, should I create a new one as admin or standard? This is my only acct and it's Admin.

If I do manage to clone this account, if the new one is working good. Would it be harmful to delete this account? Probably not all easily answered questions, but I'm a bit in the dark on this idea.

 

[Britton30]

LOL, sorry. Go to Control Panel, User Accounts, Click on Manage another account. You will then have a link to create another account, follow directions.

 

[sloth1]

Britton, haha..I didn't mean your post was alot to take in. That was directed at James about the Macrium program, sorry.

My other inquiries still remain, though! I think I'm going to follow this http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/fix-a-corrupted-user-profile

My main concern is that everything will work on the new acct, IE; programs, and will I have all my files?

thanks again, guys

 

[James Colbert]

Britton, haha..I didn't mean your post was alot to take in. That was directed at James about the Macrium program, sorry.

As far as the imaging goes, download it and give it a shot. It's not as complicated as it may seem, and you can only benefit by the effort.

My other inquiries still remain, though! I think I'm going to follow this Fix a corrupted user profile

My main concern is that everything will work on the new acct, IE; programs, and will I have all my files?

thanks again, guys

Yes, you will still have all of your files. But if you don't feel up to imaging, I would at least copy my important data to that empty partition. If something goes wrong, you'll be gald you did.

 

[sloth1]

Yeah, I know that backing up my stuff using the imaging would probably be best. I do have an external HDD with all of my important files on it, at least.

What do you guys think is the best way to copy my current user profile to a brand new one? This way seems way simpler than the previous one I posted, I wonder what the difference is? In Windows, what is a user profile, and how do I copy one user profile to another? - Knowledge Base

My 'Copy To' option is greyed out, but maybe that's because I haven't created a new user yet?

I like to be very thorough before doing something I've never done before if you haven't noticed

 

[Britton30]

I was going to direct you HERE but the one you have looks very good. Also making an image may also image the problem you are having, but make a backup of your personal files. After doing that tutorial, you may have to reinstall your programs. Look at option 2 in the link I posted.
You can also just create a new temp account and play with it to see if your issue goes away.

 

[James Colbert]

What do you guys think is the best way to copy my current user profile to a brand new one? This way seems way simpler than the previous one I posted, I wonder what the difference is? In Windows, what is a user profile, and how do I copy one user profile to another? - Knowledge Base

This link ^ just copies the profile. The previous links shows you how to copy user files over. Use the previous link. Just take your time. These things seem more complex when just reading, but read through it a few times until it starts to make a bit of sense, then start the process.

A couple of tips:

1. Do print out the info here:

Fix a corrupted user profile

(or have site on another computer)

2. DO! make sure that you don't delete your old admin account until you are through this. Some have wound up locking themselves out of their systems because they have deleted all of their admin accounts.

3. Do as much backup as possible. Imaging is the best. If you're not in a hurry, take the time to learn it. If you are, learn it later. The first time your system is hosed and you are back up and running with a restored image backup, you will be ecstatically glad that you did.

Imaging now will indeed image your current issues, but better to revert to your current status than possibly be locked out or crashed with no way back. One can't be too paranoid regarding one's data.

My 'Copy To' option is greyed out, but maybe that's because I haven't created a new user yet?

Yes.

I like to be very thorough before doing something I've never done before if you haven't noticed

A good quality!

Let us know how it goes, and post if you have more questions.

James

 

[sloth1]

thanks for the great info, guys. Really, really helpful.

I have a couple more questions before I go on. On the 'fix corrupted profile' article, it says Select all of the files and folders in this folder, except the following files:

Ntuser.dat

Ntuser.dat.log

Ntuser.ini

however, I don't even see those in the folder. Here is a screen shot of my folder.

lastly, should I make my new accounts as admin? (it says I need 3 accounts for this method to work)

 

[James Colbert]

This should help:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/394-hidden-files-folders-show-hide.html

They are files in your user folder (i.e., Users\Sloth)

Those are the files you won't copy over.

I would make the new account as admin.

 

[sloth1]

ah ok, I had to enable show hidden system files.

now I have a ton of stuff. Now i'm wondering if I really have to copy EVERYTHING but those 3 it lists.

 

[James Colbert]

Yes. Just select all files and folders (ctrl+a), then hold down the ctrl key and click those 3 files to unselect them. I would also unselect the ntuser.dat.log1 & log2 files.

copy them over. Don't move them.

 

[sloth1]

I copied all the correct files over to the new account. It's weird, it looked the exact same as when I created it. I figured I'd have to do the method to copy the profile settings over from In Windows, what is a user profile, and how do I copy one user profile to another? - Knowledge Base

however, it's still greyed out. Any ideas?

 

[Britton30]

Have you tried a new admin account to see if search would work? Then we can worry about transferring your old profile and files.

 

[James Colbert]

Or, does the search work in the account you've already newly created for this process?

There are, it seems, as mentioned below, issues with copying profiles other than the default.

First question, are you logging in from the 3rd account, as suggested here?:

Fix a corrupted user profile

And from this excerpt, same page:
------------------------------------------------------
To copy files to the new user profile

After you create the profile, you can copy the files from the existing profile. You must have at least three user accounts on the computer to complete these steps, including the new account you just created.

1. Log on as a user other than the new user you just created or the user that you want to copy files from.

------------------------------------------------------

As it turns out, the copy profile issue you are experiencing is new to Win 7 and has been discussed all over the web. MS has a somewhat convoluted solution here (and the only one they support):

How to customize the default local user profile when you prepare an image of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2

And is further discussed here:

Copy a Windows 7 User profile.

And here is a soluition from an MS support person that suggests turning off password protection sharing to copy the profile (then turning it back on, of course):

Windows 7: Trying to copy a user profile. The "Copy To" - Microsoft Answers

And a forum discussion on the issue that presents some detail:

Mark Minasi's Reader Forum - Windows 7 default profile

And finally, here is an unsupported method that seems to work for some, but not others:

How do I customize the default user profile in Windows 7? - Microsoft Answers


A deluge of information, I know. My apologies. I was unaware of these profile copy issues, as I've not tried to copy a profile in Win 7.

But, again, is the search function now working in the new profile? And is system restore working again? If so, create a system restore point and you can try the methods above.

Or, you may choose just to rebuild your new profile. Let us know what is happening. I'll be in and out today, but will try to be available to help you through the process.

And, should have mentioned earlier, but have you run AV and malware (full) scans lately? For malware, I recommend free malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpware

James

 

[sloth1]

Hello,

Yup, search is working on both new profiles (one I used to transfer files and the other as my new acct) it's wierd, huh?

Last night I researched not being able to 'copy to' and tried some of the methods above. Particularly turning off password protection, and using the third account.

I did do the 'fix a corrupted user account' deal, and it seems it didn't copy but some things (my documents got copied, and maybe one other thing) but I guess it copied a bunch of important files? I don't know. I can manually copy over the few things I have left.

I haven't tested if any programs work, yet 9 (Should they?)...I'm kinda scared to, to be honest! Same with system restore, I feel like if it gets stuck at initializing again and I have to cold shut down my comp it will cause damage. I did do that the first time because it was stuck for 20 mins, and so far (crosses fingers) there seems to be no damage from it.

I think I've just decided to work the profile from scratch. It can't be that bad, it's only a wallpaper, window color and sounds...I think?

I did do a malwarebytes scan, always come up clean. I'll probably be switching over to the new acct and fixing it up, but I WON'T delete this one until I consult with you guys knowing it's safe.

thanks

 

[James Colbert]

Try your programs. They should work unless, when you installed them you chose 'this user only' rather than 'all users'. Also, definitely try to create a restore point and then try to restore it to make sure that issue is resolved. I'm not really sure why MS has complicated the profile copying issue, but apparently it was a concious decision on their part. As you have discovered, there seems to be no definite solution or workaround that is purported to always work other than the 'Sysprep' method. In Vista, one could copy their user files over to Default User and be ready to go.

It might indeed be best just to create the profile from scratch, but I would create another user account to do it, given that you've copied different user files over to the one you've been working on. Might as well start off fresh...no sense in taking the risk of corrupting the new profile.

Once you've got the new profile in place, you can back it up from time to time so that if you have problems in the future, you can just restore and be back in the saddle. Or, even better, take the time to learn an imaging program and keep regular, rotating backups of your system drive. I myself keep 3 rotating backups of my system partition and my data partition (amongst others). If ever I have a problem, I always have a backup image that is less than a week old and can be restored in a matter of 20 mins.

Apologies for not being aware of the Win 7 profile copy issue. We all learn from these experiences, and that's the great thing about these forums...not only does the 'helpee' learn, but also the helper. Everyone wins.

Have to run now, but I check the forums regularly. Let us know how it's going, or if you have any questions, etc.

James

 

[sloth1]

So far, every program I've tried worked without a hitch. I had to redo the settings in them, no biggie. That is a good sign. I created a restore point for today after setting up the profile.

I worked all day on this account (the one I copied the files TO from my original) do you really think I should remake another without copying any of the files from that tutorial? I wonder what exactly those files are, because like I said, only a few things I noticed copied over. Hmm.

I definitely would like to learn more about the imaging thing. I think after I get all of this settled I will. I might even have some questions for ya on the subject . I do have an external with all of my important files at least, for now.

No need to apologize, this forum has been nothing but help. It's nice to have knowledgeable people assist me through the unknown.

I keep checking my search function to see if it's working, so far it's as it should be. My profile is looking just like my old one!

 

[Britton30]

So glad it is working for you! Here is a list of some Imaging tutorials The 1st one by whs, is good and he is very adept at imaging issues along with Bare Foot Kid and Gregrocker.

 

[James Colbert]

If all seems well, no point in creating the new(er) account. Since you've come so far, it would be no more work to do it if you had to later, and that may not happen.

As far as imaging, you shouldn't have any problem getting the hang of it. It seems intimidating, but it's a fairly simple operation, and you should have no trouble getting the hang of it, and of course, the people here are available to help you through any issues. That, along with your determination and ability to pick up quickly on things will serve you well.