[felinne]

Hi:

I recently got a handmedown laptop from my husband and I'm trying to do some cleanup. I can't do a reformat because he no longer has the original discs that came with the laptop.

I'm having problems with some files in the Documents and Setting folders. It looks like these files were associated with different user accounts. I've already cleaned up the user accounts section. As of now, aside from my account (which is a renamed account), there's only Admin left. But, these accounts still appear under Docs and Settings and I can't rename or delete them. When I try to rename, I get "this is a Windows System file and is necessary for Windows to function properly, it cannot be renamed or deleted". When I try to delete, it starts deleting, but then I get a warning msg saying that there are things in use and so the files cannot be deleted.

How do I get rid of these pesky profiles in docs and setting without breaking the whole computer? I'm scared of deleting vital files since I cannot do a reinstall if things go wrong.

Oh, I'm using XP Pro.

Thanks!

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[felinne]

Thanks. But, above all else, is it safe to delete these files?

For one thing, I've noticed that NO folder with my own user profile name appears in the docs and settings section. Why is that?

[felinne]

they are window system folders found under docs and settings. I think these are folders associated with different users. i just downloaded unlocker and tried to use it. the same two files keep popping up over and over again. One is a .DAT file and the other a .DAT.log. No matter how many times I hit unlock all, the program keep finding these two files to unlock.

[felinne]

okay, just realized that one of the profiles under docs and settings is mine under the old name. the renaming changed my user sign up, but my profile in docs and settings is still under the old names. there are two other old ones that I just can't seem to get rid of. And when I use unlocked on one of them, it seems like it has files connected to the other.

[b1caez01]

As you said that you want to reformat...visit DOS forums to find a kill program...it will delete all that is on the drive, then you can start fresh with a new install with whatever disk you have... this is a great site for boot disks...

Examples...
http://www.mybootdis...?type=bootdisks
http://www.killdisk.com/ <ACTIVE site

[peterm]

Hi felinne
Is this the method you used to delete the user accounts

To delete a user account
Open Computer Management.
In the console tree, click Users.
Where?

Computer Management
System Tools
Local Users and Groups
Users
Right-click the user account you want to delete, and then click Delete.
Notes

To open Computer Management, click Start, and then click Control Panel. Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.
When you need to remove user accounts, it is a good idea to disable the accounts first. When you are certain that disabling the account has not caused a problem, you can safely delete it.
A deleted user account cannot be recovered.
The built-in Administrator and Guest accounts cannot be deleted.

Edited by peterm, 30 November 2006 - 01:58 AM.

[felinne]

Hi:

If I remember correctly, when I clicked into user accounts, there were a bunch. I right-clicked and deleted the ones I didn't want. Then, I renamed the last remaining one, which was previously my husband's account.

All this system file deleting business came about when I realized (by looking at a path name for some file I was accessing) that my husband's account I thought I had renamed still had its old name according to the specified path. That prompted me to take a look in that section. I discovered that all of those files were still there. I tried, then, to rename my husband's account again. This time, it didn't let me, saying that it was a system file and could not be modified. I tried deleting the other profiles there and got essentially the same message.

Also worth mentioning is that my husband's computer is an old work computer with some of his old work server settings.

What is the best way to clean all of this up? I tried the unlocked based on some member suggestions, but apparently, there are some things were no matter how many times I click unlock it keeps popping back up.

Thanks!

Edited by felinne, 30 November 2006 - 11:26 PM.

[b1caez01]

I'm not sure of your real intent...is it to have a "clean" machine with only you as the user, or is to have a muddled machine, causing you grief.

From my perspective, you can't have both... somehow, you are going to have to access a setup disk...what about the disks used by hubby from work? An OEM disk bought from a computer builder, will cost a lot less then the over the counter version from a chain store...the only drawback is that MS will not support it. In ten yrs of computer use, I've never had anything but OEM disks No real complaints either...

Alternative...check with the DOS boys to see if there is a way to access anything from behind the curtains

[peterm]

are you trying to do all of this whilst logged on as an administrator ?