Unable to delete/rename user rofile

I'm having a problem renaming and/or deleting a particular user profile on my XP professional sp-1 system.

I believe that there is a problem with a user profile on this system so I would like to either delete it or rename it so that a new one will be created the next time the user logs in.

I have tried everything that I can think of but I'm getteing nowhere. I log on as the administrator and I get an "access denied" message whenever I attempt to so much as look into the profile. The user associated with the profile is a member of the administrators group as well.

This is a stand alone workstation, not a member of any domain. I have tried coming up in "safe mode" to a command prompt but I get the same "access denied" message.

Even when I am logged on using the administrator acount I can't so much as browse that user's document folder.

Something's definitely wrong and I don't know how to fix it. Any suggestions?

Welcome to Windrivers Rgauthier

First question, is this profile one you set up when you first loaded windows? If so, windows believes this to be the primary account.

The way round this is to create a NEW account with the same permissions before trying to delete the old one.

You were right to do this using the Administrator account.

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Originally Posted by NooNoo

Welcome to Windrivers Rgauthier

First question, is this profile one you set up when you first loaded windows? If so, windows believes this to be the primary account.

The way round this is to create a NEW account with the same permissions before trying to delete the old one.

You were right to do this using the Administrator account.

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Thanks for the reply,

You are correct that this user was the first user that I created on this system (aside from the Administrator account).

I would have thought that the administrator's account would have full access to everything on this box. But even that account can not access or change properties on this particular user's account or user profile.

How do I create a new user with the same permissions as the user that I'm having an issue with? I can't see where I can give a user more than just administrator permissions. and that, aparently is not good enough.

Thanks again,
Bob

I ask again, why you need to delete the old user before creating the new one? have a look here It explains some of the basics you may have misunderstood.

Having created a new user in the administrators group, will xp allow you to remove administrative rights from the old user?

Is simple file sharing on or off?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NooNoo

I ask again, why you need to delete the old user before creating the new one? have a look here It explains some of the basics you may have misunderstood.

Having created a new user in the administrators group, will xp allow you to remove administrative rights from the old user?

Is simple file sharing on or off?

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Ok, here's the deal. It's the user profile that I wish to delete/rename. Not the user account. I would like the user to create a new profile the next time that he logs in.

I am having issues with a particular user and I suspect that there may be some corruption in the user's profile. I (the actual administrator of this machine) can not do anything to this user profile. I can't rename it, delete it or even browse into it. I get an "access denied" error.

If I log on as that particular user I I can browse throughit like normal, but, I can't even share out the folder. When I go into the properties of the folder and chose to share it, it appears to work but if I close the folder and go back into the properties of the folder it shows it as not shared.

The user in question is a member of the administrators group, but if I try to make the user a standard user I am given the same access denied error. I am not allowed to make any changes to his account.

I plan to boot up using NTFS DOS and hopefully then I can get to the file system without any restrictions. Maybe in that way I can at least rename the profile.

I've been working with Windows XP since it was first released back in 2001 and I've never seen anything quite like this. I mean I manage a network for a living and never been baffled like this before. Maybe it's time to "nuke" the hard drive and re-install the O/S.

And yes, Simple file sharing is turned on.

Thanks for your help,
Bob

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rgauthier

Ok, here's the deal. It's the user profile that I wish to delete/rename. Not the user account. I would like the user to create a new profile the next time that he logs in.

I am having issues with a particular user and I suspect that there may be some corruption in the user's profile. I (the actual administrator of this machine) can not do anything to this user profile. I can't rename it, delete it or even browse into it. I get an "access denied" error.

If I log on as that particular user I I can browse throughit like normal, but, I can't even share out the folder. When I go into the properties of the folder and chose to share it, it appears to work but if I close the folder and go back into the properties of the folder it shows it as not shared.

The user in question is a member of the administrators group, but if I try to make the user a standard user I am given the same access denied error. I am not allowed to make any changes to his account.

I plan to boot up using NTFS DOS and hopefully then I can get to the file system without any restrictions. Maybe in that way I can at least rename the profile.

I've been working with Windows XP since it was first released back in 2001 and I've never seen anything quite like this. I mean I manage a network for a living and never been baffled like this before. Maybe it's time to "nuke" the hard drive and re-install the O/S.

And yes, Simple file sharing is turned on.

Thanks for your help,
Bob

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Have you tried taking ownership then deleting the profile/
Have you tried deleting the user then reboot and recreate the user?

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Originally Posted by futuretech

Have you tried taking ownership then deleting the profile/
Have you tried deleting the user then reboot and recreate the user?

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I have tried to delete the user, and that's where the problem is. The system will not allow me to do that. I can't make any changes to either the user's profile or account. Even when I'm logged in as the administrator.

I have not, however, attempted to "take ownership" of the profile folder for that particular user. I will try to do that that this evening. But, in view of my previous efforts, I'm not going to get my hopes up too high because the system won't even let me view the contents of that folder let alone make any changes to it. But it's worth a shot.

I might add that this problem only effect 1 particular user on that machine. There are 2 other users on that computer and I have no problems with their accounts or profiles. It is really bizarre.

My next step is to boot up using "Winternals NTFS DOS" a program that will allow me to boot off of a floppy disk and access the NTFS partition and bypass Windows security altogether. Maybe that way I can get rid of the users profile.

If that doesn't work then I guess it's time to reinstall the OS.