Member Avatar for stimpy

On my PC, I used to be part of a domain so all my preferences were stored in C:\Documents and Settings\stimpy.DOMAIN

I don't use the Domain anymore and I changed to workgroup (so I could do some home sharing) and when I log in it pulls my preferences from C:\Documents and Settings\stimpy and effectively all the last two years of customization is lost.

All the C:\Documents and Settings\stimpy.DOMAIN files are still there, but how can I have them apply when I log in?

TIA!!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by samarudge

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As noted, you need to migrate the old profile data rather than expect Windows to suddenly “use” it. Two practical, commonly used options are: change the local account so it loads the old profile (keeps most app settings intact), or copy selected data and registry settings into the new account (safer for file-level recovery). Below are tested, low-risk steps for each.

Registry-based reattach (keeps HKCU settings)

  • Log in as a different administrator (not the account you want to change).
  • Take ownership of the old profile folder and grant the local user Full Control (Properties → Security → Advanced → Owner).
  • Find the local user’s SID, for example with:
    wmic useraccount where name='LocalUserName' get sid
  • In Registry Editor, open:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\<SID>\ProfileImagePath

    and change the value to point at the old profile folder. Reboot and test the local account. This makes Windows load the previous profile hive (ntuser.dat) for that user.

Copying data and selective settings (safer fallback)

  • Log in as another admin. Use System Properties → Advanced → User Profiles → Settings → Copy To if available, or manually copy Desktop/Documents/Favorites and other data from the old profile.
  • For application settings in the registry, load the old ntuser.dat into Regedit (HKEY_USERS → File → Load Hive), export specific keys, then unload and import carefully into the current user’s hive.

Important cautions

  • Encrypted files (EFS) require the original certificate/private key; they won’t decrypt under the new account unless the key is present. Do not delete the original profile until the migrated account can read everything. Back up the entire old profile before making changes.

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Member Avatar for stimpy

Just to update, I have tried System Restore a bunch of times going back about 7 restore points, and each time it says cannot restore your system. It starts out fine saying it will switch me from Workgroup to Domain, but upon reboot it always says cannot restore system. Is this not possible with Windows XP?

Member Avatar for samarudge

Due to domain security you cannot do this. Your preferences can only be accessed over the domain so you will eather have to recconect to the domain or manually copy the files

#microsoftfail =)

Member Avatar for stimpy

Due to domain security you cannot do this. Your preferences can only be accessed over the domain so you will eather have to recconect to the domain or manually copy the files

#microsoftfail =)

Thanks for the reply. Do you think I could boot up into safe mode and rename the C:\Documents and Settings\stimpy.DOMAIN tree to C:\Documents and Settings\stimpy?

Member Avatar for samarudge

Thanks for the reply. Do you think I could boot up into safe mode and rename the C:\Documents and Settings\stimpy.DOMAIN tree to C:\Documents and Settings\stimpy?

I don't see why not but I sugest rather than renaiming them you copy the files and replace all just so you don't screw anything up by removing WORKGROUP files

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