Member Avatar for rice_project

ok, ill start from the top. i have a windows xp home edition compaq, got it around 2003. im assuming when u use the System Recovery Console thats built inside the computer, u need atleast 15 open gigs in your memory for it to properly recover my computer. i used the safe recovery, where it just uninstalls every program, and installs the programs that came with my computer. unfortunately, i used the recovery console with about 9 gigs of memory open.

i dont know if this made a difference, but after i accidentally used the system recovery, when it was all set and done, after loading up again it loaded me into this default profile. an error occured in the user profile list, saying some sort of error: (loading default profile, error: not enough memory). in this profile, which im using right now, i cant install anything, period. and i cant access any of my old files. theres this folder in my c:/documents and settings/ folder that says Owner, then another Owner followed by this weird number, im guessing this is the default profile. and im guessing my old profile is in the old Owner folder.

i tried opening the folder in safe mode through the "Admin" user. didnt work. all i basically want to do is open my old files again. i cant open with my old user profile, which had its own name and password. i tried buying a bigger hard drive, and "copying" all the files from my old to new, but my profile still wudnt load. i tried making my new drive the master drive, but the computer wouldnt load by itself.

thats pretty much it. ive been using my bro's computer, but thats broke now so im using this. any help is deeply appreciated. no, i do not have recovery cds, or this operating cd i keep hearing about that supposedly comes with my computer.

again, any help is deeply appreciated.

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Priority: recover the personal files first, then try to repair the broken profile. As pointed out, several fixes require an administrative account — that built‑in Administrator (Safe Mode) is the tool to use for repair steps.

Immediate, safe steps you can apply now

  • Do not run Windows installs or write large files to the problem disk. Work from external media.
  • Boot a separate environment (Linux/Ubuntu Live CD, BartPE/Hiren’s boot disk, or remove the drive and attach it to another PC) and copy the user data you need: Desktop, My Documents, Favorites, Outlook/Thunderbird mail stores, and any other app data.
  • If files fail to open after copying, check whether they were encrypted with EFS (XP’s per‑user encryption). EFS files require the original user certificate/private key; without that the data cannot be decrypted.

If you want to try repairing the profile (use the built‑in Administrator in Safe Mode)

  • Backup the registry first (File → Export in regedit).
  • Open regedit and inspect HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList.
  • Look for duplicate SIDs where one key ends in .bak. The usual repair is to rename the keys so the .bak entry becomes the active SID, then set the RefCount and State values to 0. Close regedit and reboot.

If permissions block access, you can grant Administrators full control (example):
cacls "C:\Documents and Settings\username" /E /T /G Administrators:F
(Use caution and back up data first.)

If repair fails or the OS install is badly damaged

  • A Repair Install with an XP CD or ordering recovery media from Compaq/HP will restore a working Windows while preserving data (if done correctly).
  • If you copied files to a new drive, make sure the drive contains a proper Windows installation and active system partition — simply copying user folders won’t recreate a working profile.

If data is critical and inaccessible, consider a professional data‑recovery service.

Member Avatar for mechbas

Your "default profile" is probably corrupt or just empty of necessary login info.
If I read correctly you don't have Admin. priveleges.
you can be limited to what you can do depending on what type of liscense f/XP that you have. some liscenses are restricted to the one machine that you have. if the OS software was purchased seperately then you may have some light at tunnels end.
the "operating cd" is probably the drivers for the onboard hardware, helpful but not necessarily required in some cases.

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