Member Avatar for cyndijames

Hi

I thought I'd clean up my boss's Win 2k puter because it was slowing down so much, so I thought since I knew all the users on our network, and he had heaps more than that.

So I deleted a whole load of them.

And now his puter doesn' connect the network, and no internet. And most of his icons on the desktop don't show up.

I read http://support.microsoft.com/kb/840001 and totally don't understand any of it.

I mean like I put all the users back in from his Documents and Settings folder. I just totally don't get all that ManagedBy and MemberOf stuff.

We're all just in a Users Group called WORKGROUP. How hard is that?

But I remember last week I started the network and his puter had some kind of error like checksum or something, and said it was "going to load the default something-or-other" Hit F1 to continue.

I was thinking maybe if I could find that. And load it. It'd bring my boss's puter back to before I deleted his stuff?

Please help, it's the weekend now, and I need to fix it before he gats back to work Monday. Or I'm totally cooked.

TIA

Cyn

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Dani AI

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Good that 's TuneUp restore brought things back for . Additional context and safe recovery options for anyone who hits the same problem follow.

Deleting accounts removes the account object (the security identifier or SID) and its group memberships. The actual profile data often remains on disk at C:\Documents and Settings\username, but Windows links a profile folder to a logon account by SID entries under the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList. When the account is removed the SID-to-folder link is gone, so a profile becomes "orphaned": desktop icons, personal settings and saved network credentials stop loading and privileges vanish.

If a restore tool is not available, a practical recovery workflow is:

  • Confirm whether the old profile folder still exists (C:\Documents and Settings\oldname).
  • Create a new local administrator account and sign in once so Windows creates a fresh profile.
  • Copy user data from the old profile into the new one (Desktop, My Documents, Favorites, and app data as needed). Do not copy ntuser.dat unless comfortable editing the registry.
  • If access is denied, take ownership (folder Properties → Security → Advanced → Owner) and then set NTFS permissions.
  • Advanced option: map the old profile folder to the new account by editing the ProfileList registry key — back up the registry first and proceed with caution.

Preventive notes: always back up profiles before bulk deletions and keep at least two administrator accounts. Check whether the machine is domain-joined (My Computer → Properties → Computer Name → "Member of"); ManagedBy and MemberOf are Active Directory attributes and only apply on domains — domain accounts must be restored on the domain controller. The BIOS checksum / F1 message mentioned earlier usually indicates a weak CMOS battery (check BIOS time/date and replace the battery); it is unlikely to be related to deleted user accounts.

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Member Avatar for Duki

did you delete his folder in docs and settings?

Member Avatar for cyndijames

Nup -- see what happened is this.

His puter is really slow these days, so I thought I'd surprise him and fix it.

So I checked all the TuneUp Utilities stuff then I went in and saw there were so many users in Control Panel | Users and Passwords.

Heaps of them, and lots not recogniseable, so I deleted them coz I thought they might be trojans and that's why his puter is so slow.

But I was wrong. But I didn't delete anything from the hard drive. I figured is it can't get on the network and therefore the internet, I just need to restore the old users but can't figure it out

Member Avatar for Duki

Ok, you said you ahve TuneUp Utilities?
In the top right corner, there should be a button that says restore or something to that effect. Does it? If not, what version TuneUp are you using?

Member Avatar for cyndijames

HEY!

It's there, and it's got everything for the past two weeks!!!!!

You're a genuis! I'm SO impressed.

Thanks for that -- you're the best Duki!

Cyn xxx

Member Avatar for Duki

Glad I could help! :)

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