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Failed Attempts to Recover user profiles, please help.

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imrcroft

Technical User
Dec 1, 2008
11
US
So, recently i tried logging onto my computer. When i logged on, the screen went blank (which it occasionally does) so i just turned the computer off manually to restart. when i did that, i got an error saying how i could not be logged onto my profile and a temporary profile is being used. so i assume that my profile got corrupted by my unorthodox turning-off methods.

I tried to copy my user profile to a new profile a couple different ways:
i tried it manually, i selected almost all the files/folders in my Documents and Settings folder. except, i was told not to select some userinfo documents, but i didn't see them in the folder to begin with...
that did not work.
so i then tried it by going to Control Panel -> Systems -> User Accounts: and i selected the old user account and tried to Copy it To the new user account. i then got the error "failed to set security on the destination profile. error - data error"
so that didn't work.

Can someone please help me? Where do I go from here?
I saw a thread similar to this one on this forum but on that thread, the posts ended at my problem (the failing to set security part) Should i just pop over to PC Warehouse and let them fix it? lol... (please tell me i don't have to do that, i'm kinda low on cash right now.)

Your help will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance. :)
 
The profile was identified as corrupt for one reason or another. I think it would be wise not to copy much from it at all except important documents, shortcuts, and favorites (My Documents, Desktop, and Favorites respectively). Your preferences are in the ntuser.dat file, which is apparently corrupt. It would be best to avoid copying that over.

You'll lose your preferences but still have your files...

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.
 
So basically, if i copy everything except ntuser.dat, i'll have all my files. that's good.
but i won't, for example, have the same desktop wallpaper and other related things? Could you please tell me what kind of things wouldn't be in the new user.
Thanks so much, i'm glad i don't have to worry too much about this. ^^''
 
Ok disregard the post above. ^
I tried copying but there was some file which could not be copied. I can't give you the name because it was just a bunch of random symbols...
And i realized, i sorta said that in my first post. i said that i tried copying manually and it didn't work. So i still need help, unfortunately.
If anyone can help, please... well, help
 
See if any of these help. Also running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors might help. Right-click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking. Select both boxes.


811151 - How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile

Error Message: "Windows Cannot Load the Locally Stored Profile"

"Windows cannot load your profile because it may be corrupted" error message when you try to log on to Windows XP



HOW TO: Create a Custom Default User Profile (Q305709)

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP (Q308421)

HOW TO: Delete a User Profile in Windows 2000
 
Ok well, thanks for the links, but i've seen most of those before.
I found the file that wasn't able to be copied (when i did it manually) onto the new profile. Hopefully, if i copy without it, things'll be fine.
Again, thanks all.
 
imrcroft,
What I was trying to say before is that there are really only three folders you need to be concerned about: My Documents, Favorites, and Desktop. All three are located under your old profile.

[tab]C:\Documents and Settings\username\

[tab] - where username is your old profile


Simply go into each of the three folders and copy the contents over to the same location in your new profile. That's all you should have to do.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.
 
Yea, thank you, in fact, i just started doing that yesterday after i saw that I wouldn't be able to use that user profile.
 
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