User Not showing up & file permissions question 1

[gallows]

1. I have a bunch of programs on my desktop that I do not want other users to see/use when they log in. How can I set this up?

2. There are only 2 users on this pc. User1 and User2. User1 has admin privs and is in fact the Administrator. User2 is a Limited user account. Both users show up on the desktop and in the User/Group Admin section in Control Panel. But, User1 does not show up under Doc & Settings. The only users in there is User2 and Owner. Why doesn't user1 show up and who is "owner?"

I am running XP Home Edition.

Merry Christmas to those who oberve it!!!

Gallows

 

[linney]

Your Administrator may be the Owner username.

"You might see an account with the name "Owner" when you first log on. The owner account, with computer administrator privileges, is created during installation if no user accounts are set up at that time. You can rename this account with a user's name."

312131 - The Owner Account Is Displayed As "Account Unknown" in Profiles on Windows XP Home Edition-Based Computers

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;312131&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

How To Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/279783/en-us?FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

 

[gallows]

Thanks Linney. The info is very helpful and explains what happened.

Owner does not show up as "Account Unknown" though.
When you say rename the Owner account, are you talking about renaming it under Docs & Settings since "owner" does not show up in the Control Panel/users?

If so, will this also fix my problem of not letting user2 have access to certain programs?

 

[linney]

Your user account setup seems a bit strange and not what is usually seen in XP. Before you play with "which users see which files" it may be a good idea to get your user accounts set up correctly.

Is this an upgrade from a 9x system?

Are you fully up to date with the latest Service Packs?


Renaming the "Owner" account would be done via Users in Control Panel, but you say it is not listed there.

http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-127918.php

Have you done anything similar to what is mentioned in these next two articles, I doubt it though?

322014 - HOW TO: Change the Default Location of User Profiles and Program Settings

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;322014&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

236621 - Cannot Move or Rename the Documents and Settings Folder

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;236621&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

Maybe you could either delete the accounts that you have and create new accounts, or copy them to new user accounts and rename them that way?

HOW TO: Delete a User Profile in Windows 2000

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q313918&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

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

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

 

[gallows]

Thanks again linney.
I upgraded from Windows 2000 to XP Home originally. After several months, reinstalled XP again.

Yes, I have the latest and greatest Service Packs and patches.

I agree, the user accounts are strange. How would I log on as Administrator? I only have the 2 users on the desktop that can log in. I don't have the option of entering any user name I want. As you can tell, I am new to XP. I'm thinking of dropping back to 2000)

Thanks,
Gallows

 

[linney]

In XP Home, logging in to the built-in Administrator account is only available from Safe Mode (as is the Security Tab but see links below). The options for changing the way other users login is available via the Control Panel/ User Accounts. Here you can turn off the Welcome Screen and revert to the 2000 type login box which allows you to type a name (but not Administrator).

Going from 2000 to XP Home in many ways is a step back as you lose a lot of capabilities, especially on the Group Policy and Security Permission side of things. Later on (if you want) you can use these links to bump Home up a notch or two in to something resembling 2000.

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_home_sectab.htm

 

[gallows]

Thanks for all your help linney. I appreciate it.

Gallows