User Account Missing

[rstryker]

something wierd happened.

when i installed XP Pro i made 1 user account "Ross"

so when i boot up it goes straight into windows without me having to log in.

yesterday i booted up and it stopped at the Welcome screen.

Click a user name to log on.

Only there is no names there...?

the only thing you can click on is at the bottom of the screen "Turn off Ross's Computer.

so i hit ctrl-alt-del twice (i heard you could do this to logon as admin" and "Ross" is there so i log on.

I reboot and same thing.

i went into user accounts and nothing there... i try to create new user Ross...it says it already exists.

i create new user "RossAsbill" everything looks OK

I reboot and same thing...no user account listed.

i look under C:\Documents and Settings and Folder "Ross" and "All Users" is there.

any ideas???

[sedative]

This is probably way off but...

Press Ctrl+Tab when you're stuck at the logon screen and see if there's any programs in the background. I once had a program (the name escapes me now) that was giving an error when I booted and it wouldn't let me get to the desktop. Had to kill it before I could proceed.

This is probably a one in a million shot, but you never know.

[Aaron]

Moved to Windows XP/.NET forum

[rstryker]

This is probably way off but...

Press Ctrl+Tab when you're stuck at the logon screen and see if there's any programs in the background. I once had a program (the name escapes me now) that was giving an error when I booted and it wouldn't let me get to the desktop. Had to kill it before I could proceed.

This is probably a one in a million shot, but you never know.

thanks for the info but alas, it didnt work.

[MSNwar]

You just performed a clean install right? During the installation you were asked if you wanted to create the admin and user accounts. You made one account (Admin / Ross). No other user accounts were created at the time. That is the correct way to do it if you are the only user on the machine and you want to boot striaght into windows. In the past you probally created an Admin account and user accounts at the same time.

As far as not being able to create a user account at this stage I don't know. Bring up the wizard and walk-through it. Maybe that will show you something that was missed. I know the first time I did it all went well but the second time I did it I missed something and had a mess on my hands.

[rstryker]

You just performed a clean install right? Whe you make one account (Admin) and name is same as user then that happens. It is the right way if you are the only user on the machine and want to boot straight into Windows.

exactly...but now all of a sudden, instead of booting straight into windows, it stops at the

Welcome/Logon screen.

to get into windows i have to ctrl-alt-del twice to bring up logon box.

[MSNwar]

Oh I see. Heck ross, I would rerun setup. Start over I would.

and I edited my original post. I am too slow and you are to fast LOL

[Rick]

Yeah...I agree with MSN...I would reinstall or repair because this is a peculiar problem and I cannot find an answer anywhere.

Rick

[Drewdatrip]

Heres what i would do..

Boot up and when it stops at the login page, pres ctrl+Alt+Del

Then a login box will pop up Type this.

Administrator for the name and the password you imputed in the Xp install, which would of been the pass for your "Ross" account....

From there you can remake your Ross acount in the users section of your control panel.

Goodluck

=Drew

[MSNwar]

reference Drew.

That makes sense. How goes it Ross?

From the XP Help Center,

To change a user's group or account type:

When your computer is part of a network domain, users are assigned to user groups and are granted the rights and permissions granted to the group. When your computer is part of a workgroup or is a stand-alone computer, users are assigned types of user accounts and are granted the rights and permissions associated with the user account.

The steps to perform this task differ depending on whether your computer is a member of a network domain or is part of a workgroup (or is a stand-alone computer).

[rstryker]

Heres what i would do..

Boot up and when it stops at the login page, pres ctrl+Alt+Del

Then a login box will pop up Type this.

Administrator for the name and the password you imputed in the Xp install, which would of been the pass for your "Ross" account....

From there you can remake your Ross acount in the users section of your control panel.

Goodluck

=Drew

tried this (i really thought it would work...should have thought of this myself lol)

it still says user Ross already exists.

i tried to enable guest account and it disapeared completely (weird)

i then booted to cd and did a repair instalation.

same thing.

another funny thing is i had made a Drive Image after my last install

and now it says image is bad. CRAP!!!

well i will do a fresh install tommorow.

thanks for all the replys.

Merry Christmas :santa