Re: removing user accounts on XP Home

Hi Rock,

It can create problems if someone tries to create a Power User account in XP
Home.

Like this guy.
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support/browse_frm/thread/e83d87a26202122a/ed22a2cabeae47da?tvc=1&hl=en#ed22a2cabeae47da

I was seeing an accident waiting to happen in this present thread.

Here's a canned response that I had...

I do have experience with XP Home. XP Home lacks a number of things that XP
Pro has and it certainly can be confusing. :-)

No. The Power Users group doesn't exist on WINDOWS XP Home Edition.

No. Local Users and Groups will popup an error in XP Home.

Yes. This can be confusing, if you have XP Home. Maybe even if you do not
have XP Home. ;-)

On a stand alone machine, with XP Home.
control userpasswords2 Brings up User Accounts, the one you would get from
My Computer | Manage | Local Users and Groups.

And this is what you'll get when you try to access...

[[The userpasswords2 applet should not be used on WINDOWS XP Home Edition as
a tool to edit or modify users. It is reserved for WINDOWS XP Professional
Edition. The reason for this is that userpasswords2 allows the user to
access to the 'Power Users' group which doesn't exist on WINDOWS XP Home
Edition.]]

If you try to access Local Users and Groups (Local) with XP Home, you will
get this message...

[[This computer is running Windows XP Home Edition. This snapin may not be
used with that version of Windows. To manage user accounts for this
computer, use the User Accounts tool in the Control Panel]]

control userpasswords is what should be used with XP Home, *not* control
userpasswords2!

Power Users group are not supported by WinXP Home, so one should not try to
assign such privileges to an existing account, or else errors will appear.
Such as:

[[The user could not be added because the following error has occurred, The
group name could not be found: When creating a new user and make it member
of the 'Power Users' group.]]

[[The group membership for <ComputerName\UserName> could not be updated :
When updating an existing user, adding him to the 'Power Users group'. ]]

Local Users and Groups overview
[[Local Users and Groups is a tool you can use to manage local users and
groups. It is available on the following operating systems:
Windows 2000 Professional
Windows XP Professional
Member servers running Windows 2000 Server]]

Local Users and Groups overview
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/lsm_overview_01.mspx

This is KB817365 which for some reason has been pulled from MS-KB.
(http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;817365)

Although I have a copy and this is the same as KB817365.
Creation of user in the 'Power Users' group with 'Control Userpasswords2'
http://www.it-faq.pl/mskb/817/365.HTM

Windows XP Home Edition errors when using 'Control Userpasswords2' to add a
user
http://www.jsifaq.com/SUBM/tip6400/rh6488.htm

13. Advanced User Management in Windows XP Home
http://smallvoid.com/tweak/winnt/usermgt.html#USERPASSWORDS2

It is so like Microsoft to name things similarly. Just to confuse people,
IMHO.
control userpasswords = User Accounts
control userpasswords2 = User Accounts
But they are *not* the same.

If you want to be a member of the Power Users group, get Windows XP
Professional.

The only thing that control userpasswords2 should be used for in XP Home is
to setup for an auto logon.

My canned response...

Do not use control userpasswords2 to create accounts if you are using XP
Home!!!

[[You can also use turn on automatic logon without editing the registry in
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and in Microsoft Windows XP Professional
on a computer that is not joined to a domain. To do this, follow these
steps:

1. Click Start and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type control userpasswords2 and then click OK.

Note When users try to display help information in the User Accounts window
in Windows XP Home Edition, the help information is not displayed.
Additionally, users receive the following error message:

Cannot find the Drive:\Windows\System32\users.hlp Help file. Check to see
that the file exists on your hard disk drive. If it does not exist, you must
reinstall it.

3. Clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this
computer" check box, and then click Apply.
4. In the Automatically Log On window, type the password in the Password
box, and then retype the password in the Confirm Password box.
5. Click OK to close the Automatically Log On window, and then click OK to
close the User Accounts window. ]]

From...
How to turn on automatic logon in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315231

Do not use control userpasswords2 to create accounts if you are using XP
Home!!!

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:%23pu3ExU0GHA.4368@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
Rock <rock@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> hunted and pecked:
Wesley Vogel wrote:

Paste the following line into the box in Start | Run:

control userpasswords

Then click OK.

control userpasswords2 should NOT be used in XP Home for creating or
removing accounts.

control userpasswords opens the User Accounts applet from the Control
Panel.

Start | Settings | Control Panel | User Accounts

Typing: nusrmgr.cpl into the Run box will also open the correct Users
Accounts applet.


Thanks Wes.

--
Rock
MS MVP Windows - Shell/User

.

Relevant Pages

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