Re: User accounts - can they be deleted?

"gardencoach" <gardencoach@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
I got two identical laptops at the same time. On one, my husband and son set
up user accounts for themselves. On the other, only I use it and there are
no user accounts. Now, with son gone to college, the user accounts on my
husbands are a pain. Just one more step on an already not so fast computer.
We only need one desktop on that computer. Can we delete the whole system so
it works like mine does? I don't even remember how I set it up to be like
that. The computer just boots to my desktop.
I understand the story about increased protection from viruses when not
using an administrator account but on our home computers that doesn't seem
like such a risk.
Is there a way to get rid of the screen that directs us to open only one
user account, move any still wanted documents from our son's folders to my
husbands, delete anything else from his user account, delete the guest
account, and make the whole thing simpler as it seems to be on my computer?

There has to be at least one user account to login to the desktop. That's how it works. Every system has at least one account, the built in Administrator account. There is also the Guest account, possibly an Asp.net account (if .Net has been installed), several accounts used strictly by the system, and whatever other user accounts you created.

When you boot the computer and login to an account that login can be setup to be automatic, which is apparently what you have done. To see what account you're logging into go to Start | Run. Type in %Userprofile%. Click Ok. It will display the folder for the current user.

To see all the user accounts on the computer go to Start | Run | cmd | Ok. At the command line type in
net user
(Press Enter)

If you happen to be using the built in Administrator account that's not good practice. If something damages that account then you won't be able to login to the computer. Create at least one other account with admin level privileges, and login to it at least once. Then copy the data and settings from the Administrator account to this new account. Work in the new account. If things are ok then put a strong password on the Administrator account and set it aside.

Note that when another admin level account is created the built in Administrator account disappears. To login to it for XP Pro at the Welcome Screen do Ctrl-Alt-Del twice, then type in Administrator as the user name and the password. For XP Home the Administrator account can only be accessed from Safe Mode.

Here are links with info on how to create user accounts and how to copy/delete user accounts.

HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=279783

How to Copy a User Profile
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/win_xp_logon.htm

I don't know what you mean by the user accounts on that one laptop being a pain. A computer runs fine with multiple user accounts. But in any event you can delete unneeded accounts. See the about link on how to create and configure user accounts for info on how to delete and account. When deleting an account you are given the option to retain the data. You decide if you want to or not.

To set up a computer to auto login to a given account there are several ways to do it.

1. Go to Start | Run and type in: control userpasswords2 | Ok.

2. On the Users tab, clear the Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer check box and then click OK.

3. In the Automatically Log On dialog box that appears, type the user name and password for the account you want to be logged on each time you start your computer.

You can accomplish the same thing by:

Download and install tweakui for xp and use its auto logon feature.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

Lastly you can add the Dialog box that comes up when running control userpasswords2 to the Control Panel with the following tweak:

Add Control User Passwords2 to the Control Panel (Line 1)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm


--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

.