Guest spamlet Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 On our XPHome laptop, there is an account which is not listed in the control panel users accounts, but still has a profile associated with it. It does not show up in TweakUI either. Only comes up with (ctr alt del)x2. Want to delete it (the account, not the profile), and replace it with a visible one but don't know where to find it. In Home there is no Advanced User Management console in which to look for more information about this invisible user. Is there another way to show this information? Presumably the invisible user account is a registry key somewhere that needs to be deleted. Where are the user id's held and how do I identify which to delete? Really is taxing the brain, this one! Cheers, S
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 Re: How can I delete an account that I can't see? "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message news:%23q9KIUlJJHA.740@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... > On our XPHome laptop, there is an account which is not listed in the > control panel users accounts, but still has a profile associated with it. > > It does not show up in TweakUI either. > Only comes up with (ctr alt del)x2. > > Want to delete it (the account, not the profile), and replace it with a > visible one but don't know where to find it. > > In Home there is no Advanced User Management console in which to look for > more information about this invisible user. Is there another way to show > this information? > > Presumably the invisible user account is a registry key somewhere that > needs to be deleted. > Where are the user id's held and how do I identify which to delete? > > Really is taxing the brain, this one! > > Cheers, > > S You can delete any account like so: - Reboot into Safe Mode. - Log on as Administrator. - Click Start / Run / cmd{OK} - Type these commands: net user {Enter} (To see a list of all users) net user "SomeAccountName" /delete{Enter} Since you do not wish to delete the user's profile folder, you may need to relink it to the new account you wish to create. Note that it would be simpler to make the problem account visible instead of deleting it.
Guest spamlet Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 Re: How can I delete an account that I can't see? "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message news:O9C$AclJJHA.1736@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... > > "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message > news:%23q9KIUlJJHA.740@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... >> On our XPHome laptop, there is an account which is not listed in the >> control panel users accounts, but still has a profile associated with it. >> >> It does not show up in TweakUI either. >> Only comes up with (ctr alt del)x2. >> >> Want to delete it (the account, not the profile), and replace it with a >> visible one but don't know where to find it. >> >> In Home there is no Advanced User Management console in which to look for >> more information about this invisible user. Is there another way to show >> this information? >> >> Presumably the invisible user account is a registry key somewhere that >> needs to be deleted. >> Where are the user id's held and how do I identify which to delete? >> >> Really is taxing the brain, this one! >> >> Cheers, >> >> S > > You can delete any account like so: > - Reboot into Safe Mode. > - Log on as Administrator. > - Click Start / Run / cmd{OK} > - Type these commands: > net user {Enter} (To see a list of all users) > net user "SomeAccountName" /delete{Enter} > Since you do not wish to delete the user's profile folder, you may need to > relink it to the new account you wish to create. Note that it would be > simpler to make the problem account visible instead of deleting it. Thank you Pegasus, you are a star! I'm amazed at how much time I've spent hunting for this information! Oh for a local users and groups in XPHome! Many thanks, S
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 Re: How can I delete an account that I can't see? "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message news:eocw45lJJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > Thank you Pegasus, you are a star! > I'm amazed at how much time I've spent hunting for this information! > Oh for a local users and groups in XPHome! > > Many thanks, > > S Thanks for the feedback.
Guest Twayne Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 Re: How can I delete an account that I can't see? > "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message > news:%23q9KIUlJJHA.740@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... >> On our XPHome laptop, there is an account which is not listed in the >> control panel users accounts, but still has a profile associated >> with it. It does not show up in TweakUI either. >> Only comes up with (ctr alt del)x2. >> >> Want to delete it (the account, not the profile), and replace it >> with a visible one but don't know where to find it. >> >> In Home there is no Advanced User Management console in which to >> look for more information about this invisible user. Is there >> another way to show this information? >> >> Presumably the invisible user account is a registry key somewhere >> that needs to be deleted. >> Where are the user id's held and how do I identify which to delete? >> >> Really is taxing the brain, this one! >> >> Cheers, >> >> S > > You can delete any account like so: > - Reboot into Safe Mode. > - Log on as Administrator. > - Click Start / Run / cmd{OK} > - Type these commands: > net user {Enter} (To see a list of all users) > net user "SomeAccountName" /delete{Enter} > Since you do not wish to delete the user's profile folder, you may > need to relink it to the new account you wish to create. Note that it > would be simpler to make the problem account visible instead of > deleting it. Well; you can not delete the default admin account, right? Twayne
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 Re: How can I delete an account that I can't see? "Twayne" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote in message news:um97n9mJJHA.3712@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... >> "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message >> news:%23q9KIUlJJHA.740@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... >>> On our XPHome laptop, there is an account which is not listed in the >>> control panel users accounts, but still has a profile associated >>> with it. It does not show up in TweakUI either. >>> Only comes up with (ctr alt del)x2. >>> >>> Want to delete it (the account, not the profile), and replace it >>> with a visible one but don't know where to find it. >>> >>> In Home there is no Advanced User Management console in which to >>> look for more information about this invisible user. Is there >>> another way to show this information? >>> >>> Presumably the invisible user account is a registry key somewhere >>> that needs to be deleted. >>> Where are the user id's held and how do I identify which to delete? >>> >>> Really is taxing the brain, this one! >>> >>> Cheers, >>> >>> S >> >> You can delete any account like so: >> - Reboot into Safe Mode. >> - Log on as Administrator. >> - Click Start / Run / cmd{OK} >> - Type these commands: >> net user {Enter} (To see a list of all users) >> net user "SomeAccountName" /delete{Enter} >> Since you do not wish to delete the user's profile folder, you may >> need to relink it to the new account you wish to create. Note that it >> would be simpler to make the problem account visible instead of >> deleting it. > > Well; you can not delete the default admin account, right? > > Twayne > Correct.
Guest spamlet Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 Re: How can I delete an account that I can't see? "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message news:efs70wmJJHA.4936@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > > "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message > news:eocw45lJJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >> Thank you Pegasus, you are a star! >> I'm amazed at how much time I've spent hunting for this information! >> Oh for a local users and groups in XPHome! >> >> Many thanks, >> >> S > > Thanks for the feedback. Actually, I was so pleased with your revelation, that I didn't really take in your last note: "Note that it would be simpler to make the problem account visible instead of deleting it." What you advised was actually very very simple, as I already have a cmd prompt on my desktop, and it worked without needing to go into safe mode. How could I have rendered the account visible - I normally do this with TweakUI, but this account wasn't showing up anywhere but on the net user cmd, so there was nowhere else I could get at it to change it? Net user does list various parameters for each account, but not visibility. On the laptop there is a further account profile listed in MyComp props/advanced called 'Account Unknown'. But no 'account unknown' in the Docs and Sets profiles. In the docs and sets list though, there is a profile called 'Owner' which does not seem to have an account. In the Registry I can't see any list of user names to match the ones in net user, one can track the numbered profiles and see that they point at a particular folder, but not see which user account name they refer to. Should I just delete the 'Account unknown' and see if the 'Owner' folders disappear? All rather curious, but I suppose it has to be fairly difficult to change an ac inadvertently. Thanks for the tips, S
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 Re: How can I delete an account that I can't see? "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message news:u1JRuDwJJHA.4512@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > > "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message > news:efs70wmJJHA.4936@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >> >> "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message >> news:eocw45lJJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >>> Thank you Pegasus, you are a star! >>> I'm amazed at how much time I've spent hunting for this information! >>> Oh for a local users and groups in XPHome! >>> >>> Many thanks, >>> >>> S >> >> Thanks for the feedback. > > Actually, I was so pleased with your revelation, that I didn't really take > in your last note: > > "Note that it would be simpler to make the problem account visible instead > of deleting it." > > What you advised was actually very very simple, as I already have a cmd > prompt on my desktop, and it worked without needing to go into safe mode. > > How could I have rendered the account visible - I normally do this with > TweakUI, but this account wasn't showing up anywhere but on the net user > cmd, so there was nowhere else I could get at it to change it? Net user > does list various parameters for each account, but not visibility. > > On the laptop there is a further account profile listed in MyComp > props/advanced called 'Account Unknown'. But no 'account unknown' in the > Docs and Sets profiles. In the docs and sets list though, there is a > profile called 'Owner' which does not seem to have an account. In the > Registry I can't see any list of user names to match the ones in net user, > one can track the numbered profiles and see that they point at a > particular folder, but not see which user account name they refer to. > Should I just delete the 'Account unknown' and see if the 'Owner' folders > disappear? > > All rather curious, but I suppose it has to be fairly difficult to change > an ac inadvertently. > > Thanks for the tips, > > S User accounts can be prevented from showing up on the logon screen by creating a registry entry for them here: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList To unhide an account you need to remove the account name from this location.
Guest Jim Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 Re: How can I delete an account that I can't see? "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message news:u1JRuDwJJHA.4512@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > > "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message > news:efs70wmJJHA.4936@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >> >> "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message >> news:eocw45lJJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >>> Thank you Pegasus, you are a star! >>> I'm amazed at how much time I've spent hunting for this information! >>> Oh for a local users and groups in XPHome! >>> >>> Many thanks, >>> >>> S >> >> Thanks for the feedback. > > Actually, I was so pleased with your revelation, that I didn't really take > in your last note: > > "Note that it would be simpler to make the problem account visible instead > of deleting it." > > What you advised was actually very very simple, as I already have a cmd > prompt on my desktop, and it worked without needing to go into safe mode. > > How could I have rendered the account visible - I normally do this with > TweakUI, but this account wasn't showing up anywhere but on the net user > cmd, so there was nowhere else I could get at it to change it? Net user > does list various parameters for each account, but not visibility. > > On the laptop there is a further account profile listed in MyComp > props/advanced called 'Account Unknown'. But no 'account unknown' in the > Docs and Sets profiles. In the docs and sets list though, there is a > profile called 'Owner' which does not seem to have an account. In the > Registry I can't see any list of user names to match the ones in net user, > one can track the numbered profiles and see that they point at a > particular folder, but not see which user account name they refer to. > Should I just delete the 'Account unknown' and see if the 'Owner' folders > disappear? > > All rather curious, but I suppose it has to be fairly difficult to change > an ac inadvertently. > > Thanks for the tips, > > S > > I thought that 'account unknown' was used when there is no username associated with a security id. Sometimes, a security id will appear in place of a deleted account. I have a USB drive which I sometimes use to move files between computers. Files or folders from one computer can show up as 'account unknown' on the other. You can also get this situation when you delete an account, which does not result in deleting files belonging to the account. What I would do with the 'account unknown' files and folders would be to take ownership of subject files and folders. Then I would determine if these things contain useful information and keep those that do. Jim
Guest spamlet Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 Re: How can I delete an account that I can't see? "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message news:e%23XwsOwJJHA.2208@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > > "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message > news:u1JRuDwJJHA.4512@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >> >> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message >> news:efs70wmJJHA.4936@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >>> >>> "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message >>> news:eocw45lJJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >>>> Thank you Pegasus, you are a star! >>>> I'm amazed at how much time I've spent hunting for this information! >>>> Oh for a local users and groups in XPHome! >>>> >>>> Many thanks, >>>> >>>> S >>> >>> Thanks for the feedback. >> >> Actually, I was so pleased with your revelation, that I didn't really >> take in your last note: >> >> "Note that it would be simpler to make the problem account visible >> instead of deleting it." >> >> What you advised was actually very very simple, as I already have a cmd >> prompt on my desktop, and it worked without needing to go into safe mode. >> >> How could I have rendered the account visible - I normally do this with >> TweakUI, but this account wasn't showing up anywhere but on the net user >> cmd, so there was nowhere else I could get at it to change it? Net user >> does list various parameters for each account, but not visibility. >> >> On the laptop there is a further account profile listed in MyComp >> props/advanced called 'Account Unknown'. But no 'account unknown' in the >> Docs and Sets profiles. In the docs and sets list though, there is a >> profile called 'Owner' which does not seem to have an account. In the >> Registry I can't see any list of user names to match the ones in net >> user, one can track the numbered profiles and see that they point at a >> particular folder, but not see which user account name they refer to. >> Should I just delete the 'Account unknown' and see if the 'Owner' folders >> disappear? >> >> All rather curious, but I suppose it has to be fairly difficult to change >> an ac inadvertently. >> >> Thanks for the tips, >> >> S > > User accounts can be prevented from showing up on the logon screen by > creating a registry entry for them here: > HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList > > To unhide an account you need to remove the account name from this > location. Thanks Pegasus and Jim, I had come across the reference to the Special Accounts user list while looking for a way to delete the invisible account. There was no list, unfortunately, which is why I put my question here. It turns out that the profile that had originally been on the very invisible account, still gave trouble after copying it into a new one: it behaved as two different profiles: if it was graded as administrator it gave one desktop layout; if graded as user a different one that refused to hold a desktop picture. I ended up having to recreate the profile from scratch. Then I made very sure to download the User Profile Hive Cleanup Service from MS: I've had it on the pc for some time, and had not realised it was not running on the laptop. Hopefully this will get rid of the profile failing to unload completely problem, in future. The account profile labelled 'Account Unknown' did disappear when I deleted the 'Owner' folder from Docs and Sets. While all this was going on the laptop seemed to be taking an interminable time to deal with Avg processes, so I took the opportunity of deleting it and loading Avast instead. Avast said it found a virus: Win32:CTX, but this appears to have been in a restore point and in an 'Active Scan' (Panda presumably) folder. Not sure of the significance of this. Avast said it was in: Win\System32\ActiveScan\pskavs.dll and in C:\SystemVolumeInformation\-restore(11B4CBB0... I've deleted the old restore points just in case. Thanks for the tips. S
Guest spamlet Posted October 7, 2008 Posted October 7, 2008 Re: How can I delete an account that I can't see? "Jim" <j.n@invalid.invalid> wrote in message news:ed14ZewJJHA.1556@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... > > "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message > news:u1JRuDwJJHA.4512@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >> >> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message >> news:efs70wmJJHA.4936@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >>> >>> "spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message >>> news:eocw45lJJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >>>> Thank you Pegasus, you are a star! >>>> I'm amazed at how much time I've spent hunting for this information! >>>> Oh for a local users and groups in XPHome! >>>> >>>> Many thanks, >>>> >>>> S >>> >>> Thanks for the feedback. >> >> Actually, I was so pleased with your revelation, that I didn't really >> take in your last note: >> >> "Note that it would be simpler to make the problem account visible >> instead of deleting it." >> >> What you advised was actually very very simple, as I already have a cmd >> prompt on my desktop, and it worked without needing to go into safe mode. >> >> How could I have rendered the account visible - I normally do this with >> TweakUI, but this account wasn't showing up anywhere but on the net user >> cmd, so there was nowhere else I could get at it to change it? Net user >> does list various parameters for each account, but not visibility. >> >> On the laptop there is a further account profile listed in MyComp >> props/advanced called 'Account Unknown'. But no 'account unknown' in the >> Docs and Sets profiles. In the docs and sets list though, there is a >> profile called 'Owner' which does not seem to have an account. In the >> Registry I can't see any list of user names to match the ones in net >> user, one can track the numbered profiles and see that they point at a >> particular folder, but not see which user account name they refer to. >> Should I just delete the 'Account unknown' and see if the 'Owner' folders >> disappear? >> >> All rather curious, but I suppose it has to be fairly difficult to change >> an ac inadvertently. >> >> Thanks for the tips, >> >> S >> >> > I thought that 'account unknown' was used when there is no username > associated with a security id. Sometimes, a security id will appear in > place of a deleted account. > I have a USB drive which I sometimes use to move files between computers. > Files or folders from one computer can show up as 'account unknown' on the > other. > You can also get this situation when you delete an account, which does not > result in deleting files belonging to the account. > > What I would do with the 'account unknown' files and folders would be to > take ownership of subject files and folders. Then I would determine if > these things contain useful information and keep those that do. > Jim Thanks Jim, In this case, the 'account unknown' was, confusingly associated with a profile labelled 'Owner' in docs and sets. Why it didn't show up as 'Owner' rather than 'account unknown' I don't know, but when one was deleted the other went too. Surprising how confusing an apparently simple thing like 'a user account' can turn out to be! Cheers, S
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