Windows says existing account does not exists

[PeterPan]

I’ve got a very interesting problem.

Credit to those who can solve this one:

Case:

My computer got really messy due to me trying to fix something. Unwise move.

I ran the Windows XP repair possibility, and I was prompted to create new user accounts, which I did.

New1

New2

New3

When accessing MyComputer, XP tells me I have only 13GB out of 65GB left.

I can’t quite figure out this, because I can’t locate so many files nowhere.

I run “DiskSpaceFinder” to see where the GB’s have gone. No helpful results. “DiskSpaceFinder” reports results in line with what I expect would be left on the computer. I.e. it reports usage of about only 14 GB.

Second step:

I install TuneUpUtilities 2009, and I run their space-check tool.

Surprise, surprise: All the used GB are located, and when I travel into the subdirectories, I find that TuneUpUtilities show me my old accounts INTACT.

In TuneUpUtilities I see:

Old1

Old2

Old3

Old4

I never really used Old2-Old4.

Old 1 was my primary user account, and I had over 35 GB stored there, which is in accordance with what TuneUpUtilities shows me.

Now-this get strange: When using TuneUpUtilities I am able to look in ALL my subdirectories in detail, but not when I enter C: manually.

When entering C; manually I find my old user accounts listed under DocumentsandSetting, and I am able to access Old2-4 but, and please pay attention now, I am NOT able to access Old1.

MyComputer tells me that Old1 has 0 byte date in it, and it flashed me a “’Old1 is NOT AVAILABLE. NO ACCESS” error

I can’t at all enter the account.

Can you answer this:

1) What has really happened here

2) Why on earth can I access my Old1 account IN DETAIL when using Tune Uputilities, but NOT AT ALL when entering manually in C:

3) How can this be amended. I really would like to use my Old1 account, or secondarily be able to copy the data from Old1 to New1

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Welcome to the Windows Forum.

First, I have no idea what "TuneUpUtilities" is, so I cannot tell you what it can do or how. Better ask the developers of that tool.

To access your 'Old1' account data, can't you just login to it?

[Dencandy]

This is a common occurence after a re-install or repair (unless you do a complete wipe of the hard disk). Basically Windows automatically tries to save as many of the old data files as possible, but makes them unavailable except by following a certain procedure. Some disk-space utilities will measure these, some won't, which explains the different measurements of used/spare space.

You need to find the old inaccessible files & folders and then take "ownership" of them to see if you need to keep them or can delete them. This link from Microsoft explains how to do that: HOW TO TAKE OWNERSHIP. There seems to be no easy way of finding the inaccessible files, it's a hit-or-miss business I'm afraid.

I don't know the answer to your 2nd question which seems a peculiarity of TuneUpUtilities which I've never used.

[PeterPan]

This is a common occurence after a re-install or repair (unless you do a complete wipe of the hard disk). Basically Windows automatically tries to save as many of the old data files as possible, but makes them unavailable except by following a certain procedure. Some disk-space utilities will measure these, some won't, which explains the different measurements of used/spare space.

You need to find the old inaccessible files & folders and then take "ownership" of them to see if you need to keep them or can delete them. This link from Microsoft explains how to do that: HOW TO TAKE OWNERSHIP. There seems to be no easy way of finding the inaccessible files, it's a hit-or-miss business I'm afraid.

I don't know the answer to your 2nd question which seems a peculiarity of TuneUpUtilities which I've never used.

Thanks for your answer :)

Clearly this is the way to go, but of course some problems did occur.

I managed to take ownership of Old1, and I was able to go one level deeper in the hierarchy.

However; when trying to access Old1/Sub1 I encountered the same problem again.

I tried to copy the rights downwards in the hierarchy by selecting the possible options, but it did not help.

It seems like I have to do the procedure for each subfolder.

The main problem now is that after Old1/Sub1 there is like 50 subfolders, and I don't have the time to do the procedure on each of them (and maybe on single files also?)

I googled a bit, and discovered the cacls command.

However; I can't get it to work as it should be.

The following syntax should give all permission to "New 1" in order to access all subfolders and files downward in the file hiearchy:

Cacls Old1 /t /g New1:f

...but nothing happens :( :(

What I am doing wrong? Any suggestions?

[Dencandy]

I've never used the Cacls command so can't write from experience, but from what I've read, be careful using it as it can be complex to undo if you make a mistake. The official MS "take ownership" solution is the safest, although it can take longer. It claims to work on all sub-folders, but in my experience it doesn't always. You just have to go through them one by one I'm afraid.