Start Anew in Windows
Sometimes Windows is beyond recovery, and there's nothing left but to put it out of your misery.
A Windows reinstallation isn't always a last-resort solution, however. In fact, I reinstall my OS about once a year to clear out the cobwebs. But I'm a risk-taker by nature. The safest course is to wipe Windows clean only when you have to.
Match Users to Data
When you're back in Windows, logged on as someone named "fake," open Windows Explorer to C:\Documents and Settings, select Tools, Folder Options, View, Show hidden files and folders, and make sure 'Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)' is unchecked. Click Yes, and then OK.
Now you'll see 6 or more folders, among which will likely be ones named All Users, All Users.WINDOWS, Default User, Default User.WINDOWS, and 'fake'. There will also be a folder for each of the old installation's log-in names. Open the Default User folder and look for one or more files named 'NTUSER' (they may have different file extensions). Delete these files, press Ctrl-A to select all the remaining files and folders, and then drag them all to the Default User.WINDOWS folder. At any dialog box, select Yes or, better yet, Yes to All. When you're done, delete the empty Default User folder. Repeat the process with the All Users folder, copying everything except the 'NTUSER' files (if they exist) to the All Users.WINDOWS folder.
Return to the Documents and Settings folder and rename each of the folders for an actual user (rather than the All Users, Default User, and 'fake' folders) by adding the extension .old to the name. For instance, rename the folder 'Lincoln' to Lincoln.old (click the folder name once or use the F2 key to rename folders).
To create the real accounts, select Start, Control Panel, User Accounts in Windows XP or Start, Settings, Control Panel, Users and Passwords in Windows 2000. Create an account for each user from the previous install. At least one of the accounts must have administrator privileges. In Windows 2000 you may have to check Users must enter user name and password to use this computer to create users.
Once all of the users are in place, log off "fake" and log on to each new account one at a time. In XP, select Start, Log Off, Log Off; in 2000, click Start, Shut Down, Log off fake, OK. If you are the only user, log on as yourself, log off, and log on again as "fake". If there are multiple users, first log on as one user, then log off and log on again as the next user, then log off again, and so on, until you've logged on and off as each user before logging back on as "fake". XP users: Resist the temptation to use the Switch User option (which does not exist in 2000); you need to completely log off each user, not just switch users.
Once you're logged back on as "fake," your Documents and Settings folder should have two folders for each real user: 'login name' and 'login name.old'. Delete the 'NTUSER' files and move the rest as described above for Default User, but this time from the 'login name.old' folder to the 'login name' folder. In other words, if the user's name is "Lincoln," you would enter the 'Lincoln.old' folder, delete all the 'NTUSER' files, and drag the remaining files and folders to the 'Lincoln' folder.
When you're done, log off "fake", and then log on to one of the system's real accounts with administrator privileges. Finally, return to Control Panel's User Accounts applet and delete the "fake" account, using the option to delete files.
Full article
Sometimes Windows is beyond recovery, and there's nothing left but to put it out of your misery.
A Windows reinstallation isn't always a last-resort solution, however. In fact, I reinstall my OS about once a year to clear out the cobwebs. But I'm a risk-taker by nature. The safest course is to wipe Windows clean only when you have to.
Match Users to Data
When you're back in Windows, logged on as someone named "fake," open Windows Explorer to C:\Documents and Settings, select Tools, Folder Options, View, Show hidden files and folders, and make sure 'Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)' is unchecked. Click Yes, and then OK.
Now you'll see 6 or more folders, among which will likely be ones named All Users, All Users.WINDOWS, Default User, Default User.WINDOWS, and 'fake'. There will also be a folder for each of the old installation's log-in names. Open the Default User folder and look for one or more files named 'NTUSER' (they may have different file extensions). Delete these files, press Ctrl-A to select all the remaining files and folders, and then drag them all to the Default User.WINDOWS folder. At any dialog box, select Yes or, better yet, Yes to All. When you're done, delete the empty Default User folder. Repeat the process with the All Users folder, copying everything except the 'NTUSER' files (if they exist) to the All Users.WINDOWS folder.
Return to the Documents and Settings folder and rename each of the folders for an actual user (rather than the All Users, Default User, and 'fake' folders) by adding the extension .old to the name. For instance, rename the folder 'Lincoln' to Lincoln.old (click the folder name once or use the F2 key to rename folders).
To create the real accounts, select Start, Control Panel, User Accounts in Windows XP or Start, Settings, Control Panel, Users and Passwords in Windows 2000. Create an account for each user from the previous install. At least one of the accounts must have administrator privileges. In Windows 2000 you may have to check Users must enter user name and password to use this computer to create users.
Once all of the users are in place, log off "fake" and log on to each new account one at a time. In XP, select Start, Log Off, Log Off; in 2000, click Start, Shut Down, Log off fake, OK. If you are the only user, log on as yourself, log off, and log on again as "fake". If there are multiple users, first log on as one user, then log off and log on again as the next user, then log off again, and so on, until you've logged on and off as each user before logging back on as "fake". XP users: Resist the temptation to use the Switch User option (which does not exist in 2000); you need to completely log off each user, not just switch users.
Once you're logged back on as "fake," your Documents and Settings folder should have two folders for each real user: 'login name' and 'login name.old'. Delete the 'NTUSER' files and move the rest as described above for Default User, but this time from the 'login name.old' folder to the 'login name' folder. In other words, if the user's name is "Lincoln," you would enter the 'Lincoln.old' folder, delete all the 'NTUSER' files, and drag the remaining files and folders to the 'Lincoln' folder.
When you're done, log off "fake", and then log on to one of the system's real accounts with administrator privileges. Finally, return to Control Panel's User Accounts applet and delete the "fake" account, using the option to delete files.
Full article
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