hey i have a major problem which i am totally lost as to what to do! it started when i tried to set up a new user account for my sister. for easiness let's call the default/owner account 'brother', and the new one i tried to create 'sister'. when i tried to create a 'sister' account before, i could never log on with it, with xp stating the 'specified file cannot be found', but i could still log on as 'brother' (which is my profile where everything is installed and stored). the other day i typed 'control userpasswords2' in run and deselected 'users must enter a username and password to use this computer'. i also changed the 'sister' account slightly called leeanne and not lee-anne. next time i boot i get the user environment saying 'error - cannot find the file specified'. ie, i can't log in as anything now and revert it! windows just sticks on the blue screen with user environment box. i have tried booting in safe mode and all F8 options to no avail. last known good config didn't work either. i have an hp oem version of xp home, on a 6gig partition (no cd), and pressing F10 to start recovery console doesn't work as they state - so i can't even get into that! i have removed the drive and put it in another pc - i can't access my 'owner' folder but i know all is intact as i used xp backup program to explore my drive and all folders are still there. in my 'documents and settings' folder, there was the 'brother' account and about 20 variations of the 'sister' account saying 'sister.000' etc - i have deleted all of these 'sister accounts' and left 'brother/owner'. (please note i am away from home at the moment and cannot try to see if this solves it on another computer as it is a legit version of xp!). on this other pc i cannot even access my 'brother' documents as xp says access is denied (even though i deselected read only). i was hoping someone could give me an insight into how i can restore my registry or do a system restore from a boot up disc? as i cannot log on as anything at the moment! even a way to bypass this via browsing my drive on another computer. am i correct in assuming a reinstallation of xp will solve this and keep my documents intact? cheers!

Just as a matter of curiosity -- take a look and see if XP might have, for whatever reason, assigned a temporary password to the accounts. It shouldn't, and this sometimes pops up during an incomplete install, but might be worth checking just in case. IF there are temp passwords assigned, they are written to the Setupact.log file located in the folder in which Windows is installed. IF this is the case, you will be able to retrieve the password from the Setupact.log file, and then use the password to log on to the computer. YSearch the Setupact.log file for the following line, where Username is the name of the user account and xxxxxxxxxxxxx is the password for that account: Random password for Username is xxxxxxxxxxxxx It's probably not this, but at least this is quick and you can eliminate one more possible glitch. Good luck.

hey i gave it a go, but couldn't find the account name on the setupact.log file (that's maybe the problem!) i don't get the choice to log on, just met with a 'cannot find file specified' user environment box when xp is 'loading your personal settings', so i can't get into windows to change anything. i am sure it is to do with me unticking 'users do not enter a username or password' - just wish i could revert this outside of windows! thanks for the help

I did find the folloowing -- it is almost certainly related to your difficulties: DO NOT use the Userpasswords2 applet to add or modify users in Windows XP Home Edition. This tool is reserved for Windows XP Professional Edition. The Userpasswords2 applet allows access to the Power Users group which is NOT a built-in group in Windows XP Home Edition. To add or edit a user in Windows XP Home Edition, use Control Panel / User Accounts, which does NOT show the Power Users group.

you might also wish to loook at this: http://itdomino.act.com/act.nsf/docid/1999052411450601 hope something helps...

thanks for finding that out, rdp--i wish i knew about that beforehand! i guess that confirms that 'control userpasswords2' has indeed buggered up my windows. i have no idea how to revert this as i can't get into windows. i'll have to try and do a non-destructive repair of xp and hope that works (i have an hp pavillion with xp on a D partition and not on cd grrr) and the F10 at bootup method of getting into repair isn't working/ anyone with experience of hp let me know how to get round that? will the 6 xp floppy boot disks work? thanks again

Read this just fyi from HP http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?cc=us&lc=en&prodId=pvpc&docName=bph07103&cat=34605554#P32_3583 then go here: http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?cc=us&lc=en&prodId=pvpc&docName=bph07143&cat=34605554 to read ths: HP Pavilions that ship with Windows XP do not come with recovery CDs. Instead, they use a hidden space (partition) on the hard drive to store the recovery information. Using a hidden partition provides a convenient, more stable recovery process that eliminates the need for fragile CDs that can become lost. If you would still like to obtain recovery CDs, HP provides the following options: · Call HP Customer Care and order a set of Windows XP recovery discs. · Newer HP Desktop computers with Windows XP might have recovery CD creator software installed that can create one set of recovery discs. Use the following steps to see if your HP Desktop computer has HP Recovery CD Creator software and to create one set of recovery discs: 1. Make sure that you have the required amount of blank CDs available. This process could take up to ten CDs. 2. Click Start, and then All Programs. 3. Click Hewlett-Packard, and then HP Pavilion PC Tools. 4. Click HP PC Recovery CD Creator and follow the instructions on the screens to create the discs. For more information, read the HP support document Creating Recovery CDs Using HP's Recovery CD Creator Software. This last bit is here: http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/document.jhtml?docName=bph08097