Re: Deleting Profiles (.PWL)
Paradoxdb3 wrote:
| Thanks for the "How To Delete Profiles" article! So many gems to
| find! I looked in the registry where the article says the profiles
| entries are kept and saw them. Then I went to the control panel and
| went to the passwords option and set all users to use one password,
| again just as the article said. After that, I was prompted to
| reboot, which I did. Upon start up, you get the usual login screen
| where you can type in a name you want and a password if you want to
| (where it also says, "Tip: If you don't enter a password, you won't
| get this prompt again".) I didn't choose a password, because I like
| when Windows loads automatically! So, I went back to the article
| where the next step is to remove the old profile registry entries
| manually. But I didn't follow instructions here, because it seemed
| strange that I had to manually remove the registry entries, then
| delete the folders in C:\Windows\Profiles. So instead, I went back
| to Control Panel, and chose the Users option. Then from there, I
| deleted the individual profiles. It did everything automatically for
| me that the article said I could do manually! It removed the registry
| entries and the folders (I think). Everything went perfectly!
Well, I'm glad to hear it! I guess the manual measures mentioned in the
article only apply if/when something goes wrong with the Control Panel
method you have discovered! Now that they are gone, I would steer clear
of this thing, unless you decide you actually do need it. I do remember
it was all hell for LuckyStrike that week long ago he tried to get rid
of them!
You may be in a precarious position the next five days, until all of
your Registry backups are replaced-- the ones in C:\WINDOWS\SYSBCKUP. If
one of those is restored for some reason, you'd get back the Registry
entries, but the folders will still be gone.
| Thanks again!
|
| "PCR" wrote:
|
|> Paradoxdb3 wrote:
|> | Thanks MrBill for the informative lesson on how to maintain each
|> | user's specific folder! One more piece to the puzzle! I never
|> | knew about the C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\USERNAME folders. And even
|> | though your post was very helpful, I am still wondering what
|> | happens when a profile is deleted through the USERS option in
|> | Control Panel. Does that delete the specific folders for that
|> | particular user? And what if I re-create the user I just deleted?
|> | Does the re-created user get another new specific folder, or are
|> | the old folders simply over-written? Let me use an example:
|> |
|> | I've created a user named DAN. Now, DAN has his own desktop
|> | settings with his own wallpaper, desktop icons, sound schemes,
|> | yada yada yada. Everytime DAN enters his password and logs onto
|> | Windows, he'll be seeing all those specific settings. A few days
|> | later, DAN gets his own computer, so I go to the Control Panel and
|> | delete his profile, since his settings are no longer needed on my
|> | computer. But will his specific folders and registry entries
|> | still on my computer? Okay, now on to part two...
|> |
|> | Now DAN needs a profile set up on my computer again, because his
|> | new computer is being repaired, and he needs one right away. So I
|> | set up another profile named DAN and he gets to use my computer
|> | for the next week or so. Is profile DAN going to overwrite the
|> | old and deleted DAN profile files and registry entries? Or will
|> | he be given the specific folder, "C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\DAN1"? Hope
|> | this makes sense!
|>
|> It sounds to me like MrBill & MEB know more than I about it, & very
|> soon you may too. Nevertheless...
|>
|> I meant to warn you off User Profiles when I first saw you mention
|> them, but refrained thinking some folk might actually have a reason
|> for it. (You might.) But, not only will they bloat you for all the
|> reasons MrBill & MEB have said, but it is also true some
|> applications (SpyBot I believe is one) will insinuate their .logs &
|> such into each & every profile you run or install them into-- & some
|> of these files are huge! Also, the Registry will bloat for the same
|> reason!
|>
|>
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/156826/en-us
|> How to Disable and Delete User Profiles
|>
|> I think that article is just the tip of the iceberg, & it speaks of
|> doing the deletes you ask of manually! What do you see in the
|> Windows\Profiles folder now, after you have already added & removed
|> some Profiles?
|>
|> Remember... after Registry entries are removed, the Registry is not
|> necessarily any smaller. It must be compacted first in DOS...
|>
|> (1) "START button, Shut Down, Restart in MS-DOS Mode"
|> (2) ScanReg /Fix /Opt
|> (Do step 2 twice more.)
|>
|> However, that won't work for a Registry around 9 MB huge. The
|> Registry is the total size of System.dat & User.dat. And you may
|> well have more than one User.dat now! (I'm not sure how that factors
|> in.)
|>
|> Here are 79 additional scary articles about User Profiles...!...
|>
|>
http://support.microsoft.com/search...20&ast=1&ast=2&ast=3&ast=8&ast=9&mode=a&adv=1
|>
|> | Thanks again!
|> |
|> | "MrBill" wrote:
|> |
|> |> Everytime a profile is created a ton of files/directories not to
|> |> mention registry keys are created. The files created can be found
|> |> in C:\WINDOWS\Profiles. Each user will have a copy of the
|> |> "default" active directory folders. The folders probably were
|> |> populated unless the profile was created with the the default
|> |> options turned off. The folders are populated with copies of the
|> |> contents of default users folders.
|> |> That can add up to alot of space, especially if these folders
|> |> arent cleaned up.
|> |>
|> |> To locate this profile folder:
|> |> Each user will have 1 subdirectory containing the active directory
|> |> folders. Example:
|> |> User "Win98isgreat" will have a folder called:
|> |> C:\Windows\Profiles\Win98isgreat
|> |> Inside that folder there will be the active directory
|> |> folders....Desktop, Temporary Internet Files, History and so
|> |> fort.h. When user "Win98isgreat" logs on, they will point to this
|> |> folder. When another user logs on, they will point to their
|> |> folder. Active directory folders are not shared - they are
|> |> specific to a given user. The DEFAULT
|> |> folder is used when no user logs on.
|> |>
|> |> You can trim out any unnecessary files contained in these folders.
|> |> Just be careful not to ramdomly delete stuff in the Start Menu
|> |> folder (that one contains the desktop icons and Start Menu stuff).
|> |>
|> |> After great effort, I actully reconfigured my Win98Se system to
|> |> have a profile setup exactly like at NT/XP/2000 system. This
|> |> required hours of hacking through the registry and would not be
|> |> recomended to anyone other than an expert. Still, you can prune
|> |> junk found in these profile folders. I found tons of internet
|> |> garbage in folders for infrequently used profiles.
|> |>
|> |> Hope this helps and explains why so much free disk space
|> |> disappears when a new profile is created or not cleaned up.
|> |>
|> |> "Paradoxdb3" wrote:
|> |>
|> |> > Hi everyone. It's me again...the "INTERMEDIATE" user! It seems
|> |> > the more I explore Windows 98, the more I have questions I have
|> |> > no answers to. I've been stuck in a Windows 98 rutt for the
|> |> > last 5 years or so (that is, I ALWAYS did the same things over
|> |> > and over again...never really explored the operating system's
|> |> > features). I finally just learned how to create profiles which
|> |> > alllow each profile to have specific desktop settings and such.
|> |> > I have since deleted a profile via the USER option in Control
|> |> > Panel and ended up re-creating it a few times (because NOW I'm
|> |> > exploring, you see!).
|> |> >
|> |> > Anyway, I've noticed that my free disk space has been getting
|> |> > smaller and smaller. From about 500MB free to close to 300MB.
|> |> > Everytime I re-create a user, should it overwrite the old one,
|> |> > or am I somehow taking up disk space by creating, deleting and
|> |> > re-creating users?
|> |> >
|> |> > I should mention that I'm a pro at reformatting my HDD but I
|> |> > want to avoid doing that at all costs. How can I regain the
|> |> > lost MB's? By the way, I haven't been installing new programs
|> |> > or anything, althought I did install an unofficial patch for
|> |> > Windows 98 SE, then removed it, and then re-applied it. But my
|> |> > understaning is that it would simply overwrite any files and
|> |> > registry settings from before, not create new ones all
|> |> > together, right?
|> |> >
|> |> > Oh, and on a totally different topic...what's with all the spam
|> |> > finding its way in here? I think some of it should be removed.
|> |> > One link takes you to a porn site.
|>
|> --
|> Thanks or Good Luck,
|> There may be humor in this post, and,
|> Naturally, you will not sue,
|> Should things get worse after this,
|> PCR
|>
pcrrcp@netzero.net
--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
Should things get worse after this,
PCR
pcrrcp@netzero.net