Copying User Account Info to A New Account

[chaslang]

Creating a new user account/profile and copying your old profile to the new one. This procedure is using when a current profile appears to be having problems.

While logged into your current (the problematic) account which must be an administrator type account, do the below.

1. Click Start and select Control Panel
2. Double-Click User Accounts
3. Choose Create a new Account ( we will refer to this as the second account )
4. Type any name for the account then click Next
5. Choose Computer Administrator then click Create Account
6. Log off your current account.
7. Reboot your computer.
8. After reboot log-in to the new account you just created.
9. It is recommended that you print the below instructions. Also make sure you follow them exactly.
10. You now need to create a third Administrator type account (using the same procedure as above in steps 1 thru 5 ) which will be used to do some copying between your original account and the second account created above.
11. Now log-off your second account and log-in to the third account.
12. Follow the procedure in the below link for your Windows version to enable viewing of Hidden Files:
    • How to view hidden, system files & folders!
13. Now right click Start and select Explore to open Windows Explorer
14. Navigate to this folder: C:\Documents and Settings\Old Username
    • Old Username is not the actual name of that folder. The name of this folder is whatever name you have for the account with problems.
15. Once the above folder appears in the Address bar of Windows Explorer, left click your mouse once in the right window pane on the top folder to select it. The PRESS and HOLD the Shift key and while still holding the shift key down, slide the scroll bad down to the bottem of the folder/file list and click on the last folder in the right Window pane. When this is done properly everything in the right window pane should be selected except the below files. Make sure you do not select these 3 files:
    • Ntuser.dat
    • Ntuser.dat.log
    • Ntuser.ini
16. Once all files and folders are highlighted (except the above three!) go up to the top menu of Windows Explorer and select Edit and then Copy
17. Now, navigate to this folder C:\Documents and Settings\New Username
    • New Username is whatever you named the second account (make sure it's NOT the 3rd account we created)
18. Once the above folder appears in the Address bar of Windows Explorer, left click once in the right window pane and then go up to the top menu of Windows Explorer and select Edit and then Paste
    • this will copy all of the info from your original account into the second account. Be sure to approve and prompt to overwrite any files and folders.
19. Now, log-off the third account and log-in into the second account and your data from the original account should be there now.
20. If you use Outlook Express for your e-mails, please follow the instructions in the below topic to move the e-mails/address book to your new profile:
    • http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313055/