Hss Anyone Seen This Before (XP permissions issue)?

Clean install of XP Pro.
All critical updates.
.net framework 1.1 is NOT installed.

This has happened before. I never had an answer then.

When going to permissions (i believe on second and third partition of second drive only), I have my user account and groups...plus an additional account.

The differences are this.

Instead of having the "person" icon next to the account name, it has a "?"
The text is a light red. Instead of a username, it shows the SID.

If I remove this account from permissions, it comes back.

Computer Management does not show any extra accounts. This account, IIRC (this is my home machine in question; I am at work) is set with special permissions.


My question is, what the hell is this account that the SID cannot resolve to an account name?

Here is my theory, amend or refute.


I format two hard drives as ntfs.

Install Windows XP.

The administrator account is now owner of the drives.

Now I format first hard drive and reinstall Windows XP.

The second drive will still retain the same permissions as the last install + the new permissions added from this install.

That means the old Administrator account SID will still be tied into the permissions. But, because that account no longer exists with the corresponding SID, it cannot resolve.

Ending up with a SID account showing up in permissions.

That can't resolve.


....right?


I can't find any info on this at all

I'll post a screenshot when I get home if you can't visualize this.

 

Im pretty sure this is only on my second hard drive partitions.

I am not positive, however.

I'll look when I get home.

Surely someone has seen this?

I am getting blank stares from everyone I ask.

 

The only time I see this is when I have an other unformatted NTFS drive that I use as a secondary with a newly installed drive with NT on it. OR after deleting a user (not the profile), his/her rights show up with the sid where that user once existed.

 

Ok..

Well, I haven't deleted any user accounts.

When I get home, I'm going to backup one of my partitions and format it.

If it disappears, I think maybe my theory was sound.

 

I had to re-read your theory a little more closely.. that is exactly what I was trying to say. I agree with your theory because I've seen it happen numerous times.

 

Ok, good. That makes me feel a whole lot better

Thanks Kodo.

 

Just a FYI i also formatted this week ive got a single hard drive split into two partitions i reformatted the primary and then reinstalled the OS leaving the extended partition from my old install intact
Just checked my permissions and im only showing the two users i created on the new install
So maybe this only affects the actual second fixed drive?