User Profile - Account Unknown

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L

lem

Distinguished
Apr 4, 2004
89
0
18,630
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

I noticed that under System Properties > Advanced > User Profiles >
Settings, in addition to the Administrator account and the user profiles
I have set up, there is an entry for "Account Unknown." The delete
button is greyed-out for this entry.

What is this; should I be concerned; how can I delete it?

In Googling, I've seen an "Account Unknown" issue for pre-SP1 XP Home
systems, but I'm running XP pro with SP2. (The solution for that issue
was to install SP1).

A perhaps related issue (perhaps the cause) is that sometime ago I
created and then deleted a user profile. Although this profile does not
appear on Control Panel > User Profiles or on System Properties >
Advanced > User Profiles > Settings, the file structure for the profile
remains on the hard drive under C:\Documents and Settings\. I've
attempted to move or delete this file structure (to see if the "Account
Unknown" entry would go away), but I can't do that because I get the
message that ntuser.dat can't be moved or deleted because it's in use.

Any suggestions?
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Hi,

It may be referring to a visible system account. Start/run lusrmgr.msc,
click on the Users folder to examine the User and System accounts.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

"Lem" <lemp40@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:uiN6bpdpFHA.3256@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
>I noticed that under System Properties > Advanced > User Profiles >
>Settings, in addition to the Administrator account and the user profiles I
>have set up, there is an entry for "Account Unknown." The delete button is
>greyed-out for this entry.
>
> What is this; should I be concerned; how can I delete it?
>
> In Googling, I've seen an "Account Unknown" issue for pre-SP1 XP Home
> systems, but I'm running XP pro with SP2. (The solution for that issue
> was to install SP1).
>
> A perhaps related issue (perhaps the cause) is that sometime ago I created
> and then deleted a user profile. Although this profile does not appear on
> Control Panel > User Profiles or on System Properties > Advanced > User
> Profiles > Settings, the file structure for the profile remains on the
> hard drive under C:\Documents and Settings\. I've attempted to move or
> delete this file structure (to see if the "Account Unknown" entry would go
> away), but I can't do that because I get the message that ntuser.dat can't
> be moved or deleted because it's in use.
>
> Any suggestions?
 
L

lem

Distinguished
Apr 4, 2004
89
0
18,630
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Rick "Nutcase" Rogers wrote:
> Hi,
>
> It may be referring to a visible system account. Start/run lusrmgr.msc,
> click on the Users folder to examine the User and System accounts.
>

Nothing about an Unknown Account in Local Users & Groups. In addition
to the Administrator account, the Guest account, and the user accounts I
had set up, lusrmgr.msc shows 3 more user accounts: ASPNET, and two
disabled accounts: HelpAssistant (for Remote Desktop) and another
account, which says it is "a vendor's account for the Help and Support
Service."
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Suspect the last one you listed as being the one you are seeing as
'unknown'.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

"Lem" <lemp40@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:eqDfOxqpFHA.4088@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
> Rick "Nutcase" Rogers wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> It may be referring to a visible system account. Start/run lusrmgr.msc,
>> click on the Users folder to examine the User and System accounts.
>>
>
> Nothing about an Unknown Account in Local Users & Groups. In addition to
> the Administrator account, the Guest account, and the user accounts I had
> set up, lusrmgr.msc shows 3 more user accounts: ASPNET, and two disabled
> accounts: HelpAssistant (for Remote Desktop) and another account, which
> says it is "a vendor's account for the Help and Support Service."
 
K

kelly

Distinguished
Apr 14, 2004
1,761
0
19,780
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

The Owner Account Is Displayed As "Account Unknown" in Profiles on Windows
XP Home Edition-Based Computers
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;312131&Product=winxp

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP)

Troubleshooting Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm


"Lem" <lemp40@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:eqDfOxqpFHA.4088@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
> Rick "Nutcase" Rogers wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> It may be referring to a visible system account. Start/run lusrmgr.msc,
>> click on the Users folder to examine the User and System accounts.
>>
>
> Nothing about an Unknown Account in Local Users & Groups. In addition to
> the Administrator account, the Guest account, and the user accounts I had
> set up, lusrmgr.msc shows 3 more user accounts: ASPNET, and two disabled
> accounts: HelpAssistant (for Remote Desktop) and another account, which
> says it is "a vendor's account for the Help and Support Service."
 
L

lem

Distinguished
Apr 4, 2004
89
0
18,630
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Perhaps that one is the "Unknown," but a Google search for "vendor's account
for the Help and Support Service" picks up a bunch of hits which seem to
suggest that this account is created by default when XP installs. After
sifting through the posts by those who were convinced that this is a secret
backdoor so that MS can take over everyone's machine, I found a thread from an
XP beta newsgroup that says this account is created to permit OEM help files
run properly in the WindowsXP Help & Support function.
[http://tinyurl.com/d6trv]. I suspect that every OEM-supplied PC that comes
with XP pre-installed has an account named "SUPPORT_nnn" where nnn is some
number. Whether all such PCs also have an "Account Unknown" in LU&G is an open
question.

In my original post, I noted that the file structure for a prevously-deleted
user profile remains on the hard drive under C:\Documents and
Settings\<oldprofilename>\, and that attempts to delete these files and folders
(using Windows Explorer) were unsuccessful because a file named ntuser.dat
can't be moved or deleted.

I'm going to attempt to remove this file structure by using the techniques for
deleting "undeletable" files that have been posted in this group and
elsewhere. The fact that the copy of ntuser.dat in this file structure can't
be deleted (and thus probably is in use) suggests to me that the OS is somehow
aware of this "profile" even though it isn't listed in Local Users & Groups
under the originally-assigned user name.

Rick \"Nutcase\" Rogers wrote:

> Suspect the last one you listed as being the one you are seeing as
> 'unknown'.
>
> --
> Best of Luck,
>
> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
> Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
> www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
> Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
>
> "Lem" <lemp40@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:eqDfOxqpFHA.4088@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
> > Rick "Nutcase" Rogers wrote:
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> It may be referring to a visible system account. Start/run lusrmgr.msc,
> >> click on the Users folder to examine the User and System accounts.
> >>
> >
> > Nothing about an Unknown Account in Local Users & Groups. In addition to
> > the Administrator account, the Guest account, and the user accounts I had
> > set up, lusrmgr.msc shows 3 more user accounts: ASPNET, and two disabled
> > accounts: HelpAssistant (for Remote Desktop) and another account, which
> > says it is "a vendor's account for the Help and Support Service."
 
K

kelly

Distinguished
Apr 14, 2004
1,761
0
19,780
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Ah, my bad. Good luck and keep us posted!

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP)

Troubleshooting Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm


"Lem" <lemp40@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4309F3EF.5E797635@hotmail.com...
> Thanks. I had seen an MSKB article about this, but as you point out, that
> issue
> is for XP Home, and the solution was to install SP1. As I noted in my
> original
> post, my system is XP pro with SP2.
>
> Kelly wrote:
>
>> The Owner Account Is Displayed As "Account Unknown" in Profiles on
>> Windows
>> XP Home Edition-Based Computers
>> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;312131&Product=winxp
>>
>> --
>>
>> All the Best,
>> Kelly (MS-MVP)
>>
>> Troubleshooting Windows XP
>> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com
>> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm
>>
>> "Lem" <lemp40@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:eqDfOxqpFHA.4088@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
>> > Rick "Nutcase" Rogers wrote:
>> >> Hi,
>> >>
>> >> It may be referring to a visible system account. Start/run
>> >> lusrmgr.msc,
>> >> click on the Users folder to examine the User and System accounts.
>> >>
>> >
>> > Nothing about an Unknown Account in Local Users & Groups. In addition
>> > to
>> > the Administrator account, the Guest account, and the user accounts I
>> > had
>> > set up, lusrmgr.msc shows 3 more user accounts: ASPNET, and two
>> > disabled
>> > accounts: HelpAssistant (for Remote Desktop) and another account, which
>> > says it is "a vendor's account for the Help and Support Service."
>
 
J

jfuentesjr

Distinguished
Sep 13, 2011
1
0
18,510

Hmmm....I know in a Domain environment usually that is indicative of an account that's no longer active or has been deleted in Active Directory. But locally it could be a corrupt profile.
 
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