Problems with my User Accounts - PLEASE HELP!

Hi, I'm having several problems with my User Accounts.

1) If I try to click "Manage Another Account" I do not see a list of
my users, just an empty box under "Choose the account you would like
to change." If I create a new account I still have a blank box where
the list of users should be.

2) I cannot change the type of account. When I open "Change your
account" I get a blank user picture and it is set to "Standard User"
even though I am part of the Administrator group. Changing account
types and hitting OK has no effect.

3) I cannot turn UAC on or off. When I open the UAC panel it is
unchecked even if UAC is on. If I check the box and hit OK I am not
prompted to reboot. If I check the box and hit Ok then return,the UAC
box is still unchecked (same as with changing account types), so it's
obvious it is not turning UAC on. I can turn the UAC on by using the
tool in Msconfig.exe and then rebooting.

4) What is fishy is that I can see the list of my users (with their
pictures) if I go to "Set-up parental controls" under "Manage another
account." I can also create a new user account from that screen but of
course I cannot do anything with it.

5) I am using Vista Home Premium so I cannot load the "Local Users and
Groups" snap-in to see if I can modify my users from there.

If you know of other message boards where I could post this question
please let me know.

Thank you in advance.

"Wiggles" <Wiggles@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2A0685A5-8B26-4D9A-A604-DD6D7B5AA97D@microsoft.com...

> Hi, I'm having several problems with my User Accounts.
>
> 1) If I try to click "Manage Another Account" I do not see a list of
> my users, just an empty box under "Choose the account you would like
> to change." If I create a new account I still have a blank box where
> the list of users should be.

It sounds like the user accounts component may be corrupted.

>
> 2) I cannot change the type of account. When I open "Change your
> account" I get a blank user picture and it is set to "Standard User"
> even though I am part of the Administrator group. Changing account
> types and hitting OK has no effect.
>

This is normal. If the user account is already an administrator, then the
only possible option is Standard User and that box will be checked. If you
select the Administrator option, since the account is already an
administrator, that option will not be available.

> 3) I cannot turn UAC on or off. When I open the UAC panel it is
> unchecked even if UAC is on. If I check the box and hit OK I am not
> prompted to reboot. If I check the box and hit Ok then return,the UAC
> box is still unchecked (same as with changing account types), so it's
> obvious it is not turning UAC on. I can turn the UAC on by using the
> tool in Msconfig.exe and then rebooting.

This could be part of the corruption for the user accounts.

Go to Start and type: regedit.exe and press Enter. This will open the
registry editor. Navigate to the following key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Policies\System.

Look at the values on the right side. If UAC is enabled, the LUA value
should be set to (1).

>
> 4) What is fishy is that I can see the list of my users (with their
> pictures) if I go to "Set-up parental controls" under "Manage another
> account." I can also create a new user account from that screen but of
> course I cannot do anything with it.
>

This is just another indication that the Users component is corrupted.

> 5) I am using Vista Home Premium so I cannot load the "Local Users and
> Groups" snap-in to see if I can modify my users from there.

Right, that component is not available in either of the Home versions.

What I would recommend to repair the users component is:

1. Check the System Restore application. If there is a restore point that
was created prior to when you first noticed this behavior, then use the
system restore to go back to that point in time.

2. If this does not work, try running the System File Checker utility to
repair all of the system files.

Go to Start and type cmd.exe In the Results list, right click cmd.exe
and select the Run As Administrator option.
In the command prompt window. type the following:

sfc /scannow

Press Enter.

This could take some time to complete, so be patient.
--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Hi Ronnie;

Thank you so much for tips. Unfortunatly, that did not solve my issue. The
scan told me there were no problems with my system.

Would you have any other ideas?

Much appreciated.

Same problem here - does anyone have a solution?