Fix a corrupted user profile

Your user profile is a collection of settings that make the computer look and work the way you want it to. It contains your settings for desktop backgrounds, screen savers, pointer preferences, sound settings, and other features. User profiles ensure that your personal preferences are used whenever you log on to Windows. If you tried to log on to Windows and received an error message telling you that your user profile might be corrupted, you can try to repair it. You will need to create a new profile, and then copy the files from the existing profile to the new one.

Before you create a new profile

Occasionally, Windows might not read your user profile correctly—for example, if your antivirus software is scanning your computer while you try to log on. Before you create a new user profile, try restarting your computer and logging on with your user account again.

To create a new user profile

To create a new user profile, you must first create a new user account. When the account is created, a profile is also created.

The steps that you should follow will vary, depending on whether your computer is on a domain or a workgroup. To find out, see "To check if your computer is on a workgroup or domain" in What is the difference between a domain, a workgroup, and a homegroup?

Show all

My computer is on a domain

My computer is in a workgroup

To copy files to the new user profile

After you create the profile, you can copy the files from the existing profile. You must have at least three user accounts on the computer to complete these steps, including the new account you just created.

1. Log on as a user other than the new user you just created or the user that you want to copy files from.
2. Open the My Documents folder by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Computer. Double-click the hard disk drive that Windows is installed on (it's usually your C: drive), double-click Users, double-click the folder with the name of your account, and then double-click My Documents.
3. Click the Tools menu, and then click Folder Options.
   If you don't see the Tools menu, press Alt.
4. Click the View tab, and then click Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
5. Clear the Hide protected operating system files check box, click Yes to confirm, and then click OK.
6. Locate the C:\Users\Old_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and Old_Username is the name of the profile you want to copy files from.
7. Select all of the files and folders in this folder, except the following files:
   • Ntuser.dat
   • Ntuser.dat.log
   • Ntuser.ini
8. Click the Edit menu, and then click Copy.
   If you don't see the Edit menu, press Alt.
9. Locate the C:\Users\New_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and New_Username is the name of the new user profile you created.
10. Click the Edit menu, and then click Paste.
    If you don't see the Edit menu, press Alt.
11. Log off, and then log back on as the new user.
    If you have e‑mail messages in an e‑mail program, you must import your e‑mail messages and addresses to the new user profile before you delete the old profile. If everything is working properly, you can delete the old profile.

If the steps above do not fix the problem, you should contact your customer support provider for assistance. To find additional information about customer support options that apply to this computer, click the Start button , click Help and Support, and then click the More support options link at the bottom of the Help window.

How to Show or Hide All Hidden Files, Folders, and Drives in Windows 7

How to Show or Hide All Hidden Files, Folders, and Drives in Windows 7

   Information

This will show you how to have all hidden files, folders, and drives to show or don't show in Windows 7. These are set to be hidden by default in Windows 7.

   Note

When you have these hidden files, folders, and drives set to show, the icon shows as transparent to indicate that they are set as hidden.

EXAMPLE: A Hidden and Normal Folder

EXAMPLE: A Hidden Protected Operating System File

OPTION ONE

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To Hide or Show Hidden Files using Folder Options

NOTE: This option only affects the current user.

1. Open Folder Options.

2. To Show Hidden Files, Folders, and Drives
NOTE: This will also allow hidden drives to show despite if Hide empty drives in the Computer folder is checked.

A) Select (dot) Show hidden files, folders, and drives. (See screenshot below)

B) Click on the Apply button.

3. To Don't Show Hidden Files, Folders, and Drives

A) Select (dot) Don't Show hidden files, folders, and drives. (See screenshot above)

B) Click on the Apply button.

4. To Show Protected Operating System Files
NOTE: For example, desktop.ini files.

A) Do step 2.

B) Uncheck the Hide protected operating system files box. (See screenshot below step 5B)

C) Click on Yes to confirm. (See screenshot below)

D) Go to step 6.

5. To Hide Protected Operating System Files

A) Do step 3.

B) Check the Hide protected operating system files box. (See screenshot below)

6. Click on OK. (See screenshot above)

OPTION TWO

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To Hide or Show Hidden Files using a BAT File Download

NOTE: This option only affects the current user.

1. To Show Hidden Files, Folders, and Drives
NOTE: This will also allow hidden drives to show despite if Hide empty drives in the Computer folder is checked.

A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.

Show_hidden_files_folders_and_drives.bat

B) Go to step 5.

2. To Don't Show Hidden Files, Folders, and Drives

A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.

Don't_show_hidden_files_folders_and_drives.bat

B) Go to step 5.

3. To Show Protected Operating System Files
NOTE: For example, desktop.ini files. This also applies step 1.

A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.

Show_protected_operating_system_files.bat

B) Go to step 5.

4. To Hide Protected Operating System Files

A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.

Hide_protected_operating_system_files.bat

5. Save the .bat file to your desktop, and run it.

6. If prompted, click/tap on Run.
NOTE: If you like, you can stop getting the Run prompt by unblocking the downloaded .bat file.

7. You will now notice a command prompt quckly open and close while applying the changes to your registry.

8. When finished, you can delete the downloaded .bat file(s) if you like.

OPTION THREE

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To Hide or Show Hidden Files using Registry Editor

1. Open the Start Menu, then type regedit in the search line and press enter.

2. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

3. In regedit, navigate to the location below. (see screenshot below)

For Current User Only:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

For All Users: (Must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this option)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

4. To Show Hidden Files, Folders, and Drives
NOTE: This will also allow hidden drives to show despite if Hide empty drives in the Computer folderis checked.

A) In the right pane of Advanced, right click on Hidden and click on Modify. (see screenshot above)

B) Type 1 and click on OK. (see screenshot below)

C) Go to step 8.

5. To Don't Show Hidden Files, Folders, and Drives

A) In the right pane of Advanced, right click on Hidden and click on Modify. (see screenshot below step 3)

B) Type 0 and click on OK. (see screenshot below step 4B)

C) Go to step 8.

6. To Show Protected Operating System Files
NOTE: For example, desktop.ini files.

A) Do step 4.

B) In the right pane of Advanced, right click on ShowSuperHidden and click on Modify. (see screenshot below step 3)

C) Type 1 and click on OK. (see screenshot below step 7B)

D) Go to step 8.

7. To Hide Protected Operating System Files

A) In the right pane of Advanced, right click on ShowSuperHidden and click on Modify. (see screenshot below step 3)

B) Type 0 and click on OK. (see screenshot below )

8. Close regedit.

9. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply.

That's it,
Shawn

Change File Attributes and create super hidden private files and folders in Windows using attrib.exe

Attrib.exe is a Windows operating system file located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. It allows you to display or change file attributes. The function of the attrib command is to set, change or remove such file attributes Using the attrib command, you can make files read-only, archive, system and hidden.

What are File Attributes

A file attribute is metadata that is associated with any  file on your computer and describes or keeps track of information like when the file was created or modified, file size, file extensions and file permissions.

The Windows operating system offers four attributes for files and folders. They are:

• Read-only – r : These are readable, but cannot be changed
• System – s : For use by the operating system and not normally displayed in a directory listing
• Hidden – h : They are not displayed in a directory listing by default
• Archive – a : For backing up or copying files

How to change File Attributes

These attributes can be set using [+] or removed using [-] commands.

To see the file attributes, yu have to right-click on the file or folder and select Properties. In Windows 7 or Vista, you will see only the Read-only and Hidden check boxes. To see the Archive check box, you have to click Advanced.

If you wish to see the syntax for the Attrib command, type attrib /? at the command prompt and hit Enter.

Create a super hidden private file or folder

As a Windows end-user, we can use this feature to create a hidden private file or folder on our Windows computer. Lets say you have a normal folder named Private on your desktop, and you want to make it hidden. 

To do so, open command prompt, and type the following in it and hit Enter. Here ACK is my Username, so make sure you use yours in its place.

attrib +s +h C:\Users\ACK\Desktop\Private

This will make the folder a ‘system’ folder AND a ‘hidden’ folder. However, if you use “-s +h” it will make the folder an ordinary hidden folder only.

To see it, you have to via Folder Options, check Show hidden files, folders and drives and uncheckHide protected operating system files. Or via CMD you can simply use “-s -h” instead of the above command.

Ofcourse this method is not fool-proof, but its good enough a way to keep your folders secret and hidden from most prying eyes. If you are looking for more, you can check out this free file and folder encryption software.

Make a list of all hidden system files and folders

In the rare eventuality that you forget the name of the folder, but know the location – or vice versa, you can run the following command.

attrib C:\*.* /s|find “A  SH”>C:\hiddensystemfiles.txt&notepad C:\hiddensystemfiles.txt

This will output the list of all hidden system folders on your C drive.

You can of course modify the syntax suitable to search for only select locations also.

File attribute changer freeware

If you are looking for a freeware tool to change file and folder attributes and propertie quickly, you can check out Attribute Changer. It is a tool for power users to change all kind of file and folder attributes, date, time and even NTFS compression. Exif date and time information stored in digital images are also easily altered with Attribute Changer.

If you have liked this post, you might want to check out some more, on topics like Features,Files, Tips.