Please plz help me, need to transfer user settings

See this thread for more info
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=241437&hl=

basically i made the mistake of running windows with no HD space at all (cause i have 2 windows oses, and filled up the hd using my other windows on my other HD)

now whenever i logon, my settings wont load. its as if an entirely different account has been created for me. I can see all my data (desktop, favorites, etc) in Documents and Settings\MyUsername, but this is not the profile thats being loaded when i login as MyUsername. Instead some stupid blank useless profile is loaded (MyUsername.MYCOMPUTER). ive tried and tried and tried to trick windows by transferring all my files from \MyUsername (which it wont load for some reason) to the profile it IS loading for my accuont which is MyUsername.MYCOMPUTER.

But NOTHING works. Every single time i logon, my settings arent being loaded.

Is there anyway to transfer settings? I have my entire Documents and Settings directory, i just want it to use the settings I previoulsy had before this ***** up (And no i dont have system restore). Ive tried using the file and settings transfer wizard but it doesnt do the trick..

 

I'd recommend that you do some house cleaning. That drive is crammed so full that it can't function properly. Get rid of any programs that you either don't use much or can easily reload later if need be. If you're using a fixed size paging file, you can even reduce the size by 50% for starters.

When you get things loosened up, it'll probably allow you to log on with your old ID. It seems like you may need to get a larger drive for a permanent solution.

 

but i have, its got like 5 gigs free.. i just made a mistake in transferring stuff from drive to drive, i dont even know if thats what caused it..

 

please... anyone know?

 

Firstly, it helps a lot if you provide complete and not conflicting info when posting. You tell us it wont work due to a full hard disk, then you say you have 5 gig free. That is simply confusing for us.

If you have tried to manually move your profile contents from one profile to another, you probably have corrupted the old profile and wont be able to restore it. You only cure now will be backup up your data and to re-install Windows.

If you dont, what you did will probably haunt you with errors popping up here and there. You see profiles also have many settings in your registry and now those references will be pointing to not existant locations. Too many settings to bother correcting your registry and it will take less time to re-install. So waste no more of your time, do a re-install.

 

the whole problem started when i ran windows with no hard drive space. i got profile creation errors for some reason and a default profile was created. i freaked out, restarted in my other windows (located on another HD) and got 5 gigs free on the HD with my messed up windows.

i have allllll my files still, including all the registry stuff (the .dat files). only problem is, i dont know how to get windows to use all the stuff from my old profile instead of using the new one it created.

 

Woudl you like help putting stuff like email, favourites and My Documents into your new profile? If so ask i will will tell you that. Other things will not be so easy to restore to your profile.

 

darn

so theres no way to restores things like the registry?

 

?

 

Well...

Yes, there are some ways to restore the Registry IF you have previously prepared for that event. One of the best ways is to restore it from a backup. Another way, and better, is to restore the entire boot partition from a bit-image created prior to the problem. If you haven't done either of those, you're nearly out of luck. System Restore can do some good at times also.

Incidentally, there's no guarantee that merely restoring the Registry will deliver you a corruption free profile. The profile is Registry dependent but there are other facets to it as well. I wouldn't waste a lot of time on that if I were you.

I would recommend logging on as the Administrator and deleting all other user accounts. Then create a new account and try to make it to your liking. If that doesn't suit you, read on:

as Dez said,

In addition, I must point out that a repair install won't do any good in your situation. You'll have to do a full install. The XP install CD has all the necessary tools to wipe your present partition and install fresh. You'll lose any personal files on the boot partition and all user settings. I encourage you to make adequate backups.

That's about it... sorry. No backups makes you vulnerable so consider doing something about that when you get clean again.

 

but i have allllllllll my files.. im not missing a single one. i think the registry is saved in .dat files, which i have.. is there no way to just change the entire folder that windows reads to access a profile?

 

I'm sorry but this issue isn't negotiable. The fact that you have all your files is not relevant to the fact that you have corruption in your ntuser.dat file of your beloved profile. That dat file is a caching type file and is unique to your profile. When it gets corrupt, you only have the option already revealed in the earlier posts.

FYI, the Registry in XP is made up of the following "Hives "

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\DEFAULT
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SAM
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SECURITY
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

They work in concert with the hal.dll file to keep your system running smoothly. They are not available to be copied or modified unless you have special 3rd party software. Editing any of them directly using conventional means is impossible. Registry corruption is extremely hard to correct and often requires a complete abandonment and reinstall of the system.

You can attempt to perform a repair using the instructions from MS but I have not heard of anyone who was pleased with the results. It's not as rewarding as they would have you believe but if you're really game for the task, look here.

It could possible be repaired but it would take an expert with some real hot licks and then more time than justified. Anyone smart enough to do that won't be willing to do it via a BB. I'll stop short of saying that anyone that smart wouldn't be here in the first place.

EDIT: You should use the REPLY button instead of the QUOTE button so we don't have to read all this stuff twice. Once is more than enough.

 

but its not corrupted though...

im 99% sure its perfectly fine

 

If it is not corrupted and is perfectly fine then all your stuff is working. Case closed.