Andrew
Thanks.
I think that we're heading in the right direction....

As I stated before, mine is the only account on the PC ( I deleted Public
completely some months ago because I could see no need for it).
When I create a new Standard account (eg "Karen"), although it appears to
create properly (ie creates an icon on the sign on screen), there are no
entries created in C:\Users; only C:\Users\Ian exists.
Therefore there is no NTUSER.DAT file for my wife.

How do I create a new file (or can I copy and amend the one in my profile?
If so, what is the best way?)

Is therte any way to copy and amend my Profile entry in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \
Software \Windows NT \CurrentVersion\ ProfileList to add a user that way? I
am not very clued up on Registry manipulation, and will need to be given a
step - by - step guide.

Any ideas anyone?
"Andrew McLaren" wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hi Ian,
>
> I'm not sure exactly how to fix your problem. But here are some things to
> check ... might fix it, or at least give you some ideas ...
>
> The user profile is stored in some files under C:\Users\<username>. These
> files need to be present in order for the User Profile Service to make the
> logon; if they are missing, you will see the "failed the logon" error
> message. Log in as Admininistrator and go to a Command prompt. Change
> directory to your wife's home directory; eg:
>
> C:\Users\Ian>cd \Users\Wife <enter>
> C:\Users\Wife
>
> Now ro a "dir /a" command to see the hidden files in the directory. The most
> important Profile file is called NTUSER.DAT.
>
> Next, make sure the Profile entry in the Registry is pointing towards this
> directory.
> - run Regedit
> - navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
> \Software
> \Windows NT
> \CurrentVersion
> ProfileList
> There are Profile entries for each user account, identified by the SID
> ("Security Identifier"), a long number beginning S-1-5-nn-xxxxx- etc. For
> interactive (human) users, nn will be 21, ie, S-1-5-21-xxx etc.
>
> The built-in Administrator account's SID ends in -500. Other accounts will
> end in random four digit numbers. There will probably be 2 or 3 Profiles
> listed - one for your own account, one for your wife, and the old account
> your wife used to have. See if you can work out which Profile belongs to
> your wife.
>
> Now examine the ProfileImagePath value, under your wife's Profile key. This
> should be pointing towards her Home directory, where the NTUSER.DAT file
> lives; eg C:\Users\Wife. If it is set to some other location, such as a
> temporary directory or strange path, change it back to the default
> C:\Users\Wife value. Then exit Regedit, logoff, and try to logon as your
> wife.
>
> You might also want to go to Computer, Properties, Advanced System Settings,
> User Profiles, and delete any "(unknown)" user profiles, in case there is
> left-over crud from unsuccessful attempts to create a user.
>
> Hope this helps a bit; let us know how you get on.
>
> --
> Andrew McLaren
> amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
>
>
>[/color]