Create User Account Problem

I'm back. And now I don't find the message I thought I sent 8 hours ago.
Which said roughly that I'm not finding my tries at making a user account without there being the conflict between 2 instances of Webroot's firewall, etc..
Should be asking in another place, but I can't find that place.
How do I determine what each acct. is made of, what pgms what files?
I see something about "Profiles", but the help files here tell me all about what profiles do, but not how to determine the profile's character.
It's late. Sorry to bother anyone about this.
Thanks

Hello Hogarth,

I would recommend that you only have one firewall program, same with a antivirus program, installed. Having more than one of each of these types will usually cause conflict problems like you are having. Uninstall the extra one to see if that helps.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

The above is a moved problem, so I'd like to fill in some background. I got along many months with no invasion problems, and didn't see the need to have seperate user and administer accounts, since I am the sole user. I got a bad invasion and had to use a backup and a system restore, which made me just about whole.
I've been trying to create a user account by first creating the nominal administer account and from that make the user account.
So the administer account has some of the files from my original setup, and thinks there are two Webroot programs trying to run.
You say I should have only one. I totally agree. How do I accomplish that?

I haven't tried yet but I think I might do better if I get rid of my attempts at an Admin. Acct and start all over.

Anyway, can someone answer my profile questions in my message here?

Thanks

Since you say that you cannot create a user account without getting an error because of two instances of the firewall program, then I would recommend that you uninstall one of them first to see if you are able to create the account afterwards.

Here is what I did just now, and what happened. I eliminated my previous attempt to create a useable user file. I then followed instructions on how to create a user file.
The result was the same. I got a screen similar to what happened when I first got this machine with Vista installed, (which took me many months to get to my liking) and besides that a notice that I have 6 security issues, and the notice from Webroot about two webroots on at the same time.
Here's what I want.
I've had this machine well over a year now and have resisited the dictum that I must have an admin acct and a user acct, because I'm the only one who uses it.
A while ago a worm got in and I had to use my backup etc., so I thought maybe it is worth the trouble.
What I want is an account which has my programs set up the way I want them (and a desktop that doesn't change the Desktop arrangement at any time) and that I can use to allow things the program is careful about without having to change accounts, and whatever it takes to boost security without making me do ten things to get where I need to go.
How do I accomplish that.
Again, thanks.

Hogarth,

With the problems that you are having, I would recommend doing a fresh clean reinstall of Vista and start over.

There is not much you can do to completely prevent Vista from changing something on your desktop, but this tutorial may be able to help some with it.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/126728-desktop-icons-view-sort.html


As for security and how you want it, I would recommend using the default administrator acccount (not the hidden built-in Administrator account) and have it set upo with a password. I would also use the free versions of Avast antivirus, Comodo Firewall, and Spybot Search & Destroy.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Hello hogarth.

All you need to do is use the default administrator acct., the one that you create when you first install Vista, that is all you need to use.

It has all the security you require and access to whatever you need.
It's good to leave User Account Control enabled.

But it is really not recommended that you use the Administrator Account.

Keep us informed!







Later Ted

Shawn and Ted: (et al.)
The suggestion that I reinstall Vista would send me screaming out of the room if I had a Vista install disc - all I have is the set of discs that Best Buy provided to go back to the creation , wiping all my other stuff out.
Besides reading helpful things here, I've been doing some thinking, and I had probably gotten things mixed up with each other. Picking up admonitions from here and there, (- must have admin acct and user acct - must protect aginst viri - etc.) which I had ignored since I'm the sole user, the idea that I must make a new user account.
Tell me if I'm wrong now.
As long as I have the "account" which I have been using and trying to find ways to do what I want to do, I can remain as it is, but I really should have a password.
Now the next thing is User Accoujnt Control.
After I got rid of my latest attempt to create another User account, I thought I should maybe start using UAC.
So I turned it on, and started getting all sorts of messages and attempts by it to get rid of things it didn't like.
I turned it off.

I will look into your suggestions to (replace or supplement) some of my defenses.

But unless someone can tell me how to do more without going crazy, I think I'll just stay as I am with a bit more reasonable defense.

Hello again hogarth.

If you are using the default administrator acct., the one you had to create when you first activated the machine you are using the best acct. to use.

Regarding UAC, please read the Information, Note & Warning in This Tutorial.

Were I you, I would check into the A/V, S/W and Firewall programs Brink suggested.

Seeing that you have an HP machine; if you ever have to re-install I would use these instructions below instead of the discs the store gave you. I have an HP machine and have done this re-install many times to my complete satisfaction.
If you look in the start menu under computer you'll see a partition listed as "Factory Image D:", don't ever remove this, it's where this "Recovery" is installed from.


HP Recovery Center

Be advised that this will take the machine back to the point when you first took it of the box.
The "HP Recovery Center" will give you the option to send to backup anything you
don't want to lose, so have backup media available to use if you choose this option.

With the machine off press the power button, as soon as you do that start tapping the F11 key.
That should take you to the HP Recovery Center. When there just follow the prompts.
It is pretty much self explanatory. From the time you boot into F11 (not counting
any backups you choose to make) you should be back on a working desktop in about
30 minutes. After it restarts just follow the prompts again to finish the process.

If your first option is system restore select no, which should take you to system recovery.
You want to try system recovery not system restore, unless you have good restore points!

Keep us informed!


Later Ted

New Discoveries
This is going to be long and probably not all that interesting.
I’ve not been attacking this subject the past few days for health and other reasons - my mind just not up to try to understand things. But I made a discovery on my computer which may have something to do with it.
I should tell you that I bought this HP computer the end of March ‘07, and transfered what my XP contained before I had any understanding of Vista. I think some of my problems here and in other matters are due to that.
Here is what I have when I boot up to the account I’ve been using.
Desktop at the top, then Owner, and under Owner lots of folders, some of them originated by Vista, more of my devise. I don’t like folder names like MY PICTURES, so some I deleted and put in , for instance, Pictures. Sometimes the MY * comes back, but that’s another story.
Then, under all my folders is the folder “Public” which I ignore, and then under that Computer, Network and a few other things.
Here is what I discovered.
My attention was drawn to the fact that sometimes a download would go to a folder named Download which was not the Download folder I generally use for that.
So I did a search for “download,” and found a few with paths I didn’t recognize at first. I did figure out where to find these places. I open Computer C:, open Users, and there I found the remnants of my attempts to create a second User account (which I thought was what I needed tyo do.)
I suppose some were already there, as the first two are ADMINISTRATOR and DEFAULT.
I won’t tell you the names I gave the next two -too silly.
Then comes OWNER which is what I use, then PUBLIC.
They all look as if they could be the basis for another account, if I wanted to use any (but I don’t.
Any reason I shouldn’t delete them?)

My mind still isn’t up to doing a lot of figuring out and planning, but I thought throwing this log upon the fire might shed some light on my problems. Thanks.
Oh, I should add that I typed this on WordPerfect, but saved in
ascii or RTF, and hope perentheses and such come out right.

Thanks for your patience.

Hogarth,

In the C:\Users\(user name) folder are your user account's folders. These folders in the user name folder use symbolic links with the old, for example My Pictures, folders and should not be deleted to prevent problems. The only user name folder that is safe to delete is for the user account that you have deleted from the Control Panel's User Accounts first.

If you are missing any of your user folders, ex: Music, Downloads, etc..., then this tutorial will show you how to restore them.

However, with what you said about adding items from XP and deleting and renaming these user folders, I do not know if you will be able to fix this without a clean reinstall.

I hope that you have success.

Shawn