Deleted profile file recovery vista

tguest

New Member
I deleted by admin account and created a new one without taking out my important files in my documents folder. Is there a way to recover the files from the deleted account profile using system restore and file backup, or any other means? The files are so important that i must recover them in any way. your response is highly appreciated.

Thanks
 

My Computer

i did not write this, but it might help you

Extreme recovery measures for Vista



Some time ago I wrote a workshop about how to use Bart's PE to create a Windows recovery disk for Windows XP. It is a version of the Preinstallation Environment that computer builders can use to test hardware and install Windows.
Bart's PE is a great way to recover an unhappy computer and it also can be used with the backup software DriveImage XML. Some preparation is required before the computer goes wrong but this is time well spent in my opinion. You will need either a Windows XP disc or a folder called i386 with the Windows files in in order to create the disc.
Someone on our forums brought up the question of what to do with Vista, as Bart's PE does not work here. It's a bit of a shame but thankfully there is a recovery environment included on the Vista DVD.
I wrote a workshop for the Ultimate Guide to Vista Troubleshooting but here are some of the more important steps.
Insert the DVD into one of the optical drives on the computer and restart the computer. Press the space bar when the message ‘Press any key to boot from CD or DVD’ appears. The Windows setup software will load. Set ‘Language to install’ to English and ‘Time and currency format’ to English (United Kingdom). This should also change the ‘Keyboard or input method’ to United Kingdom, otherwise set this as well. Click on Next
Click on Repair your computer.







The Recover Console will then ask you to select which version of Vista to repair. This should be very simple as most computers will only have one installation. Left-click on it and then click on the Next button



The first thing to try is the System Restore option as the wizard works in exactly the same way as in normal windows. As Windows is not running from the hard disk this may succeed where it has failed in Windows.
The Windows Complete PC Restore is only available on Windows Vista Ultimate. If you have Ultimate this is a good alternative to DriveImage XML, although it will not save backups to a networked drive.
If neither System Restore or Complete PC Backup are available or work, there is still hope in the Command Prompt. This is the most basic way of entering commands but is still capable of copying your files off the computer and onto a USB key or hard disk (you will need to connect this before turning on the computer). It is also possible to start some Windows programs that are installed on the computer, type notepad to start this text editor for example. Some antivirus software may work and this may be able to repair damage from viruses.
A full list of the commands available can be found from the Microsoft website at Windows RE Notes but one really clever ability is that USB Keys and hard disks can be recognised by the Recovery environment.
On our computer Vista was on the C drive and the USB drive was detected as F
Type the following commands, pressing enter after each and without the quotation marks: ‘F:’ ‘md vistadocuments’ ‘c:’ ‘cd\users\[username]\Documents’ ‘xcopy c:\users\[username]\Documents\*.* f:\vistadocuments\*.* /e’
This will copy all of the files in the documents folder to the external hard disk. To copy and entire user profile leave out \documents or to backup all users copy from c:\users\
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    CUSTOM BUILT BY ME
    CPU
    AMD PHENOM II X3 710 2.6GHZ Overclocked to 3.25GHZ Stable
    Motherboard
    Ecs Gf8200a Phenom-2 X4 Quad Core Mboard
    Memory
    8BG PC5300 4 x 2GB OCZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    PCI-E ATI HD 4670 1GB Overclocked 4GB Total
    Sound Card
    Onboard 7.1 HD AUDIO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    55" Vizio LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1600 x 1200 HD
    Hard Drives
    1TB Seagate, 1TB Hitachi, 250GB Maxtor, 250GB Seagate
    PSU
    Kingwin ABT-610MM Maximum Power 610 Watt ATX 12V
    Case
    GENERIC
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS7500-AlCu LED Universal CPU Cooler, 4 CASE FANS
    Keyboard
    MICROSOFT WIRELESS KEYBOARD
    Mouse
    MICROSOFT WIRELESS MOUSE
    Internet Speed
    CABLE 15MBPS
or

this is from microsoft themselves may or may not work

Fix a corrupted user profile

gl_icon_tip.png
Applies to all editions of Windows Vista.
Which edition of Windows Vista am I using?
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.

To create a new user profile


To create a new profile, you must first create a new user account. When the account is created, a profile will also be created.
1. Open User Accounts by clicking the Start button
GetOpenContent.aspx
, clicking Control Panel, clicking User Accounts and Family Safety (or clicking User Accounts, if you are connected to a network domain), and then clicking User Accounts.
2. Click Manage another account.
GetOpenContent.aspx
If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. Click Create a new account.
4. Type the name you want to give the user account, click an account type, and then click Create Account.

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 Documents by clicking the Start button
GetOpenContent.aspx
, and then clicking 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, click Show hidden files and folders, clear the Hide protected operating system files check box, and then click OK.
5. Locate the C:\Users\Old_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed, and Old_Username is the name of the profile you want to copy files from.
6. Select all of the files and folders in this folder, except the following files:
•Ntuser.dat
• Ntuser.dat.log
•Ntuser.ini
7. Click the Edit menu, and then click Copy.
If you don't see the Edit menu, press ALT.
8. Locate the C:\Users\New_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed, and New_Username is the name of the new user profile you created.
9. Click the Edit menu, and then click Paste.
If you don't see the Edit menu, press ALT.
10. Log off, and then log back on as the new user.
If you have e-mail messages in an e-mail program, such as Windows Mail, 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.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    CUSTOM BUILT BY ME
    CPU
    AMD PHENOM II X3 710 2.6GHZ Overclocked to 3.25GHZ Stable
    Motherboard
    Ecs Gf8200a Phenom-2 X4 Quad Core Mboard
    Memory
    8BG PC5300 4 x 2GB OCZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    PCI-E ATI HD 4670 1GB Overclocked 4GB Total
    Sound Card
    Onboard 7.1 HD AUDIO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    55" Vizio LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1600 x 1200 HD
    Hard Drives
    1TB Seagate, 1TB Hitachi, 250GB Maxtor, 250GB Seagate
    PSU
    Kingwin ABT-610MM Maximum Power 610 Watt ATX 12V
    Case
    GENERIC
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS7500-AlCu LED Universal CPU Cooler, 4 CASE FANS
    Keyboard
    MICROSOFT WIRELESS KEYBOARD
    Mouse
    MICROSOFT WIRELESS MOUSE
    Internet Speed
    CABLE 15MBPS
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