02.09.07

Backup & Delete a Windows XP Profile

Posted in Microsoft, Windows at 9:49 am by Keith

Sometimes a Windows profile will get really hosed or even totally corrupted. Deleting the profile will allow a fresh profile to be created the next time the user logs in, clearing up any profile specific problems.

First you must log into the computer with an administrator account that is different than the one you want to delete. If the user with the bad profile is the only administrator you can try logging into their profile and adding yourself as an administrator.

To backup the user profile:

1. Open System in Control Panel (Start > Control Panel > System).
2. On the Advanced tab, under User Profiles, click Settings.
3. Under Profiles stored on this computer, click the user profile you want to backup.
4. Click the Copy To button.
5. Click on the Browse button, select a location to backup the profile to and click OK.

To delete the user profile:

1. From the same User Profiles window click the user profile you want to delete.
2. Click the Delete button.

Now have the user log in with their normal credentials and a fresh user profile should be created for them.

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