In the Documents and Settings directory, there are three folders: All Users,
Default User, and "User Name". I am the only user. Can I delete two of the
three folders? If so, is there any information from the two folders that
should be in the remaining folder?

Also, under the C: directory, there is a "User Name's" Documents folder.

Within all four of these folders, some of the information is the same (which
seems to be redundant) and some of the information is different. I'm confused
about what I should keep and what I can get rid of. Please help. Thank you!

Asked/Answered in WinXP General. If you must make identical posts to
multiple newsgroups, please cross-post one (1) message to all of them.
Thank you.

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~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE, Shell/User, Security), AH-VSOP

Scott wrote:
> In the Documents and Settings directory, there are three folders: All
> Users, Default User, and "User Name". I am the only user. Can I delete
> two of the three folders? If so, is there any information from the two
> folders that should be in the remaining folder?
>
> Also, under the C: directory, there is a "User Name's" Documents folder.
>
> Within all four of these folders, some of the information is the same
> (which seems to be redundant) and some of the information is different.
> I'm confused about what I should keep and what I can get rid of. Please
> help. Thank you!

Tue, 8 Nov 2005 16:13:04 -0800 from Scott
<Scott@discussions.microsoft.com>:
> In the Documents and Settings directory, there are three folders: All Users,
> Default User, and "User Name". I am the only user.

Please don't post the same query multiple times. This has already
been answered in the other newsgroup.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com/
"If there's one thing I know, it's men. I ought to: it's
been my life work." -- Marie Dressler, in /Dinner at Eight/

Scott wrote:
> In the Documents and Settings directory, there are three folders: All
> Users, Default User, and "User Name". I am the only user. Can I
> delete two of the three folders? If so, is there any information from
> the two folders that should be in the remaining folder?
>
> Also, under the C: directory, there is a "User Name's" Documents
> folder.
>
> Within all four of these folders, some of the information is the same
> (which seems to be redundant) and some of the information is
> different. I'm confused about what I should keep and what I can get
> rid of. Please help. Thank you!

Windows XP is a multi-user OS, even when used by one person only, the
fundamentals don't change.

Documents and Settings is the directory that contains your user
information/documents/etc. It also contains a few extra directories used by
Windows.

One is "Default User" - This is used whenever a new account is created. It
bases the initial setup of that account off this directory.

Another is "All Users" - This is used by.. all users. If you want something
to appear on the desktop of every user of the machine, you put it on this
users desktop (in the desktop folder.) Etc.

You may also see "Administrator" - depending on your setup, this is the
original administrator user and if you know that account's password, you
should leave him alone and use him only in an emergency.

You could also (if you have it where you can see ALL files) see
"LocalService" and "NetworkService" folders. These are service accounts,
normally unused by the standard user.

How To Create a Custom Default User Profile
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319974

HOW TO: Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/279783

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove Special Permissions for Files and
Folders in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308419

Doug's Windows XP Security Console
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html