What is C:\Users\MSSQL$ADK ? Is it legitimate?

Leah01

New Member
Messages
4
Hi, All!

I was trying to clean up my laptop prior to upgrading to Windows 10, when I noticed something odd with my C:\Users directory. Nobody else uses this laptop. It's an HP Pavilion with Windows 8.1.

Under C:\Users, I have my normal user directories: one Administrator user, one standard user, one Public, one Default and one Guest. But I also have an additional directory for a user name I've never seen before: "MSSQL$ADK". It has all the normal subdirectories, such as AppData and Documents. Date directory was created is 05/22/2016. Date last modified is today.

If I look at my User Accounts in Control Panel, I only have my normal Administrator, standard and Guest accounts; MSSQL$ADK isn't there.

Has anyone seen MSSQL$ADK before and know what it is? Is it an innocuous directory installed by one of my legitimate programs, or should I be posting in a malware forum?

Thank you for your help.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    Intel Core I5
    Memory
    12 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Pro 64bit [MS blue-disk set]
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2 Acers & 1 Antec[?]
    CPU
    i7 in 2 Acers, i5 in desktop
    Motherboard
    Desktop w/Gigabyte
    Memory
    Two w/16GB, 1 w/8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Laptops GameWorthy; Desktop maybe GameWorthy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    flatscreens; 2 are BluRay worthy
    Screen Resolution
    1368x768; 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    1TB internals; 2 ext usb WD 1TB HDs
    PSU
    what's PSU?
    Cooling
    Regular plus external fans
    Keyboard
    desktio w/PS2
    Mouse
    desktop w/PS2
    Internet Speed
    DSL middle level [160?]
    Browser
    from Netscape 0.9 to FF 36
    Antivirus
    well-balanced, well-configured mult-layered defense is best
    Other Info
    From MS-DOS 3.3, MS-DOS 6.22, from Windows 3.1 to WFW 3.11 to Windows 95-98SE, now to Windows 7 Pro.
    Security for now: Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
than you, but Google results not relevant

Thank you for googling MSSQL$ADK. I did the same, and got the same results; but none of them tells you that MSSQL will install something that looks like a user directory; and none of them makes reference to the term "MSSQL$ADK". So Google found no relevant results. And that is why I posted my question in this forum.

Has anyone seen this issue before?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    Intel Core I5
    Memory
    12 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
Leah, I forgot to earlier indicate that I was and still am as puzzled as you are! I'll be watching this thread and learning alongside with you. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Pro 64bit [MS blue-disk set]
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2 Acers & 1 Antec[?]
    CPU
    i7 in 2 Acers, i5 in desktop
    Motherboard
    Desktop w/Gigabyte
    Memory
    Two w/16GB, 1 w/8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Laptops GameWorthy; Desktop maybe GameWorthy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    flatscreens; 2 are BluRay worthy
    Screen Resolution
    1368x768; 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    1TB internals; 2 ext usb WD 1TB HDs
    PSU
    what's PSU?
    Cooling
    Regular plus external fans
    Keyboard
    desktio w/PS2
    Mouse
    desktop w/PS2
    Internet Speed
    DSL middle level [160?]
    Browser
    from Netscape 0.9 to FF 36
    Antivirus
    well-balanced, well-configured mult-layered defense is best
    Other Info
    From MS-DOS 3.3, MS-DOS 6.22, from Windows 3.1 to WFW 3.11 to Windows 95-98SE, now to Windows 7 Pro.
    Security for now: Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
It is not unknown for application suites to run their services under a specific user, to control running whilst not using system user accounts, and this will cause the creation of the entry you see in the users area.

I would assume that you have at some time installed either MS SQL or something that utilises this to handle data management If you are no longer using this then it should be harmless to remove the user from the system, but as this is a Microsoft related system account it is probably best to just ignore it
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64 x2 Windows 10 Enterprise x64, Ubuntu
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Real World Computing
    CPU
    AMD FX8350 8 Core @4GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M USB3
    Memory
    32GB [4x8GB] DDR3 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus nVidia GTX750TI-OC-2GD5 (2GB DDR5)
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xoner DG + SPDIF to 5.1 System + HDMI
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer G276HL 27", (DVi) + Samsung 39" HDTV (HDMI)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 @60Hz + 1920 x 1080 @60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Internal
    Crucial 256GB SSD,
    WDC WD30EZRX-00D8PB0 3TB,
    Toshiba HDWD130 3TB
    Seagate ST2000DM001-1CH1 2TB,

    External (USB3)
    Seagate Backup+ Hub BK SCSI Disk 8TB
    2.5/3.5 Hot Swap Cradle, USB3 + eSata (client HDDs)

    NAS
    Seagate ST4000DM000
    PSU
    Aerocool Templarius Imperator 750W 80+ Silver
    Case
    AeroCool X-Warrior Devil Red Tower
    Cooling
    Stock CPU, Rear 120mm, Front 2x120mm, Side 2x120mm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K710 & K270
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless M710 M185 & M570 Trackball
    Internet Speed
    37Mb/s Down - 9.5Mb/s Up
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    BitDefender Total Security 2017
    Other Info
    Also run...

    Desktop - 6Core 8GB - Windows 10 Enterprise x64,
    Laptop - Quad 8GB - Windows 10 Pro x64
    Netbook - Ubuntu
    2 x Nexus 7 Android tablets
    Samsung 10.2" tablet
    Sony Z3 Android Smartphone
    HTC One Android Smartphone
Thank you, Barman58. That is very helpful.

I have used MSSQL in the past, but not in the past year. I've done some data recovery recently, and tried out several types of recovery software. Now that you've explained that some applications run services under a specific user, I will look into whether any of the software I tested runs under MSSQL.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    Intel Core I5
    Memory
    12 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
Back
Top