Solved how to get user accounts on Windows 8.1

[pawz7]

I have just put windows 8.1 on a new drive for a couple. The old drive has failed. I got the husband on and he has user-folders tied to his account, but when I added an account for his wife via control panel, nothing is showing for her when I go to Users. Does that person have to put their e-mail address in, or something like that? I am a Windows 7 person and this new way of doing things is trial and error for me. I have another two computers to fix yet so am finding it testing to have to keep playing guessing games with Windows 8.1. Guidance from them as know would be appreciated....

 

[strollin]

I believe it works the same as it did in Win 7, if you create an account for her, nothing will show up under Users until that account gets logged into the first time.

 

[asvent]

And just as a minor addition, there are now two types of accounts in Windows 8, not just "User" and "Administrator". You have the online accounts Microsoft is pushing pretty hard and need to use certain functions of the OS like the app store, but you also have the old traditional "local" account like all previous versions of Windows. It's a little hard to find, but it's there. One of the at least potential benefits of an online account is it functions somewhat like a domain roaming account, meaning your settings follow you to whatever computer you use. Make sure there is a third account created, with a password and admin access, purely so that if something should happen to one of the other accounts, you have a "spare". There's a bug that's existed in Windows since at least XP, but probably all the way back to NT 3.1, where account profiles just seemingly randomly corrupt. Either MS can't figure out what's causing it or it's too onerous to fix, so always keep a spare admin account at the ready.

 

[pawz7]

thanks both - I eventually realised that I needed to sign out of the first account, and then to tell it I wanted to see both Users ( so I could pass over the stuff I had rescued from one to the other).
I hear what you say asvent and have tucked that info away, but as this is not my computer, and the owners are very un-computery, I shall leave it as it is. I do now have the .iso should I have to do this again at some point in the future...

 

[asvent]

If you're the one they're going to call to come fix it, I'd put one on there and just explain that it's a failsafe option and to pretend it doesn't exist otherwise, but that's me.

 

[pawz7]

well..maybe. TBH I just want them to come and get it and go away again.. but I do see the sense in what you are saying