Strange Account behaviour on Log In

Greg1126

New Member
Messages
4
This morning I cold booted my laptop and strangely after signing in it declared that it was "Preparing Windows." I was then taken to a desktop with empty Documents etc. folders. Panicking I went to the User Accounts and found all my folders and data intact but not accessible through the "account" I had been forced to log in to. Licensed software that was not installed as multiple user wouldn't show as licensed so I must assume that some sort of default new profile had been created. However, in User Accounts there didn't seem to be anything new.

In addition to my account and that of my wife there were three other folders that I am sure have always been there. (1) Default (with user empty subfolders) (2) An alphanumeric (temp?) folder ... empty except for Appdata / Local / Temp ... itself empty (3) UpdatusUser - used by Nvidia to update the graphics driver (with user empty subfolders) (4) Public - usual subfolders.

I solved the problem by logging out and logging back in with my usual login credentials. (Switching user didn't work).

What happened please and how can I prevent it happening again?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Z500
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3210M
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 1.06
    Memory
    DDR3 Dual Channel 6144 Mb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M (Intel on the Motherboard)
    Browser
    IE, Chrome, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky IS 2013
Hello Greg, and welcome to Eight Forums.

From your description, it sounds like you may have gotten the error like below to sign you into a temporary account when there's an issue (ex: corruption) with the account you were trying to sign in to.

If it doesn't happen anymore, then I wouldn't worry about it. However, I would recommend to back up anything you do not want to lose to another location just to be extra safe.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Thanks! I wonder if that is what happened though. At no point did I get an error message. I have logged in again a few times since without issue but I will keep your advice close by.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Z500
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3210M
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 1.06
    Memory
    DDR3 Dual Channel 6144 Mb
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M (Intel on the Motherboard)
    Browser
    IE, Chrome, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky IS 2013
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