Sara Ziemendorf

I don't know why this works, it just does.

Create a new account. (Control Panels, Users)

Log out of the current account and into your new account. Make sure you can get into your new account and you can browse secure websites.

Okay. Log out.

Log on as Administrator. (Ctl+Alt+Del 2x)

Right click My Computer

Choose Properties.

Choose Advanced.

Choose Settings under User Profile.

Click on the bad users profile. Copy it to the C:\documents and settings\New_user_you_just_created

THIS TAKES A LONG TIME. I usually end up trying to browse the registry during this time.

Eventually, it will error out with some sort of erro like "ntuser.dat is in use by another process".

Reboot.

You should be able to log in normally and view secure websites again. Why? I have no idea. I've been able to make it work 2X now using this process. My best guess is that the process of copying it is enough to fix the corrupted file that is messing up the works.

Sara Ziemendorf
Learning Support Services
Created: June 06, 2006