Windows User Permissions question

[provenlogic]

Okie, so here's the deal. I never really deal with usinging computers with more than one user account, just never have. So i know very little about the intricacies of user permissions and such.

Anyways, my mother got a new(ish) laptop from work, Pentium-M, 1GB ram, 256Mb ATi Video, 2 hard drives, etc... kinda nice. Anyways, this was to replacer her old work laptop. She never had administrator status on her old one, which is something she insisted they give her this time around.

So anyways, she's mostly happy with it, except for a few issues i've been trying to help her with, but i have to admit, i'm somewhat at a loss when it comes to user permissions stuff, especially since her work set everything up on the laptop.

Basically she asked me to make it look the way her home PC does, larger fonts, windows XP style menus, etc... And i did that for her. Except there's a problem, everytime she restarts the computer, it changes the menu styles back to "classic" look instead of windows XP style.

I can't figure it out, and i'm assuming it has something to do with the user accounts nonsense. There's an administrator account on the computer, some network account, and then her account (she has administrator status). However, like i said, the menu styling won't stick.

Also, the option for the windows XP style start menu isn't even there, it's just blank space. Windows is also set up with that god aweful press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to log on crap, and every time you press CTRL+ALT+DELETE in windows it brings you to that damn menu instead of going directly to the task manager.

I have no idea how to change these things back to the way she's accustomed to on her home PC (which i built for her). Frankly, i don't blame her, it's a bit annoying, as when i went into MSCONFIG to disable the 77 (yes Seventy-Seven) useless programs they have starting with windows, it took the alterations fine, but erased the changes as soon as the computer was restarted.

Anyways, does anyone know what gives? Or how i can change all of that? Obviously since the laptop isn't hers, i'm limited in what i can do... as in formatting and reinstalling isn't exactly an option.

Thanks ahead of time.

 

[provenlogic]

Do a - start - run - gpedit.msc and right click on Local Computer Policy and choose to disable group policies and see if that makes any difference.

Unfortunately, that was not listed as an option under Right Click > 'Local Computer Policy'... There's 'View', 'Export List', 'Properties', and 'Help'. Under 'Properties', there are only two checkboxes available, 'Disable Computer Configuration Settings', and 'Disable User Configuration Settings'. Both are NOT checked.

Any ideas? Please?

 

[provenlogic]

didn't work . While i checked both of them, and that stuck, nothing changed. Still erased my menu styling on restart, still can't choose the XP-style start menu, etc... etc...

Forgot to mention they made her logon domain different than "local computer". They made hers "companynameCOM" (companyname = the actual company name, just didn't want to spread it over the internet).

 

[provenlogic]

Can you change it as a different user?

If you create a new user and log on as them and choose the XP theme what happens then?

It might be a mandatory profile but that's an old NT4 way of doing things but some admins still use it.

After that I just don't know.

Oh i tried that a while back, it wouldn't stick for the new user ID either.

How do i un-mandatory the mandatory profile?

 

[Corny]

i *guess* there is somewhere a setting that the user profile is not locale but stored on the domain server - and when you log in again, it either takes the profile from the domain server or uses a cached copy of it. at least that's what it sounds like, and i know that there is some kind of setting like that somewhere

 

[cbtfan]

Until you get this problem sorted out you could try transferring her setting from her old computer using an 'U3 flash drive'

http://www.u3.com/

Click on 'view demo'

 

[provenlogic]

Well what's weird is when i disabled group properties, it DID stop making me hit CTRL ALT DELETE to logon, but none of the rest changed like i said.

More info that might be of use:
The blue graphical logon screen is never displayed at logon, when you start the computer XP starts, and it goes right to what looks like a desktop (with the company's logo on a blue background) as the wallpaper, and brings up an old style "enter logon ID, password, domain" window, with some shut down, task manager, etc... buttons at the bottom.

Prior to this window, you get some info windows like "loading" etc... And they are styled with the XP borders, as is the logon window.

Then once you enter the user ID and password, it displays a "Loading your personal settings" info window, that starts out XP styled, but mid way changes to "classic" style. Then the background changes to the windows wheat field and you're into windows.

When you select shut down, you get a "logging off" window, then a switch back to the company logo desktop wallpaper, and a "shutting down" window, that mid way changes from "classic" style BACK to XP styling....

Would pics help?

 

[provenlogic]

Pics would be great.

It sounds like they might be using 3rd party software to impose a profile or else they have a customised Explorer.exe (Shell). That's something that big banks normally do - what kind of company are we talking about? If it's a government agency then forget about it, if it's a bank or a pharma type company then they probably have coded their own shell. Again, I haven't seen that done since NT4 days (here in Ireland) but it is possible.

Maybe they're even using something like Deepfreeze but it sounds like they've got their own shell.

Erm.... (PM'd You)

I'll still post some pics, tho it may take a day or so, i have to go to a sleep study tonight... woohoo....