My fault Gareth, the instructions are incomplete. ntuser.ini is a hidden, system file so you need to uncheck Hide protected operating system files [Recommended] along with the other two.

I thought that was already in the info I posted but I see it's not, so I'll update my tip to include it.

Once you do that, you should see the three files (actually, you should already be able to see two of them now). The attributes for these files, at least on my XP system, are as follows:

ntuser.dat A (Archive)
ntuser.dat.LOG HA (Hidden, Archive)
ntuser.ini HS (Hidden, System)

As for the new profile not having those filers, have you logged on and off with the new profile yet? I just tried creating a new profile and those files did not show up until I logged on the off.

Finally - success!! Did not quite work out as per GeeksToGo.com as it seems the process for Windows 7is slightly different. This is the process from Microsoft's own site:

Fix a corrupted user profile

I am glad I read your post first, however, since they seem to have left out one key step namely to login with the new account, so the folder structure gets created. They do not mention this and, without it, the new user account does not appear so you can't copy and paste to the new account.

I would also mention to anyone undertaking this process to remember that email accounts are not transferred automatically so remember to backup the old email/contacts/calendar information then re-import into the new user account for Outlook.

Another thing I found was that many of my programs had to be re-registered, so keep a careful note of licence keys etc as you will need them to launch your programs fully.

Rich - my very grateful thanks for all you help, advice and patience though the process. No flickering screen anymore!!

Gareth

Gareth, thanks for the update. I've done nothing but stumble on your problem it seems. I don't think I even noticed you were running Windows 7. Guess I was too busy nagging you about multiple posts for the same problem

Also thanks for the link. I'll use it to update my tip fro corrupted accounts.

Glad you have it working.

Peace