I'm working on a friend's computer which was having performance issues. They thought they may have had a virus. I used the XP installation CD and repaired the operating system, updated the computer to SP3, ran all the Window updates but after comparing my other computers settings found that there may still be some issues. When I go into Administrative Tools, Computer Maintenance, System Tools - the Local Users and Groups is missing. I really do not want to have to reformat the computer and start over again. Appreciate the help.2 people need an answerI do too

I'm fairly certain that you are looking at one of the differences between XP Pro and XP Home Editions. I recently researched this topic and found that the "Local Users and Groups" folder along with the "Users" and "Groups" folders under that come with XP Pro only. It appears with the "Home Edition" you have the "User Accounts" function in Control Panel and the "Settings" button on the Advanced tab of "System Properties" only to work with profiles. (Get to System Properties by right clicking on My Computer desktop icon and select "Properties").I suspect your friends PC is "XP Home Edition" and the PCs you are using for comparison are "XP Pro Edition".I would appreciate anyone correcting me with references to the contrary (links, etc.) if my statement above is incorrect. I'm no expert by no means, unless we're talking about my 20 years on the IBM System i (formally known as the AS/400 in years past), which I hope to never see nor administer again for the rest of my days.