how can i restore my security settings prior to the changes I made jaysen willis

Jaysen - thanks for posting. To help you best, we'll need a lot more information. For starters, what version of Windows are you using and what security settings have changed? The more information you can provide, the more helpful we'll be able to be. Doug Neal - Microsoft Update and MBSA

The steps below do not apply to Windows XP Home Edition, or Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium editions. To restore security setting for Home editions, either uses the Microsoft Fix, System Restore or a backup. Note: After security settings are applied, you cannot undo the changes without restoring from a backup. If you are uncertain about how to restore your security settings to the default settings, you must make a complete backup that includes the System State (the registry files). Items that are reset include NTFS file system files and folders, the registry, policies, services, permissions, and group membership. To restore your operating system to the original installation default security settings, follow these steps: 1. Open a new Command Prompt: 2. In Windows XP o Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER. In Windows Vista o Click Start and then type cmd in the Start Search box. o In the results area, right-click cmd.exe, and then click Run as administrator. You will be prompted to type the password for an administrator account. Click Continue if you are the administrator or type the administrator password. Then, click Continue. 3. In Windows XP, type the following command, and then press ENTER: secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose In Windows Vista, type the following command, and then press ENTER: secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose You receive a “Task is completed” message and a warning message that something could not be done. You can safely ignore this message. For more information about this message, see the %windir%\Security\Logs\Scesrv.log file. Next steps After you run this Microsoft Fix it (or complete these manual steps), standard user accounts may no longer appear on the log on screen when you start your computer or try to switch users. This occurs because standard user accounts are removed from the Users group when you reset Windows security settings. To add the affected users accounts back to the Users group, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, and then All Programs or click Programs. 2. Click Accessories, and then click Command Prompt (Windows XP). Or right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run As Administrator (Windows Vista). 3. In the Command Prompt window, type net users and then press ENTER. A list of user accounts is displayed. 4. For each accountname listed in the Command Prompt that is missing from the log on or switch user screen, type the following command and then press ENTER: net localgroup users accountname /add 5. Now go to the “Did this fix the problem?” section. More information: In Windows Vista, the Defltbase.inf file is a Security configuration template for the default security. You can view the settings for this file in the following location: %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf

The steps below do not apply to Windows XP Home Edition, or Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium editions. To restore security setting for Home editions, either uses the Microsoft Fix, System Restore or a backup. Note: After security settings are applied, you cannot undo the changes without restoring from a backup. If you are uncertain about how to restore your security settings to the default settings, you must make a complete backup that includes the System State (the registry files). Items that are reset include NTFS file system files and folders, the registry, policies, services, permissions, and group membership. To restore your operating system to the original installation default security settings, follow these steps: 1. Open a new Command Prompt: 2. In Windows XP o Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER. In Windows Vista o Click Start and then type cmd in the Start Search box. o In the results area, right-click cmd.exe, and then click Run as administrator. You will be prompted to type the password for an administrator account. Click Continue if you are the administrator or type the administrator password. Then, click Continue. 3. In Windows XP, type the following command, and then press ENTER: secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose In Windows Vista, type the following command, and then press ENTER: secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose You receive a “Task is completed” message and a warning message that something could not be done. You can safely ignore this message. For more information about this message, see the %windir%\Security\Logs\Scesrv.log file. Next steps After you run this Microsoft Fix it (or complete these manual steps), standard user accounts may no longer appear on the log on screen when you start your computer or try to switch users. This occurs because standard user accounts are removed from the Users group when you reset Windows security settings. To add the affected users accounts back to the Users group, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, and then All Programs or click Programs. 2. Click Accessories, and then click Command Prompt (Windows XP). Or right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run As Administrator (Windows Vista). 3. In the Command Prompt window, type net users and then press ENTER. A list of user accounts is displayed. 4. For each accountname listed in the Command Prompt that is missing from the log on or switch user screen, type the following command and then press ENTER: net localgroup users accountname /add 5. Now go to the “Did this fix the problem?” section. More information: In Windows Vista, the Defltbase.inf file is a Security configuration template for the default security. You can view the settings for this file in the following location: %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf

Doug Oneal My op system is Vista Home Premium. I started changing the security settings, audits, file owners, and permissions. in persuit of trying to view a Temp Intnet File (folder) that is hiddden from me on my own comp. and I cant access it. Anyway in changing the settings I screwed up MS windows, Office and a few other programs. I cannot download anything at all MS fix-it, video player, avast antivirus, I have tried to download and nothing works, I cant do live chat with anyone, cannot open any MS office programs in my computer. how do I restore to factory settings, and if I do what informations, files ect will i Loose? Please help P l e a s ejaysen willis

Doug Oneal My op system is Vista Home Premium. I started changing the security settings, audits, file owners, and permissions. in persuit of trying to view a Temp Intnet File (folder) that is hiddden from me on my own comp. and I cant access it. Anyway in changing the settings I screwed up MS windows, Office and a few other programs. I cannot download anything at all MS fix-it, video player, avast antivirus, I have tried to download and nothing works, I cant do live chat with anyone, cannot open any MS office programs in my computer. how do I restore to factory settings, and if I do what informations, files ect will i Loose? Please help P l e a s ejaysen willis

Hi, You can try to perform a system restore from a well worked restore point. System Restore affects Windows system files, programs, and registry settings. It can also make changes to scripts, batch files, and other types of executable files on your computer. Note: System Restore does not affect personal files, such as e-mail, documents, or photos, so it cannot help you restore a deleted file. If you have backups of your files, you can restore the files from a backup. Furthermore, since your operation system is Windows Vista, you’d better contact Windows Vista Forum for further help: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/category/windowsvistaitpro The reason why we recommend posting appropriately is you will get the most qualified pool of respondents, and other partners who read the forums regularly can either share their knowledge or learn from your interaction with us. Thank you for your understanding. Regards, Leo Huang Leo Huang TechNet Community Support

Mark Norton came in to clean my registry to increase speed, now my application software will not respond, I tried a restore to previous check point but will not restore, I am using xp Pro

Mark Norton came in to clean my registry to increase speed, now my application software will not respond, I tried a restore to previous check point but will not restore, I am using xp Pro