1. Create a new user account with administrative rights on the affected machine. Navigate to the affected user's profile directory and copy ntuser.dat to a folder named backup on your C: drive.
(example for a user named dave: copy c:\Documents and Settings\dave\ntuser.dat to c:\backup)
2. Once you have backed up the ntuser.dat file, overwrite it with the one located in c:\windows\repair\
(example for a user named dave: copy c:\windows\repair\ntuser.dat to c:\Documents and Settings\dave\ )
3. Log off the temporary account you have created and login to the affected user account and let windows fully load up. This will create a new ntuser.dat file under the user's profile.
4. Once windows has fully loaded up, log back out of the affected user's account and log back into the temporary account you made earlier.
5. Copy the ntuser.dat file you backed up earlier to the user's profile directory overwriting the new file that was created.
(example for a user named dave: copy c:\backup\ntuser.dat to c:\Documents and Settings\dave\ )
6. Log out of the temporary account and log back into the computer under the affected account and see if the problem is fixed.
