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Certain Windows XP-related user accounts and groups remain on the computer after you upgrade to Windows Vista

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Symptoms

After you upgrade a Windows XP-based computer to Windows Vista, you experience the following symptoms:
  • One or more of the following Windows XP-related groups appear in the "Local Users and Groups" Groups folder:
    • HelpServicesGroup
    • Offer Remote Assistance Helpers
    • RS_Query
  • One or more of the following Windows XP-related user accounts appear in the "Local Users and Groups" Users folder:
    • SUPPORT_388945a0

      Note The 388945a0 part of this user account represents a combination of numbers and letters. This combination may differ on your computer.
    • HelpAssistant
    • WIIS_ComputerName
You expect only Windows Vista-related users and groups to remain on the computer after you upgrade to Windows Vista.

Note To view the "Local Users and Groups" folders, follow these steps:
  1. Click StartStart button , right-click Computer, and then click Manage.

    User Account Control permission If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
  2. In the Computer Management Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in, expand System Tools, and then expand Local Users and Groups.

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Resolution

To resolve this issue, remove the following objects from Windows Vista.
NameObject type
HelpServicesGroupGroup
SUPPORT_388945a0User account
Offer Remote Assistance HelpersGroup
RS_*Group
WIIS_ComputerNameUser account
Note We recommend that you do not remove the Offer Remote Assistance Helpers group. Windows Vista uses the Offer Remote Assistance Helpers group.

To remove a user account or a group from Windows Vista, follow these steps:
  1. Click StartStart button , right-click Computer, and then click Manage.

    User Account Control permission If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
  2. In the Computer Management Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in, expand System Tools, expand Local Users and Groups, and then click Users or Groups, as appropriate for the object that you want to remove.
  3. In the details pane, right-click the user account or the group that you want to remove, and then click Delete.
  4. Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the object.

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More Information

The Support_388945a0 account is no longer used with Windows Vista and newer versions of Windows.

The Support_388945a0 account enables Help and Support Service interoperability with signed scripts. This account is primarily used to control access to signed scripts that are accessible from within Help and Support Services. Administrators can use this account to delegate the ability for an ordinary user, who does not have administrative access over a computer, to run signed scripts from links embedded within Help and Support Services. These scripts can be programmed to use the Support_388945a0 account credentials instead of the user’s credentials to perform specific administrative operations on the local computer that otherwise would not be supported by the ordinary user’s account. When the delegated user clicks on a link in Help and Support Services, the script executes under the security context of the Support_388945a0 account. This account has limited access to the computer and is disabled by default.

The user accounts and groups that are mentioned in the "Symptoms" section are created by the following components.
User or group nameComponent
HelpServicesGroupThis group is created by the Help and Support Service component.
SUPPORT_388945a0This user is created by the Help and Support Service component.
Offer Remote Assistance HelpersThis group is created by the Remote Assistance component.
RS_*This group is created by MSN Desktop Search 2.6.5 or by an earlier version of MSN Desktop Search.
WIIS_ComputerNameThis user is created by the Internet Information Services (IIS) component.

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Article Info
Article ID : 947296
Revision : 1
Created on : 1/7/2017
Published on : 9/11/2011
Exists online : False
Views : 389