NET USER ADMIN: "The user was successfully created but could not be added to the USERS local group"

Question

I am running windows 7. I can not understand why I cant make changes to the user accounts using the administrator command prompt. Here is the error:

Solution

You can't use command-line tools in the recovery environment to manipulate the accounts on the HDD installation of Windows. All you're doing is messing with the recovery environment's own accounts, which only exist on the RAM disk, so any changes disappear the moment you reboot.

Since the recovery environment's account database only requires minimal functionality (there's no need to create new accounts) it isn't surprising that you get an odd error message. (I see the same message, by the way, it doesn't reflect anything wrong with the particular computer you're working on.)

Password change ISOs work differently, by manipulating the registry files on the target HDD directly; they know the format of the registry files and the way in which account information is stored in them.

Comments

[Harry Johnston]

Why are you creating a new user in the recovery environment's transient account database? What are you actually trying to achieve?

[Jack ']

I'm trying to change the administrator password. Using any "password change" isos do not work. So this was I can at least see what the errors look like, since this is essentially the same thing.

[Jack ']

Makes sense. I had a feeling that was the case. However, changing the password in the temporary environment was not my initial method to change the password. I tried copying cmd.exe over sethc.exe and using the sticky keys function to run command prompt and change the password in the non-temporary environment (ie the log in screen) however this too did not save and only took effect in the temporary environment. Do you know why?