atty - if you should get a free minute later, please, see if you can find anything on a lost user account. as i said, i can sign on in safe mode to both user accounts - limited and admin. but when i check on established accounts while signed on as admin the limited account does not show up. i've tried to find anything related to this problem on google but no luck so far ................
maybe i'm using the wrong search terms, idk
right?To open the User Accounts tool, open Control Panel from the Start menu, and then double click User Accounts.
To Create a New User Account
Click Create a new account in the Pick a task list box.
Type the name that you want to use for the account, and then click Next.
Select the desired account type, and then click Create Account.
To Make Changes to an Account
Click Change an account in the Pick a task list box.
Click the account that you want to change.
Select the item that you would like to change:
Click Change the name to change the name that appears on the Welcome screen for the account.
Click Change the picture to change the picture that is used to represent the user account. You can use any image file on the computer for the user's picture.
Click Change the account type to change the account type to increase or decrease the user's rights on the computer.
Click Create/change the password to create or change the password for the user and create or change the password hint.
Click Delete the account to delete the user account from the computer. When you delete the account, you are given the option to save the user's files on the computer.
Note: You can not delete the account for a user that is currently logged on to the computer.
the confusing part.....if you can log into the account in safe mode....it must be there.
and .............. if i try to set up a new account using the boy's name once again it tells me ''sorry, an account with this name already exists'' 
Hi Starlyte
Time to get the workday started...though i've been dealing with win 8.1 updates all moring. Took 3 rounds of updates to get everything set this morning.![]()