User Accounts

Monroe Jeffcoat · Post by **Monroe Jeffcoat** » 12 Oct 2006 3:00 pm

Help..
I made a big mistake and marked the administrator user account as limited . Now I can't make any changes to my computer. Can anyone please tell me how to change it back like it was.
Thanks in advance
Monroe Jeffcoat

Tom Diemer · Post by **Tom Diemer** » 12 Oct 2006 3:29 pm

Try booting into safe mode (repeatedly tap F8 on boot up}, choose safe mode from the boot menu. See if there is another account you can log into that has admin rights. Usually with XP home there is an 'Owner' account, but you can't see it unless you boot into safe mode. Hoping you have the welcome screen enabled so you can see all the accounts.

If you can get logged in with admin rights, you can restore the rights to the admin account in control panel / users. (or computer management / users and groups / users in XP pro).

The fact that you said 'limited' sounds like XP home, which 'should' have the Owner account unless it's been renamed to something else.

[This message was edited by Tom Diemer on 12 October 2006 at 04:30 PM.]

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 12 Oct 2006 3:41 pm

Monroe asked;

I made a big mistake and marked the administrator user account as limited . Now I can't make any changes to my computer. Can anyone please tell me how to change it back like it was.

This answer assumes you are using Windows XP Home as your operating system.

Under Windows XP Home Edition one cannot login to the normal mode desktop as "Administrator." You must use other login names. This is for your own protection. However, one can login as the "Administrator" from Safe Mode.

< lecture >
Since you reduced your privileges from Computer Administrator to Limited User one must assume that you read and ignored the popup notice warning you that you were about to eliminate the only Administrator level user account that existed at the time. That notice would have suggested that you first create another Admin level account, then reduce the authority of the account you want to continue to use. That is how I describe the proper sequence of privilege de-escalation on this page.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
Alternately, rather than creating a new Limited User (User) account for your daily browsing, you could create a new Computer Administrator level account, with a password.
< snip >
Find your other default account name and double-click to open it. Change the account Type from (Computer) Administrator to (Limited) User, click on Apply, then OK.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
< /lecture >

< the_fix >
Reboot your computer. As the computer begins to restart and you see the BIOS screen, or a splash screen, begin tapping the F8 key on your keyboard. Assuming you don't wait too long to tap on F8 you will come to a boot menu screen where Safe Mode is one of the options. Use the Up/Down Arrow keys to select "Safe Mode" and press ENTER. Yoy'll see all manner of text flashing down the screen as real-mode device drivers are loaded, then the system will present you with either a Welcome Screen, or a standard user login box. If the Welcome Screen appears there should be a login icon labeled "Administrator." If the standard office-type login box appears instead, type in "Administrator" for the User Name. If you have and know your Administrator password type it in. Otherwise, press Enter to use a Null password (if none was assigned).

Acknowledge the Safe Mode notice, then go to Start > Control Panel > User Accounts and create a new account, giving it "Computer Administrator" privileges, assigning it a password. Confirm the password, close the User Accounts utility, then go to Start and log off "Administrator" and onto the new account, just to set it up officially as an identity.

Now you can reboot into normal mode and into your now Limited User day-to-day browsing account. When you need to run admin level tasks log off the Limited Account and onto the new Computer Administrator account, or use the "Run As" command (right-click on a program or setup file and select Run As with the left mouse button).

This is all explained on my Privileges Explained page (see link above).
< /the_fix >

------------------
Bob "Wiz" Feinberg
Moderator of the SGF Computers Forum
Visit my Wiztunes Steel Guitar website at: http://www.wiztunes.com/
or my computer troubleshooting website: Wizcrafts Computer Services,
or my Webmaster Services webpage. Get Firefox Here.
Learn about current computer virus and security threats here.
Read Wiz's Blog for security news and update notices. My FAQs.[This message was edited by Wiz Feinberg on 12 October 2006 at 04:46 PM.]

Monroe Jeffcoat · Post by **Monroe Jeffcoat** » 12 Oct 2006 4:40 pm

Thanks to both of you for the reply. I get to where I am suppose to create a new account ,but I am not allowed that privelege. What should I do next?

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 12 Oct 2006 9:05 pm

I get to where I am suppose to create a new account ,but I am not allowed that privelege.

Are you running Windows XP Home and booting into Safe Mode, and are you logging onto the account named Administrator? That account has total control over what goes on on your PC. If you have logged onto the "Administrator" account you should absolutely be able to create new accounts, or modify existing ones, including changing permissions.

If you have logged onto any other account name, and that account does not possess full administrative priveleges, you cannot create or modify user accounts. When I say you must log in as "Administrator" I mean just that, spelled exactly as the quoted example. You can only access that account name by rebooting your computer into Safe Mode. It is not available in normal Windows bootup (under XP Home Edition).

------------------
Bob "Wiz" Feinberg
Moderator of the SGF Computers Forum
Visit my Wiztunes Steel Guitar website at: http://www.wiztunes.com/
or my computer troubleshooting website: Wizcrafts Computer Services,
or my Webmaster Services webpage. Get Firefox Here.
Learn about current computer virus and security threats here.
Read Wiz's Blog for security news and update notices. My FAQs.[This message was edited by Wiz Feinberg on 12 October 2006 at 10:07 PM.]

Monroe Jeffcoat · Post by **Monroe Jeffcoat** » 12 Oct 2006 9:16 pm

Thanks so much to everyone you have saved my life everything works perfectly..

Thanks again
Monroe Jeffcoat

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 12 Oct 2006 11:26 pm

Glad to have been able to help you recover your Administrator priveleges.

------------------
Bob "Wiz" Feinberg
Moderator of the SGF Computers Forum
Visit my Wiztunes Steel Guitar website at: http://www.wiztunes.com/
or my computer troubleshooting website: Wizcrafts Computer Services,
or my Webmaster Services webpage. Get Firefox Here.
Learn about current computer virus and security threats here.
Read Wiz's Blog for security news and update notices. My FAQs.