"Limited Account" Greyed out on secondary User

[Elliot J]

Hi all,

I have cross-posted as I couldn't decide on an ideal group for my query.

I have an XP Pro machine with two users. The Administrator account and
JohnDoe (Guest is disabled). Both are currently set as administrators. What
I want to do is only allow the JohnDoe account Limited privileges.

I have logged out (even rebooted) and logged in as Administrator, then
entered into the User Accounts area to switch JohnDoe to Limited, however
the option is greyed out. I was under the impression that as long as one
account had admin rights, you could set all else as Limited. Am I missing
something blatantly obvious?

I consider myself to be pretty IT savvy, so any advice, regardless of
technical level is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

EJ

 

[Nepatsfan]

In

Hi all,

I have cross-posted as I couldn't decide on an ideal group
for my query.

I have an XP Pro machine with two users. The Administrator
account and
JohnDoe (Guest is disabled). Both are currently set as
administrators. What
I want to do is only allow the JohnDoe account Limited
privileges.

I have logged out (even rebooted) and logged in as
Administrator, then
entered into the User Accounts area to switch JohnDoe to
Limited, however
the option is greyed out. I was under the impression that as
long as one
account had admin rights, you could set all else as Limited.
Am I missing
something blatantly obvious?

I consider myself to be pretty IT savvy, so any advice,
regardless of
technical level is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

EJ

On a Windows XP Professional system, as soon as you create a
user account which is a member of the Administrators group, the
built-in Administrator account becomes hidden. What you're
experiencing is normal behavior. You will not be able to change
John Doe's account type through the Control Panel -> User
Account applet.

If you want the John Doe account to be a limited account you'll
have to create another account with administrator privileges.
Use the new admin account to demote John Doe.

For the sake of accuracy I'll have to add that it is possible
to accomplish your goal through the Local Users and Groups
console (Start -> Run -> lusrmgr.msc). That said, leaving the
Administrator account as the only member of the Administrators
group is not recommended.

Good luck

Nepatsfan