Personal Administrator Account not acting like Administrator Account

[Richard B]

Something has happened to my personal Administrator account that makes
believe I have lost permissions on a number of areas throughout the
Windows system.

For example: an attempt to cleanup the registry using certain program is
denying my account access to do certain cleaning tasks that need to be
completed. I can run program under the Vista Administrator account, but
why is my personal Administrator account being denied?

This is just one of many similar occurances that have happened. I try
to do something that the Administrator should have access to and it
denies me saying I don't have permission for that task.

Is there some way to fix this on a larger scale? I really don't want to
keep the Vista Administrator account active and have to run over to it
every time I hit one of these problems.

Thanks,

Richard..

 

[FromTheRafters]

Something has happened to my personal Administrator account that makes
believe I have lost permissions on a number of areas throughout the
Windows system.

For example: an attempt to cleanup the registry using certain program
is denying my account access to do certain cleaning tasks that need to
be completed. I can run program under the Vista Administrator
account, but why is my personal Administrator account being denied?

Use the 'run as' option when invoking the registry cleaner from your
account.

This is just one of many similar occurances that have happened. I try
to do something that the Administrator should have access to and it
denies me saying I don't have permission for that task.

Vista has another mechanism for denying access besides just the normal
'permissions'. Integrity Levels come into play.

Is there some way to fix this on a larger scale? I really don't want
to keep the Vista Administrator account active and have to run over to
it every time I hit one of these problems.

Don't worry about having the admin account active. The admin account
that Vista leaves you after installation is completed is a "protected"
admin not the "real" admin. The "real" admin account is disabled and
hidden by Vista after installation. If you must, you can enable the
"real" administrator and use *it* for administrative duties.

I don't suppose I have any chance of convincing you to use a standard
user account - and the "real" admin only for administrative tasks?

 

[FromTheRafters]

FTR:
user account - and the "real" admin only for administrative tasks?

You missed the real point. That's not the exact issue.

Don't get excited, I wasn't trying to harass you. There is nothing at
all wrong with making the real administrator account one that you can
have displayed on the login screen enabled and unhidden. This is
especially so if the user really knows what he is doing - and is not
just being admin because of ego.

I use a limited user acct for everything except software installs,
etc.

And let me tell you -- it's a real pisser when I'm doing something in
the _admin acct_ and Vista DENIES me. F that. I AM in the admin
acct!

*Which* admin account? Are you using the admin account in Admin Approval
Mode (AAM)?
Or are you using the real "Administrator" account?

In XP, the admin acct is the admin acct.
Yes.

In unix, the root acct is the root acct.
Yes.

In Vista, sometimes it is, sometimes it's not.

No, it is only the "admin" account if you are using the real
"Administrator" account - otherwise it is a limited user account with
easy access to admin credentials via a "consent prompt" (AAM) - other
limited user accounts have can have access to the admin credentials only
by entering them at the credentials prompt (called an 'over the
shoulder' prompt).

The Vista developers had their heads so far up their ass they could
see their tonsils.

The problem the Vista developers had was the fact that XP left the user
running as admin as the default configuration. It was recommended that
users create their own limited user account to run for for everyday
things. They didn't do that, and the internet quickly became a like
cesspool full of nasty worms and trojans. They felt compelled to have
the default condition such that the user that wanted to remain admin for
everything didn't continue to pollute as much as was the case with XP.

You can ditch the AAM quasi-admin and run as real "Administrator" - but
I wouldn't suggest doing any browsing...etc...while logged on as the
real Administrator.