Admin accounts can't access control panel - please help!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Walter Cohen
  • Start date Start date
W

Walter Cohen

I have two user accounts on Vista Home Pro.
One is a standard, limited user account (password protected) and the other
is my admin account (obviously with admin privileges and password
protected).

I am not sure when this started happening but I am unable to launch control
panel under my admin account.
I get a pop-up of "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or
file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item".
The title bar of this pop-up has "::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}"

I can only get to CP from my limited account. Then I am prompted to enter
the Admin account's password. At times even trying this fails with the same
error the first time I try to launch CP. Usually the second or third time I
launch CP it will actually launch.

Someone suggested I set up a new admin account and then, from that account,
rename the original Admin account's profile so that Windows would rebuild it
upon reboot. Well, I did manage to create a new admin account (using admin
privileges from my limited account) but even that new admin account can't
launch control panel.

Interestingly, after I set up the second admin account, when I try an admin
cp function from my limited account it does correctly show me a pop-up
showing me two admin users to choose for entering the admin password. So it
does know the two users as admin accounts.

I am at a loss as to what to do/try. Is there a way to repair the OS using
the original DVD (I didn't see any applicable repair options)

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Walter
 
This doesn't apply to me.
In my Home Pro version there is nothing in Policies other than the default
item (type of REG_SZ).
Same under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
So NoControlPanel is nowhere to be found.

Thanks.
Walter
 
Interestingly, under StartMenu->StartMenu->CascadeControlPanel->Policy there
are two items: NoControlPanel and NoSetFolders. Each of these is really
empty - just has the default key name 'ab' type 'REGSZ'.
This is also the case under StartPanel.

Walter
 
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