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

[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

 

[uvbogden]

Take a look at this tutorial.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/121043-control-panel-enable-disable.html

 

[Walter Cohen]

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

 

[Walter Cohen]

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