Administrator account

[RJH]

Hello,
I have a friend that just got a new computer. Knowing nothing about
accounts he set out to protect the new computer and disable anything he
could from his kid. As administrator he created accounts for his wife and
son then created a new account for himself. When he created a new account
for himself (with administrator privileges) he said Windows told him that
only one administrator account at a time and that the original account would
disappear. Now all the things he hid from his kid under the original
administrator account are also gone for him under the new account. That's
the story I got anyway. I don't mess with account since it's just my wife
and I. Is this story feasible? If so how does he get the original account
back and with it access to whatever he hid??
WindowsXP Home
HP P4

Thanks!

RJH

 

[Guest]

Hey RCJ,

If the system is new just use the system restore CD and reinstall all of the
software back to it's original state before creating the account.
I don't think you will have much luck in finding any other way because this
would be the answer to cracking into the security of the (XP) machine and
that's a no-no.

 

[Nepatsfan]

You might want to tell you're friend to try the following:

Logon to the PC with his new account.
Make sure that his wife's account is a member of the
Administrator's group. If she has a limited account simply change
it to a Computer Administator account temporarily. He can do this
in Control Panel -> User Accounts.
Logon with his wife's account.
Follow the procedure outlined on this web site to copy the User
Profile for the built-in Administrator account to his account.

http://www.petri.co.il/copy_user_profiles_in_windows_xp.htm

Basically what he'll need to do is copy the user profile located
at C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator to the new location
C:\Documents and Settings\HisUserName.

Logoff the wife's account and logon with his account.
See if the items that were hidden are now available.
If changed earlier, reset status of wife's account.