administrator user not seen on log-in screen

[michael]

From the "computer management" utility I can see there are 2 users from the
administrators group (the default administrator account and "mike"). The
only accounts that appear on the log-in screen are "mike" and "guest". If I
want to delete "mike" I need to do it from the "administrator" account but I
can't access it.
How do I make this account visible?

OS: winxp pro service pack 2

 

[AGreen BHM]

From the "computer management" utility I can see there are 2 users from the
administrators group (the default administrator account and "mike").  The
only accounts that appear on the log-in screen are "mike" and "guest".  If I
want to delete "mike" I need to do it from the "administrator" account but I
can't access it.
How do I make this account visible?

OS:  winxp pro  service pack 2

At the login screen press Control-Alt-Delete twice and it will bring
up the prompt where you can type the username (administrator, in your
case) and the password.

 

[GreenieLeBrun]

From the "computer management" utility I can see there are 2 users
from the administrators group (the default administrator account and
"mike"). The only accounts that appear on the log-in screen are
"mike" and "guest". If I want to delete "mike" I need to do it from
the "administrator" account but I can't access it.
How do I make this account visible?

OS: winxp pro service pack 2

AGreen BHM has told you how to access the Administrator account, if you do
go ahead and delete "mike" make sure you create another user for day-to-day
use DO NOT use the built-in Administrator account for day-to-day use.

 

[AGreen BHM]

AGreen BHM has told you how to access the Administrator account, if you do
go ahead and delete "mike" make sure you create another user for day-to-day
use DO NOT use the built-in Administrator account for day-to-day use.

If you aren't worried about security there is nothing wrong with using
the Administrator account.

 

[GreenieLeBrun]

If you aren't worried about security there is nothing wrong with using
the Administrator account.

And if the only account on the machine gets corrupted, what then?

 

[JS]

Try Power Toy's Tweak UI from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
Install, run and under Logon you will find check boxes to select the
accounts you want displayed.

It's best to create another account with Admin privileges and only use the
account named "administrator" as a backup.

More Detail on available features in Tweak UI:
http://www.winxpsolution.com/Tweakuixppro.aspx

JS
www.pagestart.com

 

[AGreen BHM]

And if the only account on the machine gets corrupted, what then?

Then you do a clean install. Let me rephrase what I said before. If
you aren't worried about security or data.

 

[John John (MVP)]

Then you do a clean install. Let me rephrase what I said before. If
you aren't worried about security or data.

Why would someone deliberately place themselves in a position where
something as simple as profile corruption necessitates a complete
reinstallation of the operating system? Running on the built-in
Administrator account is a bad practice and running on the one and only
administrator account without a backup administrator account is even
worse practice!

John

 

[M.I.5¾]

Why would someone deliberately place themselves in a position where
something as simple as profile corruption necessitates a complete
reinstallation of the operating system? Running on the built-in
Administrator account is a bad practice and running on the one and only
administrator account without a backup administrator account is even worse
practice!

Whilst I don't disagree with what you say: why then has the default
administrator account been removed from Vista?

 

[John John (MVP)]

Whilst I don't disagree with what you say: why then has the default
administrator account been removed from Vista?

It's not been removed, it's simply disabled. It can easily be enable if
you so chose and if there are no other users with administrative
privileges you can still log on to Safe Mode with the built-in
Administrator account.

Information for advanced users about the changes to the built-in
administrator account in Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942956

HOW TO: Enable the build-in Administrator account in Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555910

And while we are at it, it may as well be pointed out that you can
repair a damaged built-in Administrator account without resorting to a
clean install or an in-place upgrade.

John

 

[M.I.5¾]

It's not been removed, it's simply disabled. It can easily be enable if
you so chose and if there are no other users with administrative
privileges you can still log on to Safe Mode with the built-in
Administrator account.

Information for advanced users about the changes to the built-in
administrator account in Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942956

HOW TO: Enable the build-in Administrator account in Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555910

And while we are at it, it may as well be pointed out that you can repair
a damaged built-in Administrator account without resorting to a clean
install or an in-place upgrade.

Thanks for that. Microsoft don't go out of their way to make this widely
known.