Administrator

[Guest]

Can I delete the original "Administrator" user and just keep "Mine" with
administrator rights with no problem, or should I get rid of "Mine" and
rename the administrator? I am the only user of this computer and I don't see
the need to have 2 users if I am the sole user.

 

[Gordon]

Can I delete the original "Administrator" user and just keep "Mine" with
administrator rights with no problem, or should I get rid of "Mine" and
rename the administrator? I am the only user of this computer and I don't
see
the need to have 2 users if I am the sole user.

You cannot delete the built-in Administrator account. You can certainly
rename it.
the reason you need two administrator accounts is because when (not if) your
daily-use account gets corrupted, the Administrator account is your
safeguard, enabling you to access your machine and repair your normal
account.

 

[Guest]

I always recommend sole users to create their "user" profile and use that
primarily. The reason is if you get hit with malware (or a nasty "friend")
that tries to make changes to your computer it will be blocked by the request
for the adminstrator's password.

If you are logged as the Administrator, they can do as they will (friends
and enemies...)

Just My 2 Cents, CatherineDiane

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Can I delete the original "Administrator" user and just keep "Mine" with
administrator rights with no problem, or should I get rid of "Mine" and
rename the administrator? I am the only user of this computer and I don't see
the need to have 2 users if I am the sole user.

The built-in Administrator account *cannot* be deleted. Nor is it
intended for daily use. The standard security practice is to rename the
account, set a strong password on it, and use it only to create another
account for regular use, reserving the Administrator account as a "back
door" in case something corrupts your regular account(s).

Routinely using a computer with administrative privileges is not
without some risk. You will be much more susceptible to some types of
malware, particularly adware and spyware. While using a computer with
limited privileges isn't the cure-all, silver bullet that some claim it
to be, any experienced IT professional will verify that doing so
definitely reduces that amount of damage and depth of penetration by the
malware. If you get infected/infested while running as an
administrator, the odds are much greater that any malware will be
extremely difficult, if not impossible, to remove with formating the
hard drive and starting anew. The intruding malware will have the same
privileges to all of the files on your hard drive that you do.

A technically competent user who is aware of the risks and knows
how to take proper precautions can usually safely operate with
administrative privileges; I do so myself. But I certainly don't
recommend it for the average computer user.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[JoepL]

Hi, I forgot how to log on with my administrator account. I can't remember
how to get the button to show. I only get my own name. Please help.

 

[Don Phillipson]

Hi, I forgot how to log on with my administrator account. I can't remember
how to get the button to show. I only get my own name. Please help.

Have a look at / Control Panel / Users. Whatever else is
there, default installation would have given you a "Guest"
account initially configured not to show at boot. You may
be able to assign Admin rights to this account, then login
to it, then change other accounts to suit your needs.

Every user needs one Admin account in order to configure
or repair Windows, and it is a personal decision whether
your everyday account needs Admin powers or not. No
account needs a password to login, but it seems prudent that
any account with Admin powers should be protected by
a password.

 

[1PW]

Hi, I forgot how to log on with my administrator account. I can't remember
how to get the button to show. I only get my own name. Please help.

Reboot. F8; Safe Mode.

<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222>

<http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-us/help/323ef48f-7b93-4079-a48a-5c58eec904a11033.mspx>

 

[Roy Smith]

Well it depends on which version of Windows you're running. One way is
just to boot in safe mode, when you first turn on your pc, start tapping the
F8 key and select safe mode. On Windows XP Pro, you can press CTRL-ALT-DEL
twice at the log on screen to get the classic windows logon prompt, then
type in Administrator and the password.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi, I forgot how to log on with my administrator account. I can't remember
how to get the button to show. I only get my own name. Please help.

By design, the only way to log into the Administrator account of
WinXP Home is to reboot into Safe Mode. For WinXP Pro, pressing
CTRL+ALT+DEL twice at the Welcome Screen will produce the standard login
dialog box.

By the way, it's considered rather rude to hijack someone else's thread
and change the topic. In the future, please create your own thread with
a more descriptive subject line.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot