Cant Access "Administrator" User Account

[Guest]

From day one I have been the only user on my laptop and signed on as
"Administrator" The other day my son decided to create his own user account
with administrator rights (Sam) now, when I start the machine I only get
options to log on to Sam or Guest, no way to get into Administrator.

If I start up in safe mode then the option is there and my profile is as it
should be, documents, emails etc etc.

How can I get back the "Administrator" account?

I have tried system restore and it doesnt help!

Thanks
Rob

 

[Guest]

Is it the Built in Administrator account? If so, at the welcome screen press
Ctrl+Alt+Del twice, that should take you to the account

Hope this helps

 

[neil]

I assume this is XP home but you may get a similar condition with Pro. You
should have created your own account with admin rights when you started
using the laptop because the built in administrator account is there as a
"safety net" and on home edition can only be accessed from safemode after a
named account is created.
You can get your son to create an account under your name and then logon
using that account and copy your files over from the administrator account
(my documents) but you will need to setup your emails and setting manually.
You could go into safemode and logon as admin & do it yourself. I would
recommend using the administrator account for normal access though if it
gets corrupted you may have to reformat your machine.
Neil

 

[Gordon]

From day one I have been the only user on my laptop and signed on as
"Administrator"

Please be aware that it is VERY BAD PRACTICE to use the built-in
Administrator account on a day-to-day basis and as your only account on the
computer. If the account gets corrupted, as it may well do, then your ONLY
way into the machine is by doing a repair install of XP. set up a User
account and give that Admin rights for daily use, leaving the built-in
Administrator account for emergency access only.

 

[neil]

recommend using the administrator account for normal access though if it
gets corrupted you may have to reformat your machine.

Sorry I mistyped a very important part of my post and I should have said "I
would NOT recommend using the administrator account for normal access"

Sorry about that.
Neil

 

[Bruce Chambers]

From day one I have been the only user on my laptop and signed on as
"Administrator" The other day my son decided to create his own user account
with administrator rights (Sam) now, when I start the machine I only get
options to log on to Sam or Guest, no way to get into Administrator.

If I start up in safe mode then the option is there and my profile is as it
should be, documents, emails etc etc.

How can I get back the "Administrator" account?

I have tried system restore and it doesnt help!

Thanks
Rob

As you've discovered, once any additional user accounts have been
created, the built-in Administrator account will no longer be displayed
on the Welcome Screen. This is a default security feature.

The built-in Administrator account really was never intended to be
used for day-to-day normal 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).

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.

A wiser course of action would be to create another user account
for your daily use (as you've done), and copy desired the files and
settings from the Administrator account to this newly created user profile.

HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783

How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151


--

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

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