Changing my account from admin to limited

[JRS]

My PC was originally set up so that I logged on as admin and there were no
other accounts. I realise this is not good practice and wondered what the
best way to transfer to a limited account for every day use was. Should I
create another admin account and then limit my old account or is it better
to create a new limited account and somehow transfer all my settings which
would be a major task - the transfer wizard does not seem to work as a way
of doing this. Any advice / help / ideas appreciated.

Thanks

Jon

 

[R. McCarty]

Whatever you decide, taking a System Image 1st would be a good
idea. Are you using XP Home or Professional ?

I would suggest the following:
1.) Create a new Administrator account & Log into it one time.
This will create structures, but have little or no specific data.
2.) Create a new "Day-to-Day" account for yourself, log in one time
Make this account an Administrator level to begin with.
3.) Log in to the new Administrator account
4.) Copy the profile of your original Administrator account to the new
personal Day-to-Day account. (From System Properties)
5.) Log onto your new Day-to-Day account and verify Documents,
mail & other personal settings.
6.) Log onto the new Administrator account and demote the new
Day-to-Day account to Limited status.

After several days of use, you can remove the new Administrator account
and if desired null out the original Administrator personal data (Docs,
Settings,
and application data settings)

 

[JRS]

Whatever you decide, taking a System Image 1st would be a good
idea. Are you using XP Home or Professional ?

I would suggest the following:
1.) Create a new Administrator account & Log into it one time.
This will create structures, but have little or no specific data.
2.) Create a new "Day-to-Day" account for yourself, log in one time
Make this account an Administrator level to begin with.
3.) Log in to the new Administrator account
4.) Copy the profile of your original Administrator account to the new
personal Day-to-Day account. (From System Properties)
5.) Log onto your new Day-to-Day account and verify Documents,
mail & other personal settings.
6.) Log onto the new Administrator account and demote the new
Day-to-Day account to Limited status.

After several days of use, you can remove the new Administrator account
and if desired null out the original Administrator personal data (Docs,
Settings,
and application data settings)

I'm using XP pro,

can you give me a little more detail on how to accomplish:

"Copy the profile of your original Administrator account to the new
personal Day-to-Day account. (From System Properties)"

Thanks

Jon

 

[R. McCarty]

Sure, Right Click My Computer, Left Click Properties. From the
Details box, click "Advanced" (TAB). In the middle category, User
Profiles, click the Settings button. Single Left Click the ORIGINAL
profile you wish to copy (Select turns it blue). Click the Copy to
button. XP will bring up the Copy To browsing window. Click the
Browse button and navigate to:
C:\Documents & Settings\---'Day-to-Day'---profile name
and Click OK. You may also need to click into the "Permitted to Use"
and add the newly created username. This will clone an existing
profile to a new one.
This is a potentially hazardous process - so go slow and make sure
you get the Source/Destination correct.

 

[Steve N.]

My PC was originally set up so that I logged on as admin and there were no
other accounts. I realise this is not good practice and wondered what the
best way to transfer to a limited account for every day use was. Should I
create another admin account and then limit my old account or is it better
to create a new limited account and somehow transfer all my settings which
would be a major task - the transfer wizard does not seem to work as a way
of doing this. Any advice / help / ideas appreciated.

Thanks

Jon

You will need to create two new accounts, one will be an administrator,
the other admin or limited (your choice) which will become your new
personal account. Login to the new personal account once (necessary to
create the user folder structure to copy to), logout and login as the
other new admin account. Open My Computer, from the menu bar click
Tools, select Folder options, View Tab, set to view hidden files and
folders. Right click My Computer, select Properties, select User
profiles tab, select your original admin account and click Copy to
button, browse to C:\Documents and Settings\[new user] (your new
personal account you logged into before), and click copy, confirm. Login
into your new perosnal account and you should have all the settings,
desktop and documents from the original admin account.

Steve N.