Missing Administrator account

[Barry]

While logged on as administrator I created another user
account. Type account limited was unavailable, I had to
make it computer administrator. I created the account and
logged out to set it up and when I did I saw that the
only account is the one I just created. How do I get that
account back. I really need the data which is encripted.
No, I didn't accidentally rename the administrator
account. Any ideas?

 

[Peter Ericson]

I believe the original Administrator account is not displayed on the
Welcome screen when another account with admin privileges exists. When
at the Welcome screen, press Ctrl + Alt + Del twice and you'll get the
traditional logon dialog where you enter the user name and password.
From there you should be able to log on to your Administrator account.

If you wish to make it visible on the Welcome screen, see these pages:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_admin_ok.htm and
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_hide_users.htm.

---Peter Ericson

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

The built-in Administrator account really isn't intended to be
used for day-to-day normal use. The standard security practice is to
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).

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

You wisest course of action would be to create another user
account for your daily use, and copy desired the files and settings
from the Administrator account to this newly created user profile.

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


Bruce Chambers

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