only windows administrator hidden

[Guest]

My husband got a used computer. He set up himself as a computer
administrator and then added an account for me. He also made me a computer
administrator. My account was not showing up on the welcome screen. In the
process of trying to fix this, I made his account limited. Now I can't get
into anywhere I need to in order to make my account log on appear on the
welcome screen.

When he poked around in the files he saw the person he bought the computer
from is still listed as an administrator (his logon is hidden too). Husband
got to the area where we could log on as him (to change husband's account
back to computer administrator and delete the prior owner's account).
Unfortunately, the prior owner's account is password protected and we don't
know the password! Grrrrrr!

How can I get into somewhere to change husband back to an admin, or recover
my account (I never deleted it, but it still doesn't show on the welcome
screen) so I can fix this? (I found directions on here for a work around to
make all the accounts show up on the welcome screen but can't edit the
registry on a limited user account.)

Thanks,
Cheryl

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

My husband got a used computer. He set up himself as a computer
administrator and then added an account for me. He also made me a computer
administrator. My account was not showing up on the welcome screen. In the
process of trying to fix this, I made his account limited. Now I can't get
into anywhere I need to in order to make my account log on appear on the
welcome screen.

When he poked around in the files he saw the person he bought the computer
from is still listed as an administrator (his logon is hidden too). Husband
got to the area where we could log on as him (to change husband's account
back to computer administrator and delete the prior owner's account).
Unfortunately, the prior owner's account is password protected and we don't
know the password! Grrrrrr!

How can I get into somewhere to change husband back to an admin, or recover
my account (I never deleted it, but it still doesn't show on the welcome
screen) so I can fix this? (I found directions on here for a work around to
make all the accounts show up on the welcome screen but can't edit the
registry on a limited user account.)

Thanks,
Cheryl

This is equivalent to buying a car without getting all the keys . . .

Have a look here about making user names visible/invisible:
http://www.windows-help.net/WindowsXP/tune-10.html

And here is a boot diskette to reset the administrator's password:
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

When finished, plan ahead and create a second admin
account. It's the same as with your car: You would never
drive one without having at least two sets of keys, would you?

 

[Rock]

"craff1"wrote

My husband got a used computer. He set up himself as a computer
administrator and then added an account for me. He also made me a
computer
administrator. My account was not showing up on the welcome screen. In
the
process of trying to fix this, I made his account limited. Now I can't
get
into anywhere I need to in order to make my account log on appear on the
welcome screen.

When he poked around in the files he saw the person he bought the computer
from is still listed as an administrator (his logon is hidden too).
Husband
got to the area where we could log on as him (to change husband's account
back to computer administrator and delete the prior owner's account).
Unfortunately, the prior owner's account is password protected and we
don't
know the password! Grrrrrr!

How can I get into somewhere to change husband back to an admin, or
recover
my account (I never deleted it, but it still doesn't show on the welcome
screen) so I can fix this? (I found directions on here for a work around
to
make all the accounts show up on the welcome screen but can't edit the
registry on a limited user account.)

Let me add this suggestion to the mix for once you get the account/login
problems sorted out. Whenever getting a used computer from someone, it is a
good idea to do a clean install of the operating system and applications.
That way you don't inherit any of the functional problems, malware, and
other nasties such as child porn. Here is a link on how to do this.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[Rock]

Boot to safe mode, login with the built-in administrator account, and
repair your two user accounts (delete and re-create them).

It's only for XP Home that you need to boot into safe mode to access the
built in Administrator account. For XP Pro at the welcome screen do
ctrl-alt-del twice to bring up the login dialog box, enter Administrator for
the user name and the assigned password. For XP Home normally no password
is set for the Administrator account. For XP Pro one normally is, and that
was probably set by the original owner, so the OP proably doesn't know it,
in which case they need to use the utility Pegasus gave for resetting it.

 

[Guest]

Thank you all so much for your help! I knew I'd get an answer here! I'll
now try to follow your advice and see if I have any luck!

Cheryl

 

[Andrew Murray]

Boot to safe mode, login with the built-in administrator account, and repair
your two user accounts (delete and re-create them).

 

[Bruce Chambers]

My husband got a used computer. He set up himself as a computer
administrator and then added an account for me. He also made me a computer
administrator. My account was not showing up on the welcome screen. In the
process of trying to fix this, I made his account limited. Now I can't get
into anywhere I need to in order to make my account log on appear on the
welcome screen.

When he poked around in the files he saw the person he bought the computer
from is still listed as an administrator (his logon is hidden too). Husband
got to the area where we could log on as him (to change husband's account
back to computer administrator and delete the prior owner's account).
Unfortunately, the prior owner's account is password protected and we don't
know the password! Grrrrrr!

How can I get into somewhere to change husband back to an admin, or recover
my account (I never deleted it, but it still doesn't show on the welcome
screen) so I can fix this? (I found directions on here for a work around to
make all the accounts show up on the welcome screen but can't edit the
registry on a limited user account.)

Thanks,
Cheryl

With second-hand computers, especially if acquired from strangers
but perhaps even if acquired from a family member or friend, your wisest
course of action would definitely be to format the hard drives and start
fresh. You don't want to get in trouble because the original owner may
have filled the hard drive with kiddie porn, or have problems because
the original owner downloaded/installed viruses or other malware.

As you've discovered, once any additional administrative 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. 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.

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).

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