Restricted Administrator

[Guest]

I have thre users in my machine:
Administrator
Power User
Visitor

Somehow the Administrator cannot edit the registry. Every
time I try to edit the registy while signed on as the
Adminstrator I get a "Registry editing has been disabled
by the Administrator" message. However I can edit the
registry while logged on as the Power User. I have
searched all the Group Policies but cannot find the entry
to enable Registry editing. Also, If the administrator is
restricted from editing the registry, wouldn't all other
users be restricted as well? I'm running XP professional
on a stand alone workstation. Similarly I cannot make any
changes using while using Doug Knox's Security Console
while signed on as the Administrator.

 

[Torgeir Bakken \(MVP\)]

I have thre users in my machine:
Administrator
Power User
Visitor

Somehow the Administrator cannot edit the registry. Every
time I try to edit the registy while signed on as the
Adminstrator I get a "Registry editing has been disabled
by the Administrator" message. However I can edit the
registry while logged on as the Power User. I have
searched all the Group Policies but cannot find the entry
to enable Registry editing. Also, If the administrator is
restricted from editing the registry, wouldn't all other
users be restricted as well? I'm running XP professional
on a stand alone workstation. Similarly I cannot make any
changes using while using Doug Knox's Security Console
while signed on as the Administrator.

Hi

This might be the work of the Swen worm or something similar
(it could be from some spyware or parasite as well).

To try to solve your problem, do the following:

Copy and paste the URL address lines into your IE address bar:

http://www.dougknox.com

In the menu, select Security, Disable/Enable Registry Editing Tools.

This small VB Script will remove this restriction. If the first time the
script is run it says "Disabled", run it again to enable registry edits again.


To try to find what has caused this:

Run a cleanup tool, e.g. Stinger.exe from McAfee, it removes 30+
virus/worms in one sweep.

McAfee AVERT Stinger
http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/

Be sure to run an updated Antivirus program at all times.


For the Spyware and Parasites part, you will need to run other tools:

Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

The Parasite Fight Quick Fix Protocol
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm