User accounts - administrator

G

Guest

Hi, I'm new to windows XP. I have now set up user accounts on my computer for
my family members and myself. For the first few days (before i set up the
user accounts) i used the administrator account. When i set up the new ones
the original administrator acc dissapeared. Now i can't find all the saved
info that was on the (system) administrator acc, emails and files etc. Is
there a way to get the original administrator account back???

Thanks.
 
P

Pegasus \(MVP\)

Brian said:
Hi, I'm new to windows XP. I have now set up user accounts on my computer for
my family members and myself. For the first few days (before i set up the
user accounts) i used the administrator account. When i set up the new ones
the original administrator acc dissapeared. Now i can't find all the saved
info that was on the (system) administrator acc, emails and files etc. Is
there a way to get the original administrator account back???

Thanks.

It's still there! Depending on which version of Windows you have,
press Ctrl+Alt+Del twice in sequence when logging on or reboot
in Safe Mode, then have a look under c:\Documents and
Settings\Administrator.
 
G

Guest

Thanks for that, I found it. Cheers

Pegasus (MVP) said:
It's still there! Depending on which version of Windows you have,
press Ctrl+Alt+Del twice in sequence when logging on or reboot
in Safe Mode, then have a look under c:\Documents and
Settings\Administrator.
 
B

Bruce Chambers

Brian said:
Hi, I'm new to windows XP. I have now set up user accounts on my computer for
my family members and myself. For the first few days (before i set up the
user accounts) i used the administrator account. When i set up the new ones
the original administrator acc dissapeared. Now i can't find all the saved
info that was on the (system) administrator acc, emails and files etc. Is
there a way to get the original administrator account back???

Thanks.


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

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