User Accounts

[newbie]

In my computer I am having one Administrator account , one limited account
and visitors account. (created in place of guest account). Now I find that
even from limited account and visitors account I can access files created in
Administrators account via c:\documents and settings. As I would like to
keep my documents in Administrators account private, is there any way to set
up files in my document so that accept administrator, no one else can have
access to my documents.
TIA.

 

[Tony Norman]

First, make sure that the other accounts are limited.
Second, in the administrator account, log on, change the password (you can
change it to the same thing if need be) then there should be a screen asking
if you want to make its files and folders private. Click YES.

 

[newbie]

I did as advised by you, but their was no screen asking me to make my files
and folders private. Mine is windows xp without sp2.
What should I do now?
TIA.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

In my computer I am having one Administrator account , one limited account
and visitors account. (created in place of guest account). Now I find that
even from limited account and visitors account I can access files created in
Administrators account via c:\documents and settings. As I would like to
keep my documents in Administrators account private, is there any way to set
up files in my document so that accept administrator, no one else can have
access to my documents.
TIA.

HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783

HOW TO Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q308418

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

In my computer I am having one Administrator account , one limited account
and visitors account. (created in place of guest account). Now I find that
even from limited account and visitors account I can access files created in
Administrators account via c:\documents and settings. As I would like to
keep my documents in Administrators account private, is there any way to set
up files in my document so that accept administrator, no one else can have
access to my documents.
TIA.

Under normal circumstances, you can safely convert the partition to
NTFS whenever desired, without having to format the partition and
reinstall everything. As always when performing any serious changes,
back up any important data before proceeding, just in case. A little
advance preparation is also strongly recommended, so you can avoid any
performance hits caused by the default cluster size:

Converting FAT32 to NTFS in Windows
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm

Once you've converted to a securable file system:

HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783

HOW TO Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q308418

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[newbie]

HI Bruce,
What you are telling me is, if I am using FAT32, there is no way, I can keep
My folders and file private, even in administrators account, from other
limited users of same computers. That means as far as FAT32 is concerned
there is no privacy between administrator and limited account. Right?
Regards.

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

HI Bruce,
What you are telling me is, if I am using FAT32, there is no way, I
can keep My folders and file private, even in administrators account,
from other limited users of same computers. That means as far as
FAT32 is concerned there is no privacy between administrator and
limited account. Right? Regards.

Right.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
http://defendingyourmachine.blogspot.com/

 

[newbie]

Right.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
http://defendingyourmachine.blogspot.com/

That means only alternative is to convert to NTFS. Right.
Thanks.

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

That means only alternative is to convert to NTFS. Right.
Thanks.

That's just one of the reasons to use NTFS.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
http://defendingyourmachine.blogspot.com/

 

[Bruce Chambers]

HI Bruce,
What you are telling me is, if I am using FAT32, there is no way, I can keep
My folders and file private, even in administrators account, from other
limited users of same computers.

Well, there's no way using WinXP's native tools. I suppose that you
could purchase and install some sort of 3rd party encryption solution.
A cumbersome method, at best, and on fraught with peril, should you
lose/forget your password(s).

That means as far as FAT32 is concerned
there is no privacy between administrator and limited account. Right?

Right, The FAT32 file system has *NO* security capabilities.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

That means only alternative is to convert to NTFS. Right.
Thanks.

Personally, I wouldn't even consider using FAT32 when NTFS is an
option. FAT32 has no security capabilities, no compression
capabilities, no fault tolerance, and a lot of wasted hard drive space
on volumes larger than 8 Gb in size. But your computing needs may
vary, and there is no hard and fast answer.

To answer your questions without getting too technical is
difficult, but has been handled quite well by Alex Nichol in the
article here:

FAT & NTFS File Systems in Windows XP
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfs.htm

Somewhat more technical information is here:

Limitations of the FAT32 File System in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=kb;en-us;Q314463

Choosing Between File Systems
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...prodtechnol/winntas/tips/techrep/filesyst.asp

NTFS file system
http://www.digit-life.com/articles/ntfs/

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH