XP newbie loses Administrator

[Dave Gehman]

Just upgraded to XP - everything was fine until last reboot. I'm now logged
on as one of my users. The original logon, the default Administrator, is
nowhere to be found.

"Administrator" had all my start menu programs where I wanted them. It had
my old screen background. It had classic menus... I now have a landscape
with ?winter wheat? and a mountain in the background... none of my
carefully-arranged start menu one-clicks.

When I log off to change users, "Administrator" is not among the choices for
logging on.

How do I get "Administrator" back?

 

[Dick Cardy]

Just upgraded to XP - everything was fine until last reboot. I'm now logged
on as one of my users. The original logon, the default Administrator, is
nowhere to be found.

"Administrator" had all my start menu programs where I wanted them. It had
my old screen background. It had classic menus... I now have a landscape
with ?winter wheat? and a mountain in the background... none of my
carefully-arranged start menu one-clicks.

When I log off to change users, "Administrator" is not among the choices for
logging on.

How do I get "Administrator" back?

On XP Pro
CTRL + ALT + DEL Twice at the welcome screen and then type administrator in
the box. administrator is a 'hidden' account. I would suggest that you do
not use this for normal use, if you need admin rights setup another admin
account.

Dick

 

[Nepatsfan]

Just upgraded to XP - everything was fine until last reboot.
I'm now logged on as one of my users. The original logon,
the default Administrator, is nowhere to be found.

"Administrator" had all my start menu programs where I
wanted them. It had my old screen background. It had classic
menus... I now have a landscape with ?winter wheat? and a
mountain in the background... none of my carefully-arranged
start menu one-clicks.

When I log off to change users, "Administrator" is not among
the choices for logging on.

How do I get "Administrator" back?

Using the Administrator account on a regular basis isn't a real
good idea. You should keep that account for emergency use only.

To regain access to the built-in Administrator account, take a
look at these articles:

How to login as Administrator in Windows XP?
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/admins.htm

Enable Administrator account on Welcome Screen
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_admin_ok.htm

Show Administrator on the Welcome Screen
http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/1165/

To copy files and settings to your new account:

How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151

How do I copy a user profile in Windows XP?
http://www.petri.co.il/copy_user_profiles_in_windows_xp.htm

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Just upgraded to XP - everything was fine until last reboot. I'm now logged
on as one of my users. The original logon, the default Administrator, is
nowhere to be found.

"Administrator" had all my start menu programs where I wanted them. It had
my old screen background. It had classic menus... I now have a landscape
with ?winter wheat? and a mountain in the background... none of my
carefully-arranged start menu one-clicks.

When I log off to change users, "Administrator" is not among the choices for
logging on.

How do I get "Administrator" back?

As you've discovered, once any additional administrative user
accounts have been created, the buitl-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 isn't 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 room-mate's daily use, 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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