Administrator user become hidden

[Temple Farm]

Re: Windows XP Professional

The administrator user account and guest were the only user accounts set up. I added onother user account with administrator rights. Having switched off and then on again, the original administrator user account has become hidden and I can only get at it by going into safe mode with F8 when booting. It suggests that you can delete other user accounts but when in tge administrator user, I cannot see any way of deleting the newly set up user. There are so many things already set up on the original administrator account, so I want to get it back as the only user apart from guest. Is this possible, and how? Thanks

 

Julie

[Match]

Hi Temple

 

Believe it or not I did this yesterday or the day before (Been to sleep since then) and got out of it by doing a system restore to a point before I set up the second Admin account.

 

but I'm sure there has to be an easier way so I'll be watching this thread as the guys here are really good.

[Temple Farm]

System Restore

 

No joy elsewhere, how do you do a system restore and will everything still work as it did up to restore date?

 

Julie

[BeeCeeBee]

Julie I think you are getting this slightly wrong. The account named "Administrator" is supposed to be available only through safemode by design. It should not appear as a user on a the XP welcome screen or log in screen. You can create your own account either as an administrator or a limited user. You also need not show the guest account.

I am a bit confused as to what exactly you are trying to accomplish.

[Temple Farm]

Used Administrator user in error

 

The administrator user account was used in error instead of creating another user account, but I need to be able to delete the newly created user account so that administrator is the only one left so it appear after boot up.

 

Julie

[BeeCeeBee]

In XP the account named administrator is for safe mode. Just delete all accounts and create one account for yourself as administrator. Just name it Julie and it will appear when you log in above the guest account if you are keeping that.

[Match]

Hi

 

No Beeceebee if the Administration account isn't set it stay's on top and acts as a user account, so for the unknowing you put all your settings and everything into it and then you open a second account and give it admin properties, the first account disappears, leaving you with a brand new account with no custom settings.

 

This caused me problems when I came to set up a Vista XP network as vista wont let you put administator in as a file user so you have to get round it by using the default 'everyone' user account

 

but anyway if you want to do a system restore the link to microsoft how to is here

[BeeCeeBee]

The administrator user account and guest were the only user accounts set up. I added onother user account with administrator rights.

 

Lets not get lost in semantics here please. The fact is a new account was established and the "administrator" account "disappeared" into safemode. This is most assuredly by design. It is for that reason that upon the initial boot the user is prompted to set up one or more accounts. If that process is followed you then add your custom settings into that account.

 

You are suggesting that there is a way around that and that is true. However it serves no purpose and removes a basic safety feature, that being an unused administrator account available through safemode.

[BeeCeeBee]

If you really feel it is to great a burden to recreate your settings in the named account you can follow the procedure outlined here and still retain your administrator account in safe mode.

Do not be put off by the title the account need not be corrupted in order for this to work.

How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile in Windows XP

[Match]

beeceebee I couldn't agree more, and didn't realise till a couple of days ago that it was possible, I always assumed that when you changed the name on the administrator account after first installing that, that was what you was doing.

 

however it would now appear that you don't actually change the name but open another secondary administrator account and the first one disappears only accessible from 'safemode'

 

and if you bypass this step because your the only user and don't see the point then it would appear that it causes problems further down the line. and when your friends jumping up and down having a fit because they think that you just lost all there settings a quick system restore and explanation of someone set-up your XP wrong, has to be given.

 

if anyone can explain this better then I would be grateful

[Tootech]

Match,

 

I'm not sure this is right

 

No Beeceebee if the Administration account isn't set it stay's on top and acts as a user account

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but when you install XP Professional, you are asked

 

1) to set a password for THE Administrator account - that is optional, and

 

2) setup a USER account, which is a 'Computer Administrator'

 

So far, so good....THE Administrator account IS normally only available in Safe Mode.

 

I don't see how you can setup XP Pro without settting up a user account - perhaps I'll have to go and try it.

 

 

I'm confused :confused:

[Match]

Its been a long time since I installed XP and its not a problem I hit with my installations

 

what happened is I was networking a XP pc to a Vista pc and when I came to set the access permissions on the vista machine the XP Machine was logged in as administrator which vista won't accept in its files sharing permissions.

 

so I changed the account name from administrator to the persons name and their settings disappeared and left me with a new blank administrator account and an irate friend

 

now I'm assuming that steps 1 and 2 that you mention and I remember being there have been missed out. and when I changed the name I completed step 2, same as what temple's done.