Administrator Account

Windows XP is supposed to prevent the following from happening LOL!!
Owing to someone 'having a fiddle' I as the computer's main user and
administrator, find my settings have been set to 'Limited Account' which
means effectively no-one is authorised to install/uninstall, change anything.
I cannot access anywhere to obtain help, and the 'Help & Support function
tells me that this cannot happen, as Windows XP will not allow PC to be left
without and administrators account. I am really snookered and cannot access
many functions of my computer. Won't allow me to create another account
either. Anyone know the magic formula???

Natalie wrote:
Windows XP is supposed to prevent the following from happening LOL!!
Owing to someone 'having a fiddle' I as the computer's main user
and administrator, find my settings have been set to 'Limited
Account' which means effectively no-one is authorised to
install/uninstall, change anything. I cannot access anywhere to
obtain help, and the 'Help & Support function tells me that this
cannot happen, as Windows XP will not allow PC to be left without
and administrators account. I am really snookered and cannot
access many functions of my computer. Won't allow me to create
another account either. Anyone know the magic formula???

As you obviously weren't the user called "administrator", I would suggest
the following..

If Windows XP Professional.. Reboot and if you have a "welcome screen"
logon - press CTRL+ALT+DEL twice there and log in with the username
"administrator" and if you know the password for that user - use it - if
not - try logging in without a password.

If Windows XP Home Edition.. Reboot the computer into safe mode and logon
as the user "administrator" and if you know the password for that user - use
it - if not - try logging in without a password.

If you do not know the user's ("administrator") password - you can try
hacking it:

Hack your password:
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

Once in - that use has all the rights an abilities you need to fix your
other users.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Natalie wrote:
Windows XP is supposed to prevent the following from happening LOL!!
Owing to someone 'having a fiddle' I as the computer's main user and
administrator, find my settings have been set to 'Limited Account' which
means effectively no-one is authorised to install/uninstall, change anything.
I cannot access anywhere to obtain help, and the 'Help & Support function
tells me that this cannot happen, as Windows XP will not allow PC to be left
without and administrators account. I am really snookered and cannot access
many functions of my computer. Won't allow me to create another account
either. Anyone know the magic formula???


Had you failed to set a strong password on the built-in Administrator
account? If not, your "someone" probably just took advantage of your
having left this "back door" wide open. And even if you had set a
strong password, without physical security, there is *no* security.
Given access to a computer and a little time, any semi-knowledgeable
individual can gain access to the full contents of the hard drive.
Linux-based password cracking utilities abound on the Internet, freely
available to anyone who can use Google. One needs only know how to find
Google's search site to gain knowledge of, and access to, these programs.

Simply log in using the built-in Administrator account (which
cannot be deleted) and modify the desired account(s) and use Start Run
"control userpasswords2" to modify the desired account(s). 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.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Hi Thanks for your help, but Browser will not allow me access to that
website???
Natalie

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

Natalie wrote:
Windows XP is supposed to prevent the following from happening LOL!!
Owing to someone 'having a fiddle' I as the computer's main user
and administrator, find my settings have been set to 'Limited
Account' which means effectively no-one is authorised to
install/uninstall, change anything. I cannot access anywhere to
obtain help, and the 'Help & Support function tells me that this
cannot happen, as Windows XP will not allow PC to be left without
and administrators account. I am really snookered and cannot
access many functions of my computer. Won't allow me to create
another account either. Anyone know the magic formula???

As you obviously weren't the user called "administrator", I would suggest
the following..

If Windows XP Professional.. Reboot and if you have a "welcome screen"
logon - press CTRL+ALT+DEL twice there and log in with the username
"administrator" and if you know the password for that user - use it - if
not - try logging in without a password.

If Windows XP Home Edition.. Reboot the computer into safe mode and logon
as the user "administrator" and if you know the password for that user - use
it - if not - try logging in without a password.

If you do not know the user's ("administrator") password - you can try
hacking it:

Hack your password:
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

Once in - that use has all the rights an abilities you need to fix your
other users.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Sorry, but the Administrators account HAS been deleted. XP H.E. allows me to
log on without password, limited account only, no Admin privileges.
Absolutely gutted and frustrated
Natalie

"Bruce Chambers" wrote:

Natalie wrote:
Windows XP is supposed to prevent the following from happening LOL!!
Owing to someone 'having a fiddle' I as the computer's main user and
administrator, find my settings have been set to 'Limited Account' which
means effectively no-one is authorised to install/uninstall, change anything.
I cannot access anywhere to obtain help, and the 'Help & Support function
tells me that this cannot happen, as Windows XP will not allow PC to be left
without and administrators account. I am really snookered and cannot access
many functions of my computer. Won't allow me to create another account
either. Anyone know the magic formula???


Had you failed to set a strong password on the built-in Administrator
account? If not, your "someone" probably just took advantage of your
having left this "back door" wide open. And even if you had set a
strong password, without physical security, there is *no* security.
Given access to a computer and a little time, any semi-knowledgeable
individual can gain access to the full contents of the hard drive.
Linux-based password cracking utilities abound on the Internet, freely
available to anyone who can use Google. One needs only know how to find
Google's search site to gain knowledge of, and access to, these programs.

Simply log in using the built-in Administrator account (which
cannot be deleted) and modify the desired account(s) and use Start Run
"control userpasswords2" to modify the desired account(s). 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.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Natalie wrote:
Sorry, but the Administrators account HAS been deleted. XP H.E.
allows me to log on without password, limited account only, no
Admin privileges. Absolutely gutted and frustrated

Impossible.
Boot to Safe Mode and log in by typing in the username: Administrator
Leave the password field blank.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Natalie wrote:
Sorry, but the Administrators account HAS been deleted.


Sorry, but that simply *cannot* be done.



\

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Extremely unlikely. From the command prompt [enter cmd.exe in run box and
then hit OK] run the command net users [press enter when done typing the
commands], then the command net user administrator, and then command net
localgroup administrators. Copy and paste the results here in a reply [right
click and choose select all, then enter, and then use edit/paste to paste in
a reply] . Below is an example of the output of the net localgroup
administrators command. --- Steve

D:\Documents and Settings\Stevenet localgroup administrators
Alias name administrators
Comment Administrators have complete and unrestricted access to the
compu
ter/domain

Members

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Administrator
Steve
The command completed successfully.


"Natalie" wrote in message
...
Sorry, but the Administrators account HAS been deleted. XP H.E. allows me
to
log on without password, limited account only, no Admin privileges.
Absolutely gutted and frustrated
Natalie

"Bruce Chambers" wrote:

Natalie wrote:
Windows XP is supposed to prevent the following from happening LOL!!
Owing to someone 'having a fiddle' I as the computer's main user and
administrator, find my settings have been set to 'Limited Account'
which
means effectively no-one is authorised to install/uninstall, change
anything.
I cannot access anywhere to obtain help, and the 'Help & Support
function
tells me that this cannot happen, as Windows XP will not allow PC to be
left
without and administrators account. I am really snookered and cannot
access
many functions of my computer. Won't allow me to create another
account
either. Anyone know the magic formula???


Had you failed to set a strong password on the built-in Administrator
account? If not, your "someone" probably just took advantage of your
having left this "back door" wide open. And even if you had set a
strong password, without physical security, there is *no* security.
Given access to a computer and a little time, any semi-knowledgeable
individual can gain access to the full contents of the hard drive.
Linux-based password cracking utilities abound on the Internet, freely
available to anyone who can use Google. One needs only know how to find
Google's search site to gain knowledge of, and access to, these programs.

Simply log in using the built-in Administrator account (which
cannot be deleted) and modify the desired account(s) and use Start Run
"control userpasswords2" to modify the desired account(s). 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.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

OK Bruce, much as I would love to believe you, it HAS been deleted and/or, I
am totally unable to retrieve it. I think the only thing I can do in utter
desperation, is to re-formatt the hard drive and reinstall.
I am in the UK, and am searching around for someone with a magic spell
Regards Natalie

"Bruce Chambers" wrote:

Natalie wrote:
Sorry, but the Administrators account HAS been deleted.


Sorry, but that simply *cannot* be done.



\

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Natalie wrote:
Hi Thanks for your help, but Browser will not allow me access to
that website???

Find a friend who can download and make the bootable disk for you.
Have them print the web page too.

Change your BIOS (hardware bios) to boot from that media first.. Insert it,
turn off your PC, turn on your PC and go.

Your adminstrator user exists. You may have to be in Safe Mode to log onto
it (since you have Home Edition - you cannot log into it in regular mode)
and you havew to know the password. The users name is "administrator" by
default - it is different than your other users. You can reset the password
using the disk above.

Otherwise - have a friend of yours create an Ultimate Boot CD.. I would have
them make you both versions.. The *nix and the Windows one and see what you
can do booting from those.

http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/
and
http://www.ubcd4win.com/

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Natalie wrote:
OK Bruce, much as I would love to believe you, it HAS been deleted and/or, I
am totally unable to retrieve it. I think the only thing I can do in utter
desperation, is to re-formatt the hard drive and reinstall.
I am in the UK, and am searching around for someone with a magic spell


Have you even tried to reboot into Safe Mode? While the built-in
Administrator account cannot be deleted, it can be renamed. In Safe
Mode, the built-in administrator account -- whatever it's now named --
will appear on the Welcome Screen.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Thanks Guys for your tremendous help! I am now back in charge of my own
computer. You were right the Administrator's account WAS still there, but my
limited account problem would not allow me to see it. Eventually got in via
safe mode which was such a relief, as I really thought I'd wind up losing
heaps of my degree work if I wasn't careful.
Natalie

"Natalie" wrote:

Hi Thanks for your help, but Browser will not allow me access to that
website???
Natalie

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

Natalie wrote:
Windows XP is supposed to prevent the following from happening LOL!!
Owing to someone 'having a fiddle' I as the computer's main user
and administrator, find my settings have been set to 'Limited
Account' which means effectively no-one is authorised to
install/uninstall, change anything. I cannot access anywhere to
obtain help, and the 'Help & Support function tells me that this
cannot happen, as Windows XP will not allow PC to be left without
and administrators account. I am really snookered and cannot
access many functions of my computer. Won't allow me to create
another account either. Anyone know the magic formula???

As you obviously weren't the user called "administrator", I would suggest
the following..

If Windows XP Professional.. Reboot and if you have a "welcome screen"
logon - press CTRL+ALT+DEL twice there and log in with the username
"administrator" and if you know the password for that user - use it - if
not - try logging in without a password.

If Windows XP Home Edition.. Reboot the computer into safe mode and logon
as the user "administrator" and if you know the password for that user - use
it - if not - try logging in without a password.

If you do not know the user's ("administrator") password - you can try
hacking it:

Hack your password:
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

Once in - that use has all the rights an abilities you need to fix your
other users.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Natalie wrote:

Thanks Guys for your tremendous help! I am now back in charge of my
own
computer. You were right the Administrator's account WAS still there,
but my
limited account problem would not allow me to see it. Eventually got
in via safe mode which was such a relief, as I really thought I'd wind
up losing heaps of my degree work if I wasn't careful.
Natalie

That's excellent, Natalie. Now back up your data because Stuff Happens.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...tml#Backing_Up

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Glad you got your problem resolved. For future reference it is possible to
recover non encrypted data if a user or administrator can not logon to the
computer. The computer hard drive can be placed in another computer, a
parallel install of the operating system can be done, or the computer can be
booted from an operating system that can boot from the CD/DVD drive for data
recovery. --- Steve


"Natalie" wrote in message
...
Thanks Guys for your tremendous help! I am now back in charge of my own
computer. You were right the Administrator's account WAS still there, but
my
limited account problem would not allow me to see it. Eventually got in
via
safe mode which was such a relief, as I really thought I'd wind up losing
heaps of my degree work if I wasn't careful.
Natalie

"Natalie" wrote:

Hi Thanks for your help, but Browser will not allow me access to that
website???
Natalie

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

Natalie wrote:
Windows XP is supposed to prevent the following from happening LOL!!
Owing to someone 'having a fiddle' I as the computer's main user
and administrator, find my settings have been set to 'Limited
Account' which means effectively no-one is authorised to
install/uninstall, change anything. I cannot access anywhere to
obtain help, and the 'Help & Support function tells me that this
cannot happen, as Windows XP will not allow PC to be left without
and administrators account. I am really snookered and cannot
access many functions of my computer. Won't allow me to create
another account either. Anyone know the magic formula???

As you obviously weren't the user called "administrator", I would
suggest
the following..

If Windows XP Professional.. Reboot and if you have a "welcome screen"
logon - press CTRL+ALT+DEL twice there and log in with the username
"administrator" and if you know the password for that user - use it -
if
not - try logging in without a password.

If Windows XP Home Edition.. Reboot the computer into safe mode and
logon
as the user "administrator" and if you know the password for that
user - use
it - if not - try logging in without a password.

If you do not know the user's ("administrator") password - you can try
hacking it:

Hack your password:
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

Once in - that use has all the rights an abilities you need to fix your
other users.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

Natalie wrote:
Windows XP is supposed to prevent the following from happening LOL!!
Owing to someone 'having a fiddle' I as the computer's main user
and administrator, find my settings have been set to 'Limited
Account' which means effectively no-one is authorised to
install/uninstall, change anything. I cannot access anywhere to
obtain help, and the 'Help & Support function tells me that this
cannot happen, as Windows XP will not allow PC to be left without
and administrators account. I am really snookered and cannot
access many functions of my computer. Won't allow me to create
another account either. Anyone know the magic formula???

As you obviously weren't the user called "administrator", I would suggest
the following..

If Windows XP Professional.. Reboot and if you have a "welcome screen"
logon - press CTRL+ALT+DEL twice there and log in with the username
"administrator" and if you know the password for that user - use it - if
not - try logging in without a password.

If Windows XP Home Edition.. Reboot the computer into safe mode and logon
as the user "administrator" and if you know the password for that user - use
it - if not - try logging in without a password.

If you do not know the user's ("administrator") password - you can try
hacking it:

Hack your password:
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

Once in - that use has all the rights an abilities you need to fix your
other users.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html


I have the same problem as Natalie. I deleted the Administrator Account by
mistake and my laptop has Windows XP home edition. HOW DO I BOOT IN SAFE MODE
AS DIRECTED ABOVE? WHAT IS THIS SAFE MODE? CAN SOMEONE TELL ME???