how manage the admin account on xp home edition

  • Thread starter Thread starter djc
  • Start date Start date
D

djc

I am working on a machine for a relative that has xp home edition. Her
account is an administrator account but by habit I wanted to log on as 'the'
local administrator account. I know in xp you can hit ctrl+alt+del and then
log in as administrator so I did that on this machine and tried a blank
password.. I figured that would do it since this is a preinstall from
dell... I got a message the the policy would not allow me to log in. Note it
did not say the username or password were incorrect.. anyway, I noticed the
familiar user manager was not there as it is in xp pro. I wanted to reset
the password on the admin account to verify the failure to log in was not
due to a bad password. So, then, since thats not an option how do I get the
administrator account to show up in the control panel's user section? I want
to reset the password for the local administrator account. AND, assuming
that does not fix the issue how do I change whatever is preventing me from
logging on as the local administrator? I did not see the familiar 'local
security policy' as I do in xp pro. Obviously I don't use home edition much.

any info is greatly appreciated.
 
You need to use the Machine's hidden admin account. To do this in Home
Edition, you need to log into Safe Mode as the machine admin. Usually, you
will see a user at Safe Mode designated as Administrator, that's the hidden
account, select it, leave the password blank and press enter. On machines
that came with XP factory installed, they usually don't create a password
for this account and most users who install XP don't either...though they
should. Nonetheless, leaving it blank should get you in and allow you to do
as you wish.
 
will do. Thank you.

Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User) said:
You need to use the Machine's hidden admin account. To do this in Home
Edition, you need to log into Safe Mode as the machine admin. Usually, you
will see a user at Safe Mode designated as Administrator, that's the hidden
account, select it, leave the password blank and press enter. On machines
that came with XP factory installed, they usually don't create a password
for this account and most users who install XP don't either...though they
should. Nonetheless, leaving it blank should get you in and allow you to do
as you wish.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/
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