Why am I an Administrator?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joe Bloggs
  • Start date Start date
J

Joe Bloggs

I upgraded from ME, and am totally confused by user
accounts and so on. All my previous My Documents stuff
has ended up in "Documents and Settings\default". Under
that, I have "Joe Bloggs's Documents".

Question is: why is my %USERPROFILE% set to "Documents
and Settings\default"? I don't want to be "default", I
want to be Joe Bloggs like any other user account I
create. Sure, I want the ability to log on as an
Adminstrator if needs be, but for normal use I don't want
to have the ability to screw things up just like any
other user. For normal use, I don't want special
privileges.

In the Control Panel user accounts facility, the only
accounts I can see are Joe Bloggs (me), Jan Bloggs (my
wife, set up after upgrade), and Guest. Jan Bloggs
exists under "Documents and Settings", and I want
equality: I want Joe Bloggs there too.

I have looked on the web a bit, and have
discovered "control userpasswords2" from Start->Run.
This shows up some "hidden" acccounts as well as the ones
I know of:

Administrator (Group: Administrators)
default (Group: Administrators)
Guest (Group: Guests)
Jan Bloggs (Group: Users)

Some more questions: How did I end up as "default", how
do I get my identity back as a normal User (with all my
documents etc in the right place), how do I get rid
of "default" (all the default document under Documents
and Settings) and why are there two Adminstrators? How
do I access the first account, Adminstrator? Is there a
password?

Thanks for any help!

Joe
 
beiing the administrator gives you all rights to your
machine, since you own the machine and are the only user,
you are automatically the administrator.
Windows XP has a different way of saving your files,
called a profile. In fact it's about the same as it used
to be under Windows NT. Sorry that you are used to the
way it was in W98....take a little time to get used to
Windows XP, I guarantee that you will never look back to
your old W98 !
 
I'm quite happy with the concept under XP. I'm not the
only user -- see my post. The question related to
various things to do with the "default" user profile;
please refer to original post.

Thanks!

Joe
 
JR said:
beiing the administrator gives you all rights to your
machine, since you own the machine and are the only user,
you are automatically the administrator.
Windows XP has a different way of saving your files,
called a profile. In fact it's about the same as it used
to be under Windows NT. Sorry that you are used to the
way it was in W98....take a little time to get used to
Windows XP, I guarantee that you will never look back to
your old W98 !
Click to expand...

Using the main admin user for day-to-day use is incredibly foolish - if you
screw something up, then you have to reinstall Windows completely, rather
than just logging into the main admin user to repair the damage. I strongly
recommend a limited account for day-to-day use, using the main admin login
for emergencies only.

But, having said that, it's /your/ computer...
 
Joe said:
I'm quite happy with the concept under XP. I'm not the
only user -- see my post. The question related to
various things to do with the "default" user profile;
please refer to original post.

Thanks!

Joe
Click to expand...

It sounds to me as though you're using the main admin user - do you have one
set up with your name? Though having said that, when you create other
accounts, the main admin should disappear. Have you tried creating another
user with your login name and transferring your documents, settings, etc to
it?
 
Miss Perspicacia Tick said:
Using the main admin user for day-to-day use is incredibly foolish - if you
screw something up, then you have to reinstall Windows completely, rather
than just logging into the main admin user to repair the damage. I strongly
recommend a limited account for day-to-day use, using the main admin login
for emergencies only.

But, having said that, it's /your/ computer...
Click to expand...


Is what you are suggesting, the fact that as an owner of my PC and therefore
automatically the administrator, I should create a user account that you say
I should use, rather than just hit the Owner as I presently do? In addition,
I haven't even set up a password for myself as Owner (I see no desperate
need) for fear of messing things up.

Hoping you or someone can clarify this business of passwords and accounts.

I went from 95 to XP, and wouldn't go back now, as the profile aspect,
whilst taking a bit of time getting used to, is a definite plus imo.

Ray, Taree, NSW
 
That looks quite helpful, thanks. When I have about
three hours spare I'll investigate! Right now, the kids
are demanding my attention...

Thanks,
Joe
 
I renamed the "default" account, then created a new
account in my name, as a Limited account. Then I copied
all of the stuff in Documents and Settings\default into
Documents and Settings\Joe Bloggs.

So far so good.

But now, when I log in as Joe Bloggs, my broadband
connection no longer works. Or at least, it seems to
connect, but when I open up Explorer, I get a default
site come up telling me to change some setting, which
doesn't work. AAAarrrghh!

Why is nothing simple?

Also, what happens when I delete the "default" account?
As mentioned in my original post, there does appear to be
another Admin account, but that isn't visible on start
up. How do I get into that as an administrator? I don't
want to be left with a system with no administrator!
Also, what happens to the data in the "default" account
when deleted?

Joe
 
Is what you are suggesting, the fact that as an owner of my PC and therefore
automatically the administrator, I should create a user account that you say
I should use, rather than just hit the Owner as I presently do? In addition,
I haven't even set up a password for myself as Owner (I see no desperate
need) for fear of messing things up.

Hoping you or someone can clarify this business of passwords and accounts.

I went from 95 to XP, and wouldn't go back now, as the profile aspect,
whilst taking a bit of time getting used to, is a definite plus imo.
Click to expand...

A default Administrator account is created when installing XP that is
called Administrator. NOTE: There can be more than one account belonging to
the administrator group.

If using XP Home, this account is only available by booting to Safe Mode.

If using XP Pro, the account becomes hidden as soon as another account is
created within the Administrator group. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del twice at the
welcome screen and type Administrator as user name.

In both Pro and Home, complete the logon by entering the applicable
password if one has been assigned. On most OEM setups, the password for
this account is left blank. If you want to tighten up security on an OEM
system, assigning a password to this special account is a good move.

XP will not allow you to delete all local administrator accounts - it
demands that at least one should be available.

Take a look in Control Panel, User Accounts. If Owner is listed as
"computer administrator" it is most likely a second account in the
administrator group. Folders for the default Administrator account (any
account for that matter) may not be visible in Windows Explorer as these
are created the first time that an account is logged on to.

Advice to keep the original Administrator account as pristine as possible
is valid. It can be a lifesaver for trouble shooting purposes. Consider a
second admin account for every day administration tasks and a limited
account for every day work (see "Best Practices" in XP Help for accounts
and account types for more info). This arrangement will leave the default
account "untouched" and useful if/when a problem crops up where it's
availability could be invaluable.
 
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