Administrator Account Issue After Upgrade

[CharlesR]

Hi,

First time posting. Not sure if there is another thread like this.

I have an issue with a machine that has recently been upgraded to Win10.

The admin account is disabled in normal boot but it is enabled in safe mode. So I need the password to install or change anything but I can't during the normal boot. I go to computer management and users (from the normal user account) and then the Administrator account properties and it says it is disabled and access is denied when I try to save the changes. I then booted up in safe mode and logged on as admin and went to computer management and it says the account is enabled.

If anyone knows how to fix this or has heard of anything like it I would most appreciate it.

Thanks in advance

 

[Regedit32]

Hi Charles,

I'm a little unclear from your post whether you are referring to the Default Administrator User account created when Windows 10 is installed, or the Built-in Administrator account which be default is hidden on installation.

The Default Administrator User account created can be a Local or Microsoft account and grants the user full privileges - however if a change being made requires elevated privileges then the UAC prompt calls for the password.

The Built-in Administrator account (hidden by default) is a Local account with full unrestricted access - hence no UAC prompts.

I get the impression its this UAC prompting you do not want so I'll assume its the Built-in Administrator account you want to enable. This can be done from an elevated Command Prompt


Enable Built-in Administrator (with no password to log in)

• Press Winkey + X | select Command Prompt (Admin)
• At the prompt type net user administrator /active:yes | then press Enter key

* Read notes below !!!​

Enable Built-in Administrator (require password to log in)

• Press Winkey + X | select Command Prompt (Admin)
• At the prompt type net user administrator password /active:yes | then press Enter key

* Read notes below !!!
​

Notes:

If you previously renamed your Built-in Administrator then you must type that name in either of the above commands rather than the word "administrator". For example you renamed Built-in Administrator to Reg then the commands will be typed as:

• net user Reg /active:yes
• net user Reg password /active:yes

If your installation language is not English then you must replace "administrator" with the language equivalent. For example if your language installation was French, the commands would be typed as:

• net user administrateur /active:yes
• net user administrateur password /active:yes

If you are wanting a password to log into Desktop with you will use the second command above. Replace the word "password" with the actual password. For example if the password was yr81Pf then the command would be typed like so:

• net user administrator yr81Pf /active:yes
• net user Reg yr81Pf /active:yes

Finally if you wanted to disable the above you simply replace /active:yes with /active:no


Perhaps you prefer not to do all the typing via the Administrator: Command Prompt. If that is the case then here is a method I assume you are all ready familiar with but others may not be so I'll post it anyway.

• Note: This only works for Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise
• Press Winkey + R
• Type the following: lusrmgr.msc | then click OK (or press Enter)
• In the Local user and Group window that opens:
  • In left pane click on Users
  • Then in middle pane double-click to open Administrator
  • Select General tab
  • Remove checkmark next to "Account is disabled", or If you wanted to disable the Built-in Administrator put a checkmark next to "Account is disabled"
  • Click Apply

Regards,

Regedit32

 

[CharlesR]

Thanks very much for the reply. The issue is with the built-in admin account.

I have tried using DOS commands but to no avail; access is still denied.

What I am going to try is booting in safe mode, creating a new admin account and enabling it then restarting the computer to make changes in computer management from there.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks once again for the reply.

 

[jmccleary50]

This may or may not be related but it's something I discovered about a built-in account. Specifically that one with a dollar sign ($) instead of an S. During setup there is a place where you identify an account as home or public to place it in a group. Do not place the account in a group. Somewhere there is an option to remove an account from a group but I've forgotten where.

Somebody jump in here and help out. The bottom line is that taking an account out of a group will eliminate the appearance of the $ group name.