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Administrator Lockout!

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15 replies

by felixlai

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I am running Windows XP Home Edition on this computer, one day I couldn't log into the administrator account, upon typing the RIGHT password it said, "The system could not log you on because of an account restriction." What the heck is that supposedto mean????????

15 replies

by felixlai

tried that, no good....I also successfully reset the password by using another user with administrator privileges, but that "administrator" account is still locked out.

by felixlai

of course! There's a difference though, when I type the wrong password it said , "Password incorrect", when I get it right it says, "Cannot log you on due to account restriction"
Hence the password is right, something else is wrong

by airhockeyninja

Well, there are three things you can do. First you can go to www.winxpnews.com, look around in the links. There is one that advertises a program that wil reset the admin password (but beings as you've already done that, I don't think spending $79 isgoing to help). Or you can delete the account and recreate it. If you delete the account, you lose the SID, and all access rights for the named account. This is not really a problem, just an inconvienience as you now have to take ownership of any files you had created under that account to gain full control. Your third and best option is to ditch XP Home (its more of a headache than an OS) and get yourself a copy of XP Pro, a true OS. I often hear about problems associated with Home that I've never heard of with Pro. But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Good Luck!
Joe

by felixlai

tried to delete it, but the system won't allow it!! I could rename that "Administrator" to "Administrator 2" and create another "Administrator"
Then my Fast User Switching screen would show Administrator where it didn't previously.
I will be able to delete "Administrator", but not "Administrator 2"....

looks like there is something magical about it that prevents THAT account from getting deleted.

by joseph moore

No, this is not a password problem or a disabled account problem. There are a lot of parameters and rights that each account has, and in your case, your Admin account is just set up incorrectly with one of these rights.
Open the Users applet in Control Panel and pull up the Administrator account (because XPHome users CANNOT use the Local Users and Computers MMC snap-in)
First off, check the Admin account for the time of day it can be logged on; perhaps it is not enabled to log in at the time of day you were trying to log in with it.
Also, check to see if any computer are listed for it to log into with; this is usually set to "allow all computers to log into" (or something to that effect). Maybe a computer name was listed that is not your XP computer name.

If there is nothing useful there, then go back to Control Panel, select Administrative Tools -> Local Security Policy. Open that. Expand Security Settings -> Local Policies -> User Rights Assignment. There is a right called "Log On Locally". Make sure your Admin account is listed as one account that can log on.

hope this helps

by felixlai

Okay Administrator Properties only include User Name, Full Name, Description, Group Membership....no sight of any other restriction settings.
In Administrative Tools, there is no such thing as "Local security policy", I've expanded and searched allthree "System Tools" "Storage" and "Services and Applications"

besides I never touched that account after creating this "Felix Lai" administrator account which I use...how did it get locked out suddenly anyway??

by felixlai

Oops, the registry key in question is already 0, setting it to 0 proved repetitive and futile.... :( This is so frustrating but I was so hoping this would work when I saw your posting....

by saihib

SYMPTOMS
When you install Windows XP Home Edition, you are prompted to enter a password for the Administrator account. After the installation has completed, you can only use the Administrator account in Safe mode. When you use the Administrator account to log on to the computer in Normal mode, you may receive the following error message:

Unable to Log You on because of an Account Restriction
CAUSE
This issue occurs because the Administrator account has been set aside so that it can be used in Safe mode when the Owner account is not available.
STATUS
This behavior is by design.
MORE INFORMATION
The Administrator account is not displayed in User Accounts unless the computer is in Safe mode. To change the password for the Administrator account:
Click Start, click Turn Off Computer, and then click Restart.
After the computer completes the Power On Self Test (POST), press F8, and then click Safe mode.

NOTE: If you have difficulty getting to the Safe mode menu command, press F8 repeatedly after you turn on the computer.
Log on as an Administrator, or with another account that has Administrator permissions.
Click Start, click Settings, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts.
Click the Administrator icon.
Click Create a Password or Change my password.
Type a password for the account, and then retype the password to confirm it.
Type a hint to help you remember the password in the event that you forget it.
Click Create Password or ChangePassword.

by matric

First and foremost, the Administrator account CAN NOT be deleted, because it is a Windows default account like the Guest account. In this situation I would suggest going to Run and typing in gpedit.msc (Group Policy Editor). Have a dig around through the settings particularly dealing with security. Make sure Administrator (or whatever its called now) is listed where you think it should be. If you arent sure what a setting does, it doesnt hurt to add the administrator. Do this a few at a time sothat you can try and narrow down the cause. Good Luck.

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