Windows Forum·65,800 discussions

[doniel]

Administrator account

Tags: Microsoft, Windows

Windows 11 Pro
The lines under my user name show Local Account and, on the line below it, Administrator. However, my account doesn’t function as an administrator.
Settings, Accounts, Family: No user names whatsoever appear, not mine and not the hidden Administrator account which I enabled.
I tried changing my account type with Command Prompt and with PowerShell. In both cases, a message was displayed that the account is already a member of the group.
I changed my account to standard, in User Accounts and then switched to the Administrator account to change my account to Administrator. But I found myself right back where I started. Local Account and Administrator.

• This topic was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by doniel.

Topic

Tell a little more.

In reply to Administrator account

What administrator action isn’t working?

Sometimes folk get confused about this when they try to delete a folder and it won’t. They write “but I’m a administrator.” That’s a permissions issue and not about your account type.

[doniel]

Reply To: Administrator account

In reply to Tell a little more.

There are programs that I installed that fail to launch if I try to run them normally, but if I click on Run as administrator, they work fine.
But you’ve touched on a second issue. IS there a way to obtain permission on all folders and files – a one-time action that eliminates all the headaches associated with items that defy deletion? Even after I disabled OneDrive from starting up with Windows, it kept reenabling itself. It took me quite some time until I managed to change permissions on the executable and rename it so that it would no longer be able to start up.
So . . . we began with one problem and are now at two.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by doniel.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by doniel.

Apps that won’t launch.

In reply to Reply To: Administrator account

Is something you take up with the authors.

Since I don’t have an app name, I can’t look into this.

[doniel]

Reply To: Administrator account

In reply to Apps that won’t launch.

Let’s put the first question on pause until I come across programs that won’t launch. (I don’t recall which ones don’t launch just now.)
How about the second question?

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by doniel.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by doniel.

Unsure what the question is.

In reply to Reply To: Administrator account

Maybe it’s the old question of why an admin can’t delete files without:
1. Changing file permissions.
2. Booting Safe Mode.
3. Or dealing with system protected files and folders.
4. How to delete files that are in-use.

I don’t want to upset you but admin isn’t root like we have in Linux.

To clarify

In reply to Unsure what the question is.

I wasn’t tying the question to my administrator status. I’m asking a general Windows question. Is there a way to change a setting or do anything else that will grant me full control over all files and folders so that if I want to delete one, I’ll just click on Delete and Presto! it’s gone?

Keep in mind Windows does not have a “root” style account.

In reply to To clarify

So the answer is no. Even an administrator must obey file, folder and system permissions. But as an administrator you can change permissions and delete most files. Except in-use and system protected files which can require more than one method to remove.

That said, a long time ago when I was new to Windows I did use https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMCO_MoveOnBoot

It would be a very bad idea to give root style power to Windows administrators. The fallout would be more trashed OSes with the owners blaming Microsoft.

UnlockIT

In reply to Keep in mind Windows does not have a “root” style account.

Thank you for that. I’ve installed it. Now all I have to do is remember that I have it and what it’s called when I need it. 🙂
Managing permissions manually can be a real pain. It can get tricky with inherited permissions and other complications.
To be resumed when I have some program names for you.

Here’s one for you, Bob

In reply to UnlockIT

Foxit PDF Reader. It won’t launch when I click on it, but it does when I click on Run as administrator.

Same here with the click.

In reply to Here’s one for you, Bob

If I click on Foxit, it does not launch. And mind you with computers we have to be VERY specific about problem descriptions.

A single click on some desktop icon or file in Windows File Explorer means “Select” and not “Launch.”

For a click to open you could right single click, move the mouse to Run as admin and single click that.

Please everyone, be specific about the problem descriptions.

————————————————————-
Usually all I need to do to fix permissions like this is either:
1. Uninstall and reinstall the app.
2. Use Revo Uninstaller to uninstall the app then use Ninite.com to reinstall.

It didn’t occur to me that that would confuse you

In reply to Same here with the click.

Since (and including) Win8.1, I’ve been using programs that mimic the Start menu of earlier versions of Windows. Now, it’s Start X Menu. Clicking on Start brings up a list of all installed programs, and it only requires one click on a program to launch it.
I won’t have time to try your suggestions today. Will get back to you when I’ve tried them.

Not a matter of confusion.

In reply to It didn’t occur to me that that would confuse you

It’s about problem description.

That aside, I have to defer to the Start X support because we don’t use it at home or office.

And I can’t guess which Start X this is. A google about Start X for Windows doesn’t narrow it down. Again, it’s all about problem description along with what/how Windows is not stock.

Support is problematic

In reply to Not a matter of confusion.

One can only be clearer if he knows there’s a problem. I didn’t realize that google would return so many results. Did you search on “Start Menu X”? (I do take the blame for referring to it as Start X Menu.)
The company behind it is in Ukraine, and they have limited Internet access. So no help is coming from there for now.

Another related question

In reply to Support is problematic

I installed a sound booster called EarTrumpet a while back. It can’t be uninstalled as usual because it doesn’t show up in the list of installed programs. I found it in the registry, but I’m unable to delete it or modify it – regedit displays a message that it can’t write the new value. Even running regedit as an administrator didn’t work.
Any suggestions?

Let’s talk about the registry a moment.

In reply to Another related question

Even the Registry keys have security and access rights. This is just like files which even as Administrator you don’t have god like powers to delete if the permissions block you.

Here’s a tutorial on altering those permissions, taking ownership of a registry item.

Where’s “here”?

In reply to Let’s talk about the registry a moment.

You forgot to give the link.

About registry permissions, etc.

In reply to Where’s “here”?

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/take-full-permissions-control-edit-protected-registry-keys/

Let’s see if this makes it here.

Thanks, Bob

In reply to About registry permissions, etc.

Registry keys changed.
I’ll post here again when I come across another program that will only launch when Run as an administrator.

OpenOffice

In reply to Support is problematic

I don’t recall if it gave me problems under Win8.1, but I just installed it under Windows 11. Clicking on it doesn’t work Run as administrator does.

Totally unrelated

In reply to OpenOffice

But it’s easier than starting a new thread.
When I put in a blank DVD, Windows 11 pops up a box that asks: How do you want to use this disc?
When I googled that question, all the results were about disabling Autoplay. Turning it off didn’t help.

Re: how do you want to use the disk

In reply to Totally unrelated

What options can you choose from? And what of those are you going to use it for?

OpenOffice is going to be problematic.

In reply to OpenOffice

I haven’t installed that in years since LibreOffice replaced it.

You might be seeing the effects from when software is no longer being maintained verses an OS issue.

That’s strange

In reply to OpenOffice is going to be problematic.

OpenOffice immediately informed me that there are updates waiting to be downloaded. That doesn’t sound like software that’s not being maintained.
I’ll post again when I encounter another progran that will only launch when Run as administrator.
You didn’t answer me about the pop-up box when a blank DVD is inserted.

No one I know has stuck with Open Office.

In reply to That’s strange

You’ll have to report that issue to their support system.

A Blank DVD and what action to take being blank sounds like a damaged OS. I’d plan for a clean install in the future.

“OpenOffice.org (OOo), commonly known as OpenOffice, is a discontinued

In reply to That’s strange

“OpenOffice.org (OOo), commonly known as OpenOffice, is a discontinued open-source office suite. Active successor projects include LibreOffice (the most actively developed), Apache OpenOffice, Collabora Online (enterprise ready LibreOffice) and NeoOffice (commercial, and available only for macOS).”

Sorry but I can’t offer any help for discontinued apps.

I had no idea

In reply to “OpenOffice.org (OOo), commonly known as OpenOffice, is a discontinued

that there’s OpenOffice and there’s Apache OpenOffice!
I’m sorry I misled you, but like I said, I didn’t know.
I installed Apache.

In case I wasn’t clear

In reply to I had no idea

It was Apache OpenOffice that I installed yesterday, not OpenOffice.
I think you’re mistaken about the OS being corrupted. I have a screen capture of the pop-up box, but I don’t see a way to upload it here.

The problems you are writing about

In reply to In case I wasn’t clear

Didn’t happen on the hundred users at the old insurance office. We deployed LibreOffice by default on Windows 10 Pro.

Something must be broken in your system so it’s either the OS modifications which I never could find what exactly those are but does not matter.

At some point the OS takes enough damage along a discussion that there is no God account in Windows. Even the Administrator must obey file and registry permissions. And then once in a while someone wants to find a way to become God.

That’s a bad idea since if an account was God, so would the apps and the OS would break very quickly.

Re: Open Office

In reply to OpenOffice

Any error message if you run it from Command Prompt?

However, I have to agree with Proffitt if he says it’s most likely a damaged OS. A clean install of Windows is the common solution for that.

Reply To: Administrator account

In reply to Administrator account

To resolve this issue, try the following steps:

Log in as an administrator: If you have another admin account, log in using that account and change your account type to administrator.

Use Group Policy Editor: Press Windows Key + R, type “gpedit.msc” in the Run dialog box and press Enter. In the Local Group Policy Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment. Find “Act as part of the operating system” and add your account to it.

Use Registry Editor: Press Windows Key + R, type “regedit” in the Run dialog box and press Enter. In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.

Thank you

In reply to Reply To: Administrator account

First, my original post describes my attempts to change my account type to (just) Administrator (without Local Account).
Second, when you write “this issue,” could you clarify? Are you referring to my original question regarding getting my account to be strictly an Administrator account or do you mean my latest question pertaining to deleting a protected registry key?
Lastly, are Group Policy Editor and Registry Editor two different ways to accomplish the same thing or am I supposed to do both?

Re: Group Policy and registry editor

In reply to Thank you

Group Policy edits the registry for you if you tell it what you want. It’s safer than doing it yourself,

Thanks, kees_b

In reply to Re: Group Policy and registry editor

For both your posts.
Bob obviously knows way more than I do, as I’m sure you do, too, but my gut tells me that there’s nothing wrong with the OS. Of course, my gut’s been wrong before, but until I see some other signs indicating a corrupted OS, I’ll stand pat. Since I almost never use my DVD drive anymore, and even less so with a blank disc, it’s certainly not worth a clean install.
I guess we’ve taken this thread as far as we can.
Thank you, guys.

Make that “All 3 posts”

In reply to Thanks, kees_b

I missed your first post. Sorry about that.

[Author]

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