Admin problem Vista Bugs and Problems Discuss Admin problem in the Windows Vista forums; Hi I just bought a laptop and it had Windows Vista Home Premium set up already. My problem is that I can't do anything that requiers administrator rights. I ...

[Jesum]

Hi

I just bought a laptop and it had Windows Vista Home Premium set up already.
My problem is that I can't do anything that requiers administrator rights.

I barely set up this laptop, I was only asked to put in minor information and to create a user (wich I thought was going to be an admin).
I cannot change users (there is only one available in the logon screen) but still there are several users displayed if I go to: my computer -> right click on one of the discs -> properties -> sequrity. There I find a total of four groups/users one of wich is an adminstrator and has my name on it.
The problem is I dont know if I can log on to that user since it does not appear on the log on screen.
I was also not asked to put in a special admin password in the process of setting vista up, I only put in one password and that does not work properly (that is when promted to allow a admin action, such as inistalling the anti virus protection that came with the computer, I get no screen to write in and even if I put my password in, I still cant click OK.

Thanks in advance...

[felix8406]

Part of Vista security is disabling by default the administrator account. There are various reasons for this, but the main reason is to prevent malicious software from being installed without the user permission or knowledge. Key-loggers software, for example, could install itself and some hacker can record every keystroke you make from a remote computer.

One standard account is created automatically so that you, as the PC user, can access files, install programs and do almost everything that you can do under the administrator account. The only difference is that before you run certain application, try to access important sections of the OS or install a program, it asks you for confirmation before continuing with the process. This feature ensures that you know exactly what's taking place in your PC.

[Jesum]

Originally Posted by felix8406

Part of Vista security is disabling by default the administrator account. There are various reasons for this, but the main reason is to prevent malicious software from being installed without the user permission or knowledge. Key-loggers software, for example, could install itself and some hacker can record every keystroke you make from a remote computer.

One standard account is created automatically so that you, as the PC user, can access files, install programs and do almost everything that you can do under the administrator account. The only difference is that before you run certain application, try to access important sections of the OS or install a program, it asks you for confirmation before continuing with the process. This feature ensures that you know exactly what's taking place in your PC.

Thank you for a fast reply.

I think I understand that quite well, my problem is that I cannot corfirm that I am the admin since I dont get the option to click OK. I dont get a box to write my password in (like I would in Windows XP for example), but first and foremost I only put in one password (when setting up Vista) and that was for my standard user account (wich I thought was going to be adminstrative).
And not being able to confirm that I am the admin of the computer means that I am unable to set it up properly.

I know this is hard to explain, and I certainly hope that I am missing something obvious to fix it, but I have tried searching on various forums and done what I can think of with my limited knowledge of Windows Vista and I have simply run out of ideas.

Anything at this point would help.

[airman]

What happens if you go to start and either click log off or switch users and have you went in to the control panel and under user accounts what are you listed as an administrator or user and can you change you account setting from there or even log onto another account. I also believe in Premium you have no Local User and Groups in the Management section or am I mistaken.

[felix8406]

Airman has a good idea, log off and see what what accounts are available. If only one account is available, more than likely is not the administrative account. I'm not in my PC, but there's a way to access and enable/disable accounts in Vista. I think these are the steps, but if not go to Help and Support:

Right-click 'Computer' > Select 'Manage' > On the left pane select 'Users' > On the right pane click the administrator account and Enable it > Now log off and see if the account is available

The steps I described might be off a little bit because I don't have my PC with me, but I think they'll get you there.

[Jesum]

Originally Posted by airman

What happens if you go to start and either click log off or switch users and have you went in to the control panel and under user accounts what are you listed as an administrator or user and can you change you account setting from there or even log onto another account. I also believe in Premium you have no Local User and Groups in the Management section or am I mistaken.

I have only this user both in control panel and when I log off and try to switch users. This account is listed as a Standard user account. And the only place were I have been able to locate any trace of other users is: my computer -> right click on one of the discs -> properties -> sequrity.

Originally Posted by felix8406

Right-click 'Computer' > Select 'Manage' > On the left pane select 'Users' > On the right pane click the administrator account and Enable it > Now log off and see if the account is available

I had previously tried this and seeing as Im not the adminstrator off the computer I cannot access 'Manage'.
I also tried Help and Support and that led me to the same brick wall.

[Jesum]

I called hp customer service and they adviced me to use system recovery to re-install windows, wich I did.
That solved my problem, I was able to get adminstrator access without any problems.

I'd like to thank those who helped, it helped me ventilate my anger at something else then my new laptop.

[felix8406]

Glad your problem is solved. There many reports of Vista installation issues. Why that happens is difficult to tell, but a reinstall fixes the issues is a mastery. If it didn't work during the first try, why does it work during the second at temp?

[airman]

I would just bet someone screw with the system and did not no what they were doing at the time or sale or at the time Vista was installed but glad to see you got the account working properly.