Administrator Account is Already in Use as Main Account?

I'm not sure if I've really messed something up or not. When I was setting
up my computer, I forgot to set up a new account for myself and I've
completely customized, installed to, and am using the Administrator account
as my primary account. Is there anyway to duplicate this account (so I
don't have to start from scratch) and then how would I restore this one to
the use for which it was intended? Or can I create a new administrator
account? I tried to do that, but it wouldn't let me name an account
"Administrator" as it was already in use. When I logged off and back on,
however, it only showed the account that I renamed with my name.

Kristy

I'm thinking you may not be in as much of a predicament as you think you are.

We need a little information. Go to Start | Run. type "control
userpasswords2" in the Open field, and hit the Enter key. Make a list of the
accounts that are listed there, and come back to tell us what they are.

i'm thinking that your "renamed" Administrator account is really a different
administrative account that you gave a name to when it was automatically
created for you. And your original built-in Administrator account is probably
okay. It isn't active by default, so you would have had to do something to
activate it deliberately to be able to be logging on to it as your regular
user account. It couldn't have happened by accident. Well, not likely, anyway.



"Kcpirana" wrote:

> I'm not sure if I've really messed something up or not. When I was setting
> up my computer, I forgot to set up a new account for myself and I've
> completely customized, installed to, and am using the Administrator account
> as my primary account. Is there anyway to duplicate this account (so I
> don't have to start from scratch) and then how would I restore this one to
> the use for which it was intended? Or can I create a new administrator
> account? I tried to do that, but it wouldn't let me name an account
> "Administrator" as it was already in use. When I logged off and back on,
> however, it only showed the account that I renamed with my name.
>
> Kristy
>
>

Guest & Owner are the only two accounts listed. In addition, the box for
requiring user name and password is checked, but I don't enter a password.
I don't think I even set one up.

Kristy

"jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C4668D47-4B6C-4451-8DB7-F8C4FBA8F4A3@microsoft.com...
> I'm thinking you may not be in as much of a predicament as you think you
> are.
>
> We need a little information. Go to Start | Run. type "control
> userpasswords2" in the Open field, and hit the Enter key. Make a list of
> the
> accounts that are listed there, and come back to tell us what they are.
>
> i'm thinking that your "renamed" Administrator account is really a
> different
> administrative account that you gave a name to when it was automatically
> created for you. And your original built-in Administrator account is
> probably
> okay. It isn't active by default, so you would have had to do something to
> activate it deliberately to be able to be logging on to it as your regular
> user account. It couldn't have happened by accident. Well, not likely,
> anyway.
>
>
>
> "Kcpirana" wrote:
>
>> I'm not sure if I've really messed something up or not. When I was
>> setting
>> up my computer, I forgot to set up a new account for myself and I've
>> completely customized, installed to, and am using the Administrator
>> account
>> as my primary account. Is there anyway to duplicate this account (so I
>> don't have to start from scratch) and then how would I restore this one
>> to
>> the use for which it was intended? Or can I create a new administrator
>> account? I tried to do that, but it wouldn't let me name an account
>> "Administrator" as it was already in use. When I logged off and back on,
>> however, it only showed the account that I renamed with my name.
>>
>> Kristy
>>
>>

Suddenly the Owner Account is gone and I'm being told I don't have
permissions (?) to get to the Control Panel, etc. I'm scared to log off!

Kristy
"Kcpirana" <kcpirana@aol.com> wrote in message
news:%238edOLBmHHA.4592@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Guest & Owner are the only two accounts listed. In addition, the box for
> requiring user name and password is checked, but I don't enter a password.
> I don't think I even set one up.
>
> Kristy
>
> "jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:C4668D47-4B6C-4451-8DB7-F8C4FBA8F4A3@microsoft.com...
>> I'm thinking you may not be in as much of a predicament as you think you
>> are.
>>
>> We need a little information. Go to Start | Run. type "control
>> userpasswords2" in the Open field, and hit the Enter key. Make a list of
>> the
>> accounts that are listed there, and come back to tell us what they are.
>>
>> i'm thinking that your "renamed" Administrator account is really a
>> different
>> administrative account that you gave a name to when it was automatically
>> created for you. And your original built-in Administrator account is
>> probably
>> okay. It isn't active by default, so you would have had to do something
>> to
>> activate it deliberately to be able to be logging on to it as your
>> regular
>> user account. It couldn't have happened by accident. Well, not likely,
>> anyway.
>>
>>
>>
>> "Kcpirana" wrote:
>>
>>> I'm not sure if I've really messed something up or not. When I was
>>> setting
>>> up my computer, I forgot to set up a new account for myself and I've
>>> completely customized, installed to, and am using the Administrator
>>> account
>>> as my primary account. Is there anyway to duplicate this account (so I
>>> don't have to start from scratch) and then how would I restore this one
>>> to
>>> the use for which it was intended? Or can I create a new administrator
>>> account? I tried to do that, but it wouldn't let me name an account
>>> "Administrator" as it was already in use. When I logged off and back
>>> on,
>>> however, it only showed the account that I renamed with my name.
>>>
>>> Kristy
>>>
>>>
>

OK, this is nuts - checked again and now there are two Owner accounts, but I
still get the "Windows cannot access device, path, or file. You may not
have the appropriate permissions to access the item" (in this case, Control
Panel).

Kristy

"Kcpirana" <kcpirana@aol.com> wrote in message
news:%23S$IySBmHHA.3872@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Suddenly the Owner Account is gone and I'm being told I don't have
> permissions (?) to get to the Control Panel, etc. I'm scared to log off!
>
> Kristy
> "Kcpirana" <kcpirana@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:%238edOLBmHHA.4592@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> Guest & Owner are the only two accounts listed. In addition, the box for
>> requiring user name and password is checked, but I don't enter a
>> password. I don't think I even set one up.
>>
>> Kristy
>>
>> "jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:C4668D47-4B6C-4451-8DB7-F8C4FBA8F4A3@microsoft.com...
>>> I'm thinking you may not be in as much of a predicament as you think you
>>> are.
>>>
>>> We need a little information. Go to Start | Run. type "control
>>> userpasswords2" in the Open field, and hit the Enter key. Make a list of
>>> the
>>> accounts that are listed there, and come back to tell us what they are.
>>>
>>> i'm thinking that your "renamed" Administrator account is really a
>>> different
>>> administrative account that you gave a name to when it was automatically
>>> created for you. And your original built-in Administrator account is
>>> probably
>>> okay. It isn't active by default, so you would have had to do something
>>> to
>>> activate it deliberately to be able to be logging on to it as your
>>> regular
>>> user account. It couldn't have happened by accident. Well, not likely,
>>> anyway.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Kcpirana" wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm not sure if I've really messed something up or not. When I was
>>>> setting
>>>> up my computer, I forgot to set up a new account for myself and I've
>>>> completely customized, installed to, and am using the Administrator
>>>> account
>>>> as my primary account. Is there anyway to duplicate this account (so I
>>>> don't have to start from scratch) and then how would I restore this one
>>>> to
>>>> the use for which it was intended? Or can I create a new administrator
>>>> account? I tried to do that, but it wouldn't let me name an account
>>>> "Administrator" as it was already in use. When I logged off and back
>>>> on,
>>>> however, it only showed the account that I renamed with my name.
>>>>
>>>> Kristy
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>

You'd have to provide quite a bit more information for me to be sure, but I'm
guessing that Owner is your regular account. And it is an administrative
account. (You can check in User Accounts in the Control Panel to be sure.)
Guest is, of course, the default Guest account, and it normally shouldn't be
enabled. Administrator isn't showing up because you never (I hope) activated
it and logged into it. You don't have to enter a password because you never
created one. And you can't create an account called "Administrator" because
there already IS an account with that name -- the built-in Administrator
account.

I can't really know this, because, as I said, you haven't given us enough
information. But if you didn't take special steps to activate the built-in
Administrator account, then I'm betting my guess is accurate. The only way
you could accidentally wander into using the Administrator account in Vista
is if the original installation of the OS was botched -- badly. So, if
neither you nor anyone else deliberately activated that Administrator account
(It's not something you do by making a couple of moves with the mouse.), I'm
thinking you're safe.

In order to activate the built-in admin account you would have had to issue
a command from an Administrator-run CLI, or you would have had to use the
compmgmt.msc console, or you would have had to use a special feature of the
unattended install process. If you didn't do those, then you're probably okay.

BTW, I just realized that you could just go to Start | Run, enter
"compmgmt.msc", and hit the Enter key. If you expand Local Users and Groups
in the left pane of the console and select Users, in the right pane of the
window you should see ALL of your user accounts -- including the built-in
Administrator account. I should have thought of that before. The only thing
is that I don't know whether or not you're using one of the "crippled"
versions of Vista. I've never looked at those, the ones that don't have
policy editors. I don't know if they also don't have some version of the
computer management console.

Please check it out and let us know either way. If you don't find what
you're looking for please post back with information about your Vista version
and the exact steps you took in configuring this system.

"Kcpirana" wrote:

> Guest & Owner are the only two accounts listed. In addition, the box for
> requiring user name and password is checked, but I don't enter a password.
> I don't think I even set one up.
>
> Kristy
>
> "jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:C4668D47-4B6C-4451-8DB7-F8C4FBA8F4A3@microsoft.com...
> > I'm thinking you may not be in as much of a predicament as you think you
> > are.
> >
> > We need a little information. Go to Start | Run. type "control
> > userpasswords2" in the Open field, and hit the Enter key. Make a list of
> > the
> > accounts that are listed there, and come back to tell us what they are.
> >
> > i'm thinking that your "renamed" Administrator account is really a
> > different
> > administrative account that you gave a name to when it was automatically
> > created for you. And your original built-in Administrator account is
> > probably
> > okay. It isn't active by default, so you would have had to do something to
> > activate it deliberately to be able to be logging on to it as your regular
> > user account. It couldn't have happened by accident. Well, not likely,
> > anyway.
> >
> >
> >
> > "Kcpirana" wrote:
> >
> >> I'm not sure if I've really messed something up or not. When I was
> >> setting
> >> up my computer, I forgot to set up a new account for myself and I've
> >> completely customized, installed to, and am using the Administrator
> >> account
> >> as my primary account. Is there anyway to duplicate this account (so I
> >> don't have to start from scratch) and then how would I restore this one
> >> to
> >> the use for which it was intended? Or can I create a new administrator
> >> account? I tried to do that, but it wouldn't let me name an account
> >> "Administrator" as it was already in use. When I logged off and back on,
> >> however, it only showed the account that I renamed with my name.
> >>
> >> Kristy
> >>
> >>
>
>

OK, I used "compmgmt.msc" and I don't see "local users and groups" anywhere.

Let's see - I booted up the computer and started working and using the
account that was there when I booted up. When looking for the administrator
account, I did try to rename the Owner folder with my name and I succeeded
in the regular user accounts area, but not in changing the name "Owner". I
tried to correct that, and that's when two Owner accounts showed up and I
have no access to the Control Panel, etc. I can't perform a system restore,
as the "there was an error detected in the Volume Shadow Copy Service." I'm
afraid to log off, as I've never set any passwords and my account is somehow
lost or changed, even though I'm on it right now.

Kristy

"jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9A644E8D-B130-45B1-831C-3BEFC6E8F933@microsoft.com...
> You'd have to provide quite a bit more information for me to be sure, but
> I'm
> guessing that Owner is your regular account. And it is an administrative
> account. (You can check in User Accounts in the Control Panel to be sure.)
> Guest is, of course, the default Guest account, and it normally shouldn't
> be
> enabled. Administrator isn't showing up because you never (I hope)
> activated
> it and logged into it. You don't have to enter a password because you
> never
> created one. And you can't create an account called "Administrator"
> because
> there already IS an account with that name -- the built-in Administrator
> account.
>
> I can't really know this, because, as I said, you haven't given us enough
> information. But if you didn't take special steps to activate the built-in
> Administrator account, then I'm betting my guess is accurate. The only way
> you could accidentally wander into using the Administrator account in
> Vista
> is if the original installation of the OS was botched -- badly. So, if
> neither you nor anyone else deliberately activated that Administrator
> account
> (It's not something you do by making a couple of moves with the mouse.),
> I'm
> thinking you're safe.
>
> In order to activate the built-in admin account you would have had to
> issue
> a command from an Administrator-run CLI, or you would have had to use the
> compmgmt.msc console, or you would have had to use a special feature of
> the
> unattended install process. If you didn't do those, then you're probably
> okay.
>
> BTW, I just realized that you could just go to Start | Run, enter
> "compmgmt.msc", and hit the Enter key. If you expand Local Users and
> Groups
> in the left pane of the console and select Users, in the right pane of the
> window you should see ALL of your user accounts -- including the built-in
> Administrator account. I should have thought of that before. The only
> thing
> is that I don't know whether or not you're using one of the "crippled"
> versions of Vista. I've never looked at those, the ones that don't have
> policy editors. I don't know if they also don't have some version of the
> computer management console.
>
> Please check it out and let us know either way. If you don't find what
> you're looking for please post back with information about your Vista
> version
> and the exact steps you took in configuring this system.
>
> "Kcpirana" wrote:
>
>> Guest & Owner are the only two accounts listed. In addition, the box for
>> requiring user name and password is checked, but I don't enter a
>> password.
>> I don't think I even set one up.
>>
>> Kristy
>>
>> "jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:C4668D47-4B6C-4451-8DB7-F8C4FBA8F4A3@microsoft.com...
>> > I'm thinking you may not be in as much of a predicament as you think
>> > you
>> > are.
>> >
>> > We need a little information. Go to Start | Run. type "control
>> > userpasswords2" in the Open field, and hit the Enter key. Make a list
>> > of
>> > the
>> > accounts that are listed there, and come back to tell us what they are.
>> >
>> > i'm thinking that your "renamed" Administrator account is really a
>> > different
>> > administrative account that you gave a name to when it was
>> > automatically
>> > created for you. And your original built-in Administrator account is
>> > probably
>> > okay. It isn't active by default, so you would have had to do something
>> > to
>> > activate it deliberately to be able to be logging on to it as your
>> > regular
>> > user account. It couldn't have happened by accident. Well, not likely,
>> > anyway.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > "Kcpirana" wrote:
>> >
>> >> I'm not sure if I've really messed something up or not. When I was
>> >> setting
>> >> up my computer, I forgot to set up a new account for myself and I've
>> >> completely customized, installed to, and am using the Administrator
>> >> account
>> >> as my primary account. Is there anyway to duplicate this account (so
>> >> I
>> >> don't have to start from scratch) and then how would I restore this
>> >> one
>> >> to
>> >> the use for which it was intended? Or can I create a new
>> >> administrator
>> >> account? I tried to do that, but it wouldn't let me name an account
>> >> "Administrator" as it was already in use. When I logged off and back
>> >> on,
>> >> however, it only showed the account that I renamed with my name.
>> >>
>> >> Kristy
>> >>
>> >>
>>
>>

To clarify, I succeeded in changing "owner" to my name on the folder that
shows up on the desktop and in the start menu, but not "Owner" in the actual
Users file, which is what I tried.

Kristy
"Kcpirana" <kcpirana@aol.com> wrote in message
news:OqcxfuBmHHA.4032@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> OK, I used "compmgmt.msc" and I don't see "local users and groups"
> anywhere.
>
> Let's see - I booted up the computer and started working and using the
> account that was there when I booted up. When looking for the
> administrator account, I did try to rename the Owner folder with my name
> and I succeeded in the regular user accounts area, but not in changing the
> name "Owner". I tried to correct that, and that's when two Owner accounts
> showed up and I have no access to the Control Panel, etc. I can't perform
> a system restore, as the "there was an error detected in the Volume Shadow
> Copy Service." I'm afraid to log off, as I've never set any passwords and
> my account is somehow lost or changed, even though I'm on it right now.
>
> Kristy
>
> "jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:9A644E8D-B130-45B1-831C-3BEFC6E8F933@microsoft.com...
>> You'd have to provide quite a bit more information for me to be sure, but
>> I'm
>> guessing that Owner is your regular account. And it is an administrative
>> account. (You can check in User Accounts in the Control Panel to be
>> sure.)
>> Guest is, of course, the default Guest account, and it normally shouldn't
>> be
>> enabled. Administrator isn't showing up because you never (I hope)
>> activated
>> it and logged into it. You don't have to enter a password because you
>> never
>> created one. And you can't create an account called "Administrator"
>> because
>> there already IS an account with that name -- the built-in Administrator
>> account.
>>
>> I can't really know this, because, as I said, you haven't given us enough
>> information. But if you didn't take special steps to activate the
>> built-in
>> Administrator account, then I'm betting my guess is accurate. The only
>> way
>> you could accidentally wander into using the Administrator account in
>> Vista
>> is if the original installation of the OS was botched -- badly. So, if
>> neither you nor anyone else deliberately activated that Administrator
>> account
>> (It's not something you do by making a couple of moves with the mouse.),
>> I'm
>> thinking you're safe.
>>
>> In order to activate the built-in admin account you would have had to
>> issue
>> a command from an Administrator-run CLI, or you would have had to use the
>> compmgmt.msc console, or you would have had to use a special feature of
>> the
>> unattended install process. If you didn't do those, then you're probably
>> okay.
>>
>> BTW, I just realized that you could just go to Start | Run, enter
>> "compmgmt.msc", and hit the Enter key. If you expand Local Users and
>> Groups
>> in the left pane of the console and select Users, in the right pane of
>> the
>> window you should see ALL of your user accounts -- including the built-in
>> Administrator account. I should have thought of that before. The only
>> thing
>> is that I don't know whether or not you're using one of the "crippled"
>> versions of Vista. I've never looked at those, the ones that don't have
>> policy editors. I don't know if they also don't have some version of the
>> computer management console.
>>
>> Please check it out and let us know either way. If you don't find what
>> you're looking for please post back with information about your Vista
>> version
>> and the exact steps you took in configuring this system.
>>
>> "Kcpirana" wrote:
>>
>>> Guest & Owner are the only two accounts listed. In addition, the box
>>> for
>>> requiring user name and password is checked, but I don't enter a
>>> password.
>>> I don't think I even set one up.
>>>
>>> Kristy
>>>
>>> "jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>> news:C4668D47-4B6C-4451-8DB7-F8C4FBA8F4A3@microsoft.com...
>>> > I'm thinking you may not be in as much of a predicament as you think
>>> > you
>>> > are.
>>> >
>>> > We need a little information. Go to Start | Run. type "control
>>> > userpasswords2" in the Open field, and hit the Enter key. Make a list
>>> > of
>>> > the
>>> > accounts that are listed there, and come back to tell us what they
>>> > are.
>>> >
>>> > i'm thinking that your "renamed" Administrator account is really a
>>> > different
>>> > administrative account that you gave a name to when it was
>>> > automatically
>>> > created for you. And your original built-in Administrator account is
>>> > probably
>>> > okay. It isn't active by default, so you would have had to do
>>> > something to
>>> > activate it deliberately to be able to be logging on to it as your
>>> > regular
>>> > user account. It couldn't have happened by accident. Well, not likely,
>>> > anyway.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > "Kcpirana" wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> I'm not sure if I've really messed something up or not. When I was
>>> >> setting
>>> >> up my computer, I forgot to set up a new account for myself and I've
>>> >> completely customized, installed to, and am using the Administrator
>>> >> account
>>> >> as my primary account. Is there anyway to duplicate this account (so
>>> >> I
>>> >> don't have to start from scratch) and then how would I restore this
>>> >> one
>>> >> to
>>> >> the use for which it was intended? Or can I create a new
>>> >> administrator
>>> >> account? I tried to do that, but it wouldn't let me name an account
>>> >> "Administrator" as it was already in use. When I logged off and back
>>> >> on,
>>> >> however, it only showed the account that I renamed with my name.
>>> >>
>>> >> Kristy
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>>
>>>
>

Okay. You've pretty much confirmed my suspicions. It is almost certainly true
that you have NOT done anything to the Administrator account. You have still
not told me what version of Vista you are running, but your observation that
there is no Local users and groups in the Computer Management console seems
to indicate that you have one of the versions of Vista that is devoid of a
policy editor. (I'm not familiar with these versions. I avoid them like the
plague, but only because they just wouldn't work for me. My computers all
have to be members of domains, and you can't do that with computers running
Windows versions that don't have policy editors.)

If you boot into Safe Mode (hit F8 key repeatedly after passing the BIOS
screen at startup time, you may be able to log in as Administrator (no
password) and fix the system. I say "may" because it's possible that the
system doesn't think your "Owner" account has been damaged sufficiently to
warrant allowing the automatic logon to the built-in Administrator account.
The problem is that you have done some damage (from what I can tell) to your
profile, but it may not be totally disabled. In that case you may have to
straighten things out from within the farkled Owner account.

In the future please remember the first rule of holes: When you are in over
your head, stop digging! You really must learn something about the way Vista
handles its user accounts and the way ntfs permissions work before trying to
do the sort of invasive manipulations you've been doing. Were you not seeing
warnings from User Account Control as you made these various changes? UAC
wasn't turned off, was it?

You see, each user account has its own location for storing its profile. You
started off, apparently, with an "Owner" account. That was probably set up by
the OEM that installed the OS on your computer. Once you log on to any
account in Windows a profile location with that name on the directory
structure is created, and that may have been done effectively even before you
ever got the computer by the unattended install method used by the OEM. Now,
you could have changed name of the Owner account to one that suited you
through the Windows Control Panel | User Accounts interface, but the name of
the DIRECTORY where the profile for that account is stored would not (and
should not) be changed at that point. If you do change the name of that
directory the account won't be able to find its profile at boot time, and it
will create another one, usually with an extension added to the name.

I don't know what to tell you now. You might just be better off saving any
data to an external drive or to another system and then doing a fresh
re-installation of the OS -- assuming the OEM has provided recovery media or
a recovery partition. You might also learn quite a bit by trying to fix this.
It doesn't sound as though the system is really messed up badly, but it could
be pretty difficult for someone who isn't familiar with the way user accounts
and the file system work to fix.

BTW, if you do a fresh re-installation, maybe you'll be happiest if you
create a new account for yourself with your own name. Its profile will be
stored under the name you choose for the account. That user account could be
a non-admin user, and you would reserve the use of the Owner account for
administrative purposes. The neat thing about Vista is that, when you are
logged in as a non-admin and try to do something that requires admin
privileges, UAC will prompt you for credentials instead of just refusing to
do the task. You would then enter "Owner" as the admin name and the password
for the "Owner" account in order to be able to proceed with the task. It's a
recommended way of using Vista. When you're logged in as an admin and try to
do something that requires admin credentials UAC will simply ask you if you
wish to proceed. If you choose yes it assumes you know what you're doing and
activates the admin credentials to perform the task. (That's the default
setting, anyway.)

I hope you get it figured out. I can imagine that this situation is very
annoying.

"Kcpirana" wrote:

> To clarify, I succeeded in changing "owner" to my name on the folder that
> shows up on the desktop and in the start menu, but not "Owner" in the actual
> Users file, which is what I tried.
>
> Kristy
> "Kcpirana" <kcpirana@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:OqcxfuBmHHA.4032@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> > OK, I used "compmgmt.msc" and I don't see "local users and groups"
> > anywhere.
> >
> > Let's see - I booted up the computer and started working and using the
> > account that was there when I booted up. When looking for the
> > administrator account, I did try to rename the Owner folder with my name
> > and I succeeded in the regular user accounts area, but not in changing the
> > name "Owner". I tried to correct that, and that's when two Owner accounts
> > showed up and I have no access to the Control Panel, etc. I can't perform
> > a system restore, as the "there was an error detected in the Volume Shadow
> > Copy Service." I'm afraid to log off, as I've never set any passwords and
> > my account is somehow lost or changed, even though I'm on it right now.
> >
> > Kristy
> >
> > "jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:9A644E8D-B130-45B1-831C-3BEFC6E8F933@microsoft.com...
> >> You'd have to provide quite a bit more information for me to be sure, but
> >> I'm
> >> guessing that Owner is your regular account. And it is an administrative
> >> account. (You can check in User Accounts in the Control Panel to be
> >> sure.)
> >> Guest is, of course, the default Guest account, and it normally shouldn't
> >> be
> >> enabled. Administrator isn't showing up because you never (I hope)
> >> activated
> >> it and logged into it. You don't have to enter a password because you
> >> never
> >> created one. And you can't create an account called "Administrator"
> >> because
> >> there already IS an account with that name -- the built-in Administrator
> >> account.
> >>
> >> I can't really know this, because, as I said, you haven't given us enough
> >> information. But if you didn't take special steps to activate the
> >> built-in
> >> Administrator account, then I'm betting my guess is accurate. The only
> >> way
> >> you could accidentally wander into using the Administrator account in
> >> Vista
> >> is if the original installation of the OS was botched -- badly. So, if
> >> neither you nor anyone else deliberately activated that Administrator
> >> account
> >> (It's not something you do by making a couple of moves with the mouse.),
> >> I'm
> >> thinking you're safe.
> >>
> >> In order to activate the built-in admin account you would have had to
> >> issue
> >> a command from an Administrator-run CLI, or you would have had to use the
> >> compmgmt.msc console, or you would have had to use a special feature of
> >> the
> >> unattended install process. If you didn't do those, then you're probably
> >> okay.
> >>
> >> BTW, I just realized that you could just go to Start | Run, enter
> >> "compmgmt.msc", and hit the Enter key. If you expand Local Users and
> >> Groups
> >> in the left pane of the console and select Users, in the right pane of
> >> the
> >> window you should see ALL of your user accounts -- including the built-in
> >> Administrator account. I should have thought of that before. The only
> >> thing
> >> is that I don't know whether or not you're using one of the "crippled"
> >> versions of Vista. I've never looked at those, the ones that don't have
> >> policy editors. I don't know if they also don't have some version of the
> >> computer management console.
> >>
> >> Please check it out and let us know either way. If you don't find what
> >> you're looking for please post back with information about your Vista
> >> version
> >> and the exact steps you took in configuring this system.
> >>
> >> "Kcpirana" wrote:
> >>
> >>> Guest & Owner are the only two accounts listed. In addition, the box
> >>> for
> >>> requiring user name and password is checked, but I don't enter a
> >>> password.
> >>> I don't think I even set one up.
> >>>
> >>> Kristy
> >>>
> >>> "jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >>> news:C4668D47-4B6C-4451-8DB7-F8C4FBA8F4A3@microsoft.com...
> >>> > I'm thinking you may not be in as much of a predicament as you think
> >>> > you
> >>> > are.
> >>> >
> >>> > We need a little information. Go to Start | Run. type "control
> >>> > userpasswords2" in the Open field, and hit the Enter key. Make a list
> >>> > of
> >>> > the
> >>> > accounts that are listed there, and come back to tell us what they
> >>> > are.
> >>> >
> >>> > i'm thinking that your "renamed" Administrator account is really a
> >>> > different
> >>> > administrative account that you gave a name to when it was
> >>> > automatically
> >>> > created for you. And your original built-in Administrator account is
> >>> > probably
> >>> > okay. It isn't active by default, so you would have had to do
> >>> > something to
> >>> > activate it deliberately to be able to be logging on to it as your
> >>> > regular
> >>> > user account. It couldn't have happened by accident. Well, not likely,
> >>> > anyway.
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> > "Kcpirana" wrote:
> >>> >
> >>> >> I'm not sure if I've really messed something up or not. When I was
> >>> >> setting
> >>> >> up my computer, I forgot to set up a new account for myself and I've
> >>> >> completely customized, installed to, and am using the Administrator
> >>> >> account
> >>> >> as my primary account. Is there anyway to duplicate this account (so
> >>> >> I
> >>> >> don't have to start from scratch) and then how would I restore this
> >>> >> one
> >>> >> to
> >>> >> the use for which it was intended? Or can I create a new
> >>> >> administrator
> >>> >> account? I tried to do that, but it wouldn't let me name an account
> >>> >> "Administrator" as it was already in use. When I logged off and back
> >>> >> on,
> >>> >> however, it only showed the account that I renamed with my name.
> >>> >>
> >>> >> Kristy
> >>> >>
> >>> >>
> >>>
> >>>
> >
>
>

Thank you so much for the information! I'm sorry I neglected to identify my
OS - It's Vista Home Premium 32-bit.

As of this morning (and my husband got up before me, so chances are he just
booted it up because he didn't know anything about this), I can log on to my
account as normal, access the control panel, internet options, etc, with
absolutely no problems. Under USERS in the CP, I see now two accounts with
my name - both identified as adminstrators. Since it's in the CP Users
(accessible even to us Idiots), I imagine I can delete it without concern,
as my now-working account is easily identifiable.

So, barring anymore difficulties, I think I'm reading that you don't *think
the Administrator account was activated, correct? If so, should I activate
it?

You have been great! Thanks so far and TIA!

Kristy

"jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2673849C-21DF-40B7-8E28-6D6F27A3A503@microsoft.com...
> Okay. You've pretty much confirmed my suspicions. It is almost certainly
> true
> that you have NOT done anything to the Administrator account. You have
> still
> not told me what version of Vista you are running, but your observation
> that
> there is no Local users and groups in the Computer Management console
> seems
> to indicate that you have one of the versions of Vista that is devoid of a
> policy editor. (I'm not familiar with these versions. I avoid them like
> the
> plague, but only because they just wouldn't work for me. My computers all
> have to be members of domains, and you can't do that with computers
> running
> Windows versions that don't have policy editors.)
>
> If you boot into Safe Mode (hit F8 key repeatedly after passing the BIOS
> screen at startup time, you may be able to log in as Administrator (no
> password) and fix the system. I say "may" because it's possible that the
> system doesn't think your "Owner" account has been damaged sufficiently to
> warrant allowing the automatic logon to the built-in Administrator
> account.
> The problem is that you have done some damage (from what I can tell) to
> your
> profile, but it may not be totally disabled. In that case you may have to
> straighten things out from within the farkled Owner account.
>
> In the future please remember the first rule of holes: When you are in
> over
> your head, stop digging! You really must learn something about the way
> Vista
> handles its user accounts and the way ntfs permissions work before trying
> to
> do the sort of invasive manipulations you've been doing. Were you not
> seeing
> warnings from User Account Control as you made these various changes? UAC
> wasn't turned off, was it?
>
> You see, each user account has its own location for storing its profile.
> You
> started off, apparently, with an "Owner" account. That was probably set up
> by
> the OEM that installed the OS on your computer. Once you log on to any
> account in Windows a profile location with that name on the directory
> structure is created, and that may have been done effectively even before
> you
> ever got the computer by the unattended install method used by the OEM.
> Now,
> you could have changed name of the Owner account to one that suited you
> through the Windows Control Panel | User Accounts interface, but the name
> of
> the DIRECTORY where the profile for that account is stored would not (and
> should not) be changed at that point. If you do change the name of that
> directory the account won't be able to find its profile at boot time, and
> it
> will create another one, usually with an extension added to the name.
>
> I don't know what to tell you now. You might just be better off saving any
> data to an external drive or to another system and then doing a fresh
> re-installation of the OS -- assuming the OEM has provided recovery media
> or
> a recovery partition. You might also learn quite a bit by trying to fix
> this.
> It doesn't sound as though the system is really messed up badly, but it
> could
> be pretty difficult for someone who isn't familiar with the way user
> accounts
> and the file system work to fix.
>
> BTW, if you do a fresh re-installation, maybe you'll be happiest if you
> create a new account for yourself with your own name. Its profile will be
> stored under the name you choose for the account. That user account could
> be
> a non-admin user, and you would reserve the use of the Owner account for
> administrative purposes. The neat thing about Vista is that, when you are
> logged in as a non-admin and try to do something that requires admin
> privileges, UAC will prompt you for credentials instead of just refusing
> to
> do the task. You would then enter "Owner" as the admin name and the
> password
> for the "Owner" account in order to be able to proceed with the task. It's
> a
> recommended way of using Vista. When you're logged in as an admin and try
> to
> do something that requires admin credentials UAC will simply ask you if
> you
> wish to proceed. If you choose yes it assumes you know what you're doing
> and
> activates the admin credentials to perform the task. (That's the default
> setting, anyway.)
>
> I hope you get it figured out. I can imagine that this situation is very
> annoying.
>
> "Kcpirana" wrote:
>
>> To clarify, I succeeded in changing "owner" to my name on the folder that
>> shows up on the desktop and in the start menu, but not "Owner" in the
>> actual
>> Users file, which is what I tried.
>>
>> Kristy
>> "Kcpirana" <kcpirana@aol.com> wrote in message
>> news:OqcxfuBmHHA.4032@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> > OK, I used "compmgmt.msc" and I don't see "local users and groups"
>> > anywhere.
>> >
>> > Let's see - I booted up the computer and started working and using the
>> > account that was there when I booted up. When looking for the
>> > administrator account, I did try to rename the Owner folder with my
>> > name
>> > and I succeeded in the regular user accounts area, but not in changing
>> > the
>> > name "Owner". I tried to correct that, and that's when two Owner
>> > accounts
>> > showed up and I have no access to the Control Panel, etc. I can't
>> > perform
>> > a system restore, as the "there was an error detected in the Volume
>> > Shadow
>> > Copy Service." I'm afraid to log off, as I've never set any passwords
>> > and
>> > my account is somehow lost or changed, even though I'm on it right now.
>> >
>> > Kristy
>> >
>> > "jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> > news:9A644E8D-B130-45B1-831C-3BEFC6E8F933@microsoft.com...
>> >> You'd have to provide quite a bit more information for me to be sure,
>> >> but
>> >> I'm
>> >> guessing that Owner is your regular account. And it is an
>> >> administrative
>> >> account. (You can check in User Accounts in the Control Panel to be
>> >> sure.)
>> >> Guest is, of course, the default Guest account, and it normally
>> >> shouldn't
>> >> be
>> >> enabled. Administrator isn't showing up because you never (I hope)
>> >> activated
>> >> it and logged into it. You don't have to enter a password because you
>> >> never
>> >> created one. And you can't create an account called "Administrator"
>> >> because
>> >> there already IS an account with that name -- the built-in
>> >> Administrator
>> >> account.
>> >>
>> >> I can't really know this, because, as I said, you haven't given us
>> >> enough
>> >> information. But if you didn't take special steps to activate the
>> >> built-in
>> >> Administrator account, then I'm betting my guess is accurate. The only
>> >> way
>> >> you could accidentally wander into using the Administrator account in
>> >> Vista
>> >> is if the original installation of the OS was botched -- badly. So, if
>> >> neither you nor anyone else deliberately activated that Administrator
>> >> account
>> >> (It's not something you do by making a couple of moves with the
>> >> mouse.),
>> >> I'm
>> >> thinking you're safe.
>> >>
>> >> In order to activate the built-in admin account you would have had to
>> >> issue
>> >> a command from an Administrator-run CLI, or you would have had to use
>> >> the
>> >> compmgmt.msc console, or you would have had to use a special feature
>> >> of
>> >> the
>> >> unattended install process. If you didn't do those, then you're
>> >> probably
>> >> okay.
>> >>
>> >> BTW, I just realized that you could just go to Start | Run, enter
>> >> "compmgmt.msc", and hit the Enter key. If you expand Local Users and
>> >> Groups
>> >> in the left pane of the console and select Users, in the right pane of
>> >> the
>> >> window you should see ALL of your user accounts -- including the
>> >> built-in
>> >> Administrator account. I should have thought of that before. The only
>> >> thing
>> >> is that I don't know whether or not you're using one of the "crippled"
>> >> versions of Vista. I've never looked at those, the ones that don't
>> >> have
>> >> policy editors. I don't know if they also don't have some version of
>> >> the
>> >> computer management console.
>> >>
>> >> Please check it out and let us know either way. If you don't find what
>> >> you're looking for please post back with information about your Vista
>> >> version
>> >> and the exact steps you took in configuring this system.
>> >>
>> >> "Kcpirana" wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Guest & Owner are the only two accounts listed. In addition, the box
>> >>> for
>> >>> requiring user name and password is checked, but I don't enter a
>> >>> password.
>> >>> I don't think I even set one up.
>> >>>
>> >>> Kristy
>> >>>
>> >>> "jimmuh" <jimmuh@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> >>> news:C4668D47-4B6C-4451-8DB7-F8C4FBA8F4A3@microsoft.com...
>> >>> > I'm thinking you may not be in as much of a predicament as you
>> >>> > think
>> >>> > you
>> >>> > are.
>> >>> >
>> >>> > We need a little information. Go to Start | Run. type "control
>> >>> > userpasswords2" in the Open field, and hit the Enter key. Make a
>> >>> > list
>> >>> > of
>> >>> > the
>> >>> > accounts that are listed there, and come back to tell us what they
>> >>> > are.
>> >>> >
>> >>> > i'm thinking that your "renamed" Administrator account is really a
>> >>> > different
>> >>> > administrative account that you gave a name to when it was
>> >>> > automatically
>> >>> > created for you. And your original built-in Administrator account
>> >>> > is
>> >>> > probably
>> >>> > okay. It isn't active by default, so you would have had to do
>> >>> > something to
>> >>> > activate it deliberately to be able to be logging on to it as your
>> >>> > regular
>> >>> > user account. It couldn't have happened by accident. Well, not
>> >>> > likely,
>> >>> > anyway.
>> >>> >
>> >>> >
>> >>> >
>> >>> > "Kcpirana" wrote:
>> >>> >
>> >>> >> I'm not sure if I've really messed something up or not. When I
>> >>> >> was
>> >>> >> setting
>> >>> >> up my computer, I forgot to set up a new account for myself and
>> >>> >> I've
>> >>> >> completely customized, installed to, and am using the
>> >>> >> Administrator
>> >>> >> account
>> >>> >> as my primary account. Is there anyway to duplicate this account
>> >>> >> (so
>> >>> >> I
>> >>> >> don't have to start from scratch) and then how would I restore
>> >>> >> this
>> >>> >> one
>> >>> >> to
>> >>> >> the use for which it was intended? Or can I create a new
>> >>> >> administrator
>> >>> >> account? I tried to do that, but it wouldn't let me name an
>> >>> >> account
>> >>> >> "Administrator" as it was already in use. When I logged off and
>> >>> >> back
>> >>> >> on,
>> >>> >> however, it only showed the account that I renamed with my name.
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >> Kristy
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >
>>
>>