Hi there,
I have a computer on which I have had one user called Administrator. I've
had it set up that way for years.
Today I added a new user (as part of a procedure suggested to deal with a
networking issue). Since adding the new user the user Administrator has
vanished. It does not appear in the User Manager nor at logon time... nowhere
actually.
I have not deleted it.
How do I gain access to this username again? It's the one I wish to use on
this computer in question.

Thanks...

Jonathan

Hi Jonathon,

Once another user with admin level rights is created, the default admin
account is hidden. This is by design. In Pro, you can logon to it by hitting
ctrl+alt+delete twice at the Welcome screen and typing it in. In Home it
will only be available when booted to Safe mode. You should not use the
admin account for normal usage, it should be used as a fail safe in case you
experience corruption of your regular user account.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

"Inspired888" <Inspired888@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:482819B1-847E-4B28-837F-FA1D865B46D1@microsoft.com...
> Hi there,
> I have a computer on which I have had one user called Administrator. I've
> had it set up that way for years.
> Today I added a new user (as part of a procedure suggested to deal with a
> networking issue). Since adding the new user the user Administrator has
> vanished. It does not appear in the User Manager nor at logon time...
> nowhere
> actually.
> I have not deleted it.
> How do I gain access to this username again? It's the one I wish to use on
> this computer in question.
>
> Thanks...
>
> Jonathan

Inspired888 wrote:
> Hi there,
> I have a computer on which I have had one user called
> Administrator. I've had it set up that way for years.
> Today I added a new user (as part of a procedure suggested
> to deal with a networking issue). Since adding the new user
> the user Administrator has vanished. It does not appear in
> the User Manager nor at logon time... nowhere actually.
> I have not deleted it.
> How do I gain access to this username again? It's the one I
> wish to use on this computer in question.
>
> Thanks...
>
> Jonathan

Using the built in Administrator account for the day to day
operation of your computer is not a real good idea. The
Administrator
account is meant to be used for emergencies. The best thing you
could do would be to start using this new account but copy over
the files from the Administrator account into the new account.
To do that you'd have to create another user account that's a
Computer Administrator, logon with that third account and copy
the files by following this procedure:

How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151

You can delete the extra account once you've completed the
procedure.

If you insist on using the Administrator account, take a look
here:

How can I add the Administrator's account to the Welcome Screen
in Windows XP?
http://tinyurl.com/6utzj

How to login as Administrator in Windows XP?
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/admins.htm

Good luck

Nepatsfan

Thanks to you both. This has been very helpful and useful.

Nepatsfan... thanks for also answering the next natural question... "how to
copy data to new account....?"... your pre-emptive answering is appreciated.

Thanks people....

Jonathan

"Nepatsfan" wrote:

> Inspired888 wrote:
> > Hi there,
> > I have a computer on which I have had one user called
> > Administrator. I've had it set up that way for years.
> > Today I added a new user (as part of a procedure suggested
> > to deal with a networking issue). Since adding the new user
> > the user Administrator has vanished. It does not appear in
> > the User Manager nor at logon time... nowhere actually.
> > I have not deleted it.
> > How do I gain access to this username again? It's the one I
> > wish to use on this computer in question.
> >
> > Thanks...
> >
> > Jonathan
>
> Using the built in Administrator account for the day to day
> operation of your computer is not a real good idea. The
> Administrator
> account is meant to be used for emergencies. The best thing you
> could do would be to start using this new account but copy over
> the files from the Administrator account into the new account.
> To do that you'd have to create another user account that's a
> Computer Administrator, logon with that third account and copy
> the files by following this procedure:
>
> How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151
>
> You can delete the extra account once you've completed the
> procedure.
>
> If you insist on using the Administrator account, take a look
> here:
>
> How can I add the Administrator's account to the Welcome Screen
> in Windows XP?
> http://tinyurl.com/6utzj
>
> How to login as Administrator in Windows XP?
> http://windowsxp.mvps.org/admins.htm
>
> Good luck
>
> Nepatsfan
>
>
>
>

You're welcome. Glad to help out.

Nepatsfan

Inspired888 wrote:
> Thanks to you both. This has been very helpful and useful.
>
> Nepatsfan... thanks for also answering the next natural
> question... "how to copy data to new account....?"... your
> pre-emptive answering is appreciated.
>
> Thanks people....
>
> Jonathan
>
> "Nepatsfan" wrote:
>
>> Inspired888 wrote:
>>> Hi there,
>>> I have a computer on which I have had one user called
>>> Administrator. I've had it set up that way for years.
>>> Today I added a new user (as part of a procedure suggested
>>> to deal with a networking issue). Since adding the new user
>>> the user Administrator has vanished. It does not appear in
>>> the User Manager nor at logon time... nowhere actually.
>>> I have not deleted it.
>>> How do I gain access to this username again? It's the one I
>>> wish to use on this computer in question.
>>>
>>> Thanks...
>>>
>>> Jonathan
>>
>> Using the built in Administrator account for the day to day
>> operation of your computer is not a real good idea. The
>> Administrator
>> account is meant to be used for emergencies. The best thing
>> you could do would be to start using this new account but
>> copy over the files from the Administrator account into the
>> new account. To do that you'd have to create another user
>> account that's a Computer Administrator, logon with that
>> third account and copy the files by following this
>> procedure:
>>
>> How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new
>> profile http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151
>>
>> You can delete the extra account once you've completed the
>> procedure.
>>
>> If you insist on using the Administrator account, take a
>> look here:
>>
>> How can I add the Administrator's account to the Welcome
>> Screen in Windows XP?
>> http://tinyurl.com/6utzj
>>
>> How to login as Administrator in Windows XP?
>> http://windowsxp.mvps.org/admins.htm
>>
>> Good luck
>>
>> Nepatsfan

Inspired888 wrote:
> Hi there,
> I have a computer on which I have had one user called Administrator. I've
> had it set up that way for years.
> Today I added a new user (as part of a procedure suggested to deal with a
> networking issue). Since adding the new user the user Administrator has
> vanished. It does not appear in the User Manager nor at logon time... nowhere
> actually.
> I have not deleted it.
> How do I gain access to this username again? It's the one I wish to use on
> this computer in question.
>
> Thanks...
>
> Jonathan


As you've learned, once any additional user accounts have been
created, the Administrator account will no longer be displayed on the
Welcome Screen. This is a default security feature. By design, the
only way to log into the Administrator account of WinXP Home is to
reboot into Safe Mode. For WinXP Pro, pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL twice at
the Welcome Screen will produce the standard login dialog box.

The built-in Administrator account really isn't intended to be
used for day-to-day normal use. The standard security practice is to
set a strong password on it and use it only to create another account
for regular use, reserving the Administrator account as a "back door"
in case something corrupts your regular account(s).

A wiser course of action would be to create another user account
for your daily use, as you say you've done, and copy desired the files
and settings from the Administrator account to this newly created user
profile.

HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;279783

How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;811151



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
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You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH