Windows 10 problem with administrator account. Using Group Policy Editing
When installing Windows 10, the system asks you to create and configure a user account, or rather, a local administrator. However, during the installation process of the system in stealth mode, another administrator account is automatically created with higher privileges and access rights. In particular, it is not covered by the UAC mechanism; therefore, all applications launched with “global” administrator rights are executed bypassing this security system.
The hidden administrator account can be used to install drivers, unsigned programs, and perform various settings that require elevated access rights. However, it is recommended to use it only in extreme cases, and be sure to turn it off after performing the necessary actions. There are three main ways to enable the hidden administrator account: through the command line, through the Local Policy Editor, and using the Local Users and Groups snap-in. Let's look at them in order.
Enabling the hidden Administrator account via the command line
The first method is the simplest and most convenient. Open a command prompt as an administrator (Windows Command List (Windows CMD) will also be useful for you) and run the command in it:
net user Administrator /active:yes
If you suddenly receive the message “User name not found,” it means that your hidden admin has been renamed or you are using the English version of Windows (the message will be in English). In this case, check the admin name by immediately running the command
By default, the hidden administrator account does not have a password, so we strongly recommend that you set it using the command
net user Administrator password
having first replaced “password” with your password.
Enabling the hidden Administrator account through the Local Group Policy Editor
With the Local Group Policy Editor everything is just as simple, just a little longer. Open it with the command gpedit.msc(right click on the Start menu - Run) and go to Computer Configuration -> Windows Configuration -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Settings, in the right part of the window find the option “Accounts. Administrator account status" and enable it.
Enabling the hidden Administrator account through the Local Users and Groups snap-in
It will take approximately the same amount of time to enable the administrator account through the Local Users and Groups snap-in. Open it with the command lusrmgr.msc(right click on the Start menu - Run), expand the “Users” section, find the “Administrator” entry on the right side and double-click on it, uncheck “Disable account” in the window that opens and save the changes.
Whichever of these three methods you use, the hidden administrator account will become available on the login screen. This account is disabled in exactly the same way by replacing yes in the first command with no. In general, the simplest and easiest way to disable it is from the same CMD console (command line) by running one single command in it
net user administrator /active:no
How to enable the built-in administrator account when Windows 10 can't sign in
And the last possible option is that logging into Windows 10 is impossible for one reason or another and you need to activate the Administrator account in order to take steps to correct the situation (see also Windows 10 How to remove built-in applications and How to speed up Windows 10). If you remember your account password, but for some reason you can’t log into Windows 10 (for example, the computer freezes after entering the password). In this case, a possible solution to the problem would be:
- At the login screen, click the power button shown below on the right, then hold Shift and click Restart.
- The Windows Recovery Environment will load. Go to “Troubleshooting” - “Advanced Options” - “Command Prompt”.
- You will be required to enter your account password to launch Command Prompt.
- This time the login should work (if the password you remember is correct).
- After that, use the first method from this article to enable the hidden account.
- Close Command Prompt and restart your computer (or click Continue. Quit and use Windows 10).
Conclusion
Remember: such an account is blocked not because of the whim of the developers, but for your own good and safe work on the computer. Working with full administrator rights, there is a higher chance of picking up viruses or causing something irreparably disrupted in the system. Therefore, even professionals are recommended to enable the administrator account only to solve a specific problem or perform a specific action, after completing the work, switching back to a regular user account - the computer, your nerves, and the money that you will not have to pay for repairs will be safer. You might be interested in How to reset Windows 10 to factory settings and disable Windows 10 spy features.
Be careful when using Windows 10, and your device will reward you with good and fast performance!
As in other Windows OS families, after installing them, we create our own account or log into an account that has already been created. So we get some rights. But not everyone knows that during the Windows installation process an interesting administrator account is created. To avoid problems it is disabled. Now we will talk about how you can enable this account in Windows 10 and how to disable it later.
So, since Windows XP, this account was simply hidden and users did not see it, then, starting with Vista, the administrator account was blocked. It provides unlimited possibilities, that is, you have access to absolutely all functions, it does not work, and running programs as an administrator is not required.
Even if the account is blocked, there are ways in which we will try to enable it.
Via command line
This method is the fastest and most convenient; it will be easy for those who have already worked with the command line. So, run it with administrator rights and run this command:
net user administrator /active:yes
If the command is not completed, a message may appear: name not found, then most likely the account has a different name. To display all accounts, you need to enter the following command on the command line:
net user
As you can see, our account is called “Administrator”, then to activate it we enter the command:
net user Administrator/active:yes
net user Administrator *
Local users
So, open the Local Users and Group window. You can type the name in the search or press the keys Win+R and enter the phrase in the window that opens lusrmgr.msc. A window will open in which you expand the “ Users”, double-click on the administrator account, if anything, it says “Administrator”, then uncheck "Account is disabled" and save the changes.
As you can see, everything is also very simple, the main thing is to remember that the user and group policy is not available in the home edition of Windows 10. And from the window where you enabled the administrator, you can also set a password for the account.
Local Policy Editor
Now let’s use the local policy editor, open it like this: click Win+R, and then enter gpedit.msc. Or, you can enter this command: secpol.msc. Next, we follow this path: Computer configuration → Windows Configuration → Security Settings → Local policies → Security Settings. Now we search and edit the policy “Accounts: Administrator account status”. And click enable or Enable.
How to disable the administrator account
In order to disable the admin account, it is most convenient to use the command line. Open it as administrator and enter the command again, only now instead of yes, it will be no:
net user administrator /active:no
If the OS version is Russian, then the command is as follows:
net user administrator /active:no
That's all. And in the following articles we will look at how you can use this account.
Administrator rights in Windows 10 are needed for the user to perform certain actions: changing configurations of standard and installed programs, optimizing system operation, accessing all files stored on the computer.
How to get administrator rights in Windows 10
You can enable elevated privileges in Windows 10 in several ways.
Important! Home version users will not be able to use all of the available options described below.
Using the Command Line
This method is universal for all versions of Windows and is considered the simplest. Launch an elevated Command Prompt. In the window that opens, enter: net user administrator /active:yes. With an English-language OS installed, the command is written as follows: net user administrator /active:yes.
Healthy! There is no default password for this entry, so it is worth setting one. You can do this using the command: net user Administrator * in the Command Line, repeating the password twice.
Local Security Policy utility
In the Run window, enter the command secpol.msc.
Healthy! An alternative option for launching the Local Security Policy utility: Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools.
After this, follow these steps:
Open the “Local Policies” branch –> Security Settings –> select “Accounts: State “Administrator”” in the right window
This option is disabled by default. Double-click on it and set the marker to the “on” position.
Using the Local Users and Groups utility
lusrmgr.msc. In the window that opens on the left, select the “Users” section. A list of all computer users will open on the right side. On the Administrator entry, double-click on it and uncheck the “Disable account” option. After this, save your changes.
Computer Management utility
Run the command in the Run window compmgmt.msc. In the window that opens, in the tree list, follow the path:
Computer Management –> Utilities –> Local Users –> Users –> select the Administrator line and double-click on it
In the window that opens, uncheck the “Deactivate account” menu.
Video “Windows 10 Administrator Rights”
The video shows in detail how to enable superuser rights using the command line and the Local Users and Groups utility.
How to remove an administrator account
Disabling is performed in the same order for each item, but instead of enabling, the parameters are deactivated. If using the Command Line, enter: net user administrator /active:no (in the English version - net user administrator /active:no).
Important! You should use an account with elevated privileges only in extreme cases. It is not recommended to constantly work from under it, or leave it on for a long time.
Login
To log in as an Administrator, restart your computer. The entry will become available on the Windows 10 login screen.
Conclusion
There are several ways to enable Administrator rights. A universal option is to use the Command Line. But working under this account on a permanent basis is not advisable!
As you know, when installing Windows 10, the system asks you to create a user account and grants local administrator rights to this account. However, during the installation process another one is created hidden admin account, which is disabled for security reasons. In this article we will talk about the built-in administrator account in Windows 10, what it is for, how to enable it and block it.
Even in Windows XP, the administrator account was hidden from the login screen, and from Windows Vista to Windows 10 inclusive, it is also blocked. The built-in administrator account has full, unlimited rights on the computer; this account is not subject to UAC (User Account Control), and all programs are executed without a UAC prompt (this is its main difference from user accounts with administrator rights).
Important. You need to enable the “Administrator” account only if absolutely necessary to perform a specific task or troubleshoot. It is not recommended to keep this account active all the time, much less constantly work from under it.
We'll look at several ways to enable the built-in administrator account in Windows 10.
Advice. By default, the Administrator password is not specified (empty).
Command line
The fastest and easiest way to enable the administrator account is from an elevated command prompt.
To do this, run the command:
net user administrator /active:yes
Advice. If the command returns that the name was not found, your administrator account has likely been renamed. You can display a list of all accounts with the command:
In our case (Russian version of Windows 10), the account is called “Administrator”. We activate it with the command:
By default, there is no password specified for this account (empty password), so we strongly recommend changing it to something quite complex. The password is set by the command (the password will need to be specified twice).
net user Administrator *
Note. The considered method of activating the built-in administrator from the command line will work in all versions of Windows 10. While the methods discussed below are not applicable to home editions of Win 10, which do not have the Computer Management and Local Security Policy snap-ins
Local Users and Group snap-in
Open the Local Users and Groups MMC snap-in by typing in the search bar or command line lusrmgr.msc. In the console window, expand the section Users. Find and double-click on the account named Administrator and uncheck the checkbox Account is Disabled(Account is disabled). Save your changes.
The administrator account is now enabled. In the same console, you can change its password by selecting in the context menu Set Password.
Local Policy Editor
Open (or local security policy editor - secpol.msc). Go to section Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options. Find and edit the policy Accounts: Administrator account status(Accounts. State of the 'Administrator' account), changing it to the state Enable.
After enabling the administrator account using any of the above methods, it will be available on the login screen.
The administrator is disabled in the reverse order. The easiest way to do this is from the command line:
net user administrator /active:no