Re: 2 administrators on my laptop? need help
- From: Malke <notreally@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 06:37:59 -0700
Lynne wrote:
I'm the only user of my laptop. I tried to run msconfig and was denied access, not logged on as administrator, although my user account reflects Administrator,password protected.
After hours with HP tech support, I was instructed to ctr+alt then delete which I did It brought up another Administrator account, no password and a different desktop with limited ICONS.
What can I do to resolve this issue and have only (1) adm account?
First of all, unless you could not run the System Configuration Utility at all, the issue with msconfig is probably caused by HP printer software. Your post is ambiguous, but if you were able to run msconfig and make changes but then get the error message, then that is the common HP printer software effect. The changes are made anyway. If you go to Start>Run and type "msconfig" (without the quotes) and the System Configuration Utility fails to even start, your computer may be infected with a virus or other malware. You will have to be more specific in your next post, including the exact text of any error message.
Second of all, you never want to have only one administrator account. What happened was that HP tech support had you log into the built-in Administrator account. Since you were able to do this with Ctrl-Alt-Del, you apparently have XP Pro and not Home Edition. See below for an explanation of the user accounts in XP:
*****
XP is a multi-user operating system, no matter if only one person is using it. In all multi-user operating systems - NT, Win2k, XP, Unix, Linux, Mac OSX - there is the one built-in account that is "god" on the system. In Windows terminology, that is "Administrator". In the *nix world, it is "root". This is a necessary account and is not normally
used in everyday work. You cannot delete the built-in Administrator account nor would you ever want to.
Here is the explanation of what you really have:
My Computer - represents your entire computer, showing drives and shared folders. Shared Folders are folders where you can put files you wish to share with other users on the system. You don't need to use these folders if you don't want to, but leave them alone!
[some name] C:\ - your first hard drive, usually the system drive.
Document and Settings - The "container" for all user settings. Each user will have [username] Documents, Music, Videos, My Pictures.
Administrator - Built-in account - Leave alone! Do not use! Do not worry about it!
All Users - Section where items common to all users go. In a multi-user operating system, users have separate accounts. This is the place where if you want to share files with all the other users on the system you would put those files. You don't ever have to use those folders but they need to be there. This is where programs you install that are meant to be installed for all users put settings. All the "Shared Documents" type of folders you see at the root of C:\ are shortcuts to the shared folders in here. Leave them alone!
Default Users - This is the template from which new user accounts are made. You will never put anything in any of those folders but they are needed to create new users. In Linux we use "skel" ("skeleton" - get it?). In Windows, the less-colorful term "Default User" is used. Leave it alone!
[OEM] Administrator or Owner - This is the generic user created by the OEM when installing the operating system. After all, the OEM doesn't know who is going to buy the computer. If you aren't using this OEM user account, you can delete it from the User Accounts applet in Control Panel. It is not the same account as "Administrator".
*****
Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
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