Locked and hidden administrator.

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  1. Posts : 11
    MS Windows 10 Home
       #1

    Locked and hidden administrator.


    Recently I had to make a change in my computer that required the Elevated Administrator account to be used. I finally figured out how to open that account, did my thing, shut down the Elevated Administrator account, and returned to my standard account. Then I discovered that I must have done something else while in Elevated Administrator mode because after that I could not install or uninstall any program, could Not access System Configuration, could Not access Safe Mode (used the shutdown /r /o command. When I got to the selection window and pressed F4 I waited for 45 minutes with no Safe Mode result), cmd -> "run as administrator" does not work. When using the GUI to work on this (open Elevated Administrator) I get "To continue, type an administrator password, and then click Yes." But there is no place for a password and the Yes button is not active. When I use the command prompt I get an Error 5 message.

    There must be a way to remedy this hiccup without trashing the OS but I'm at my wits end. You tube 'tutorials' have not helped. Any Windows 10 gurus out there to shine a light on this? Thanks in advance.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 5,169
    64bit Win 10 Pro ver 21H2
       #2

    Hello and welcome! :)

    I am sure we can help. Firstly, have you looked at any of the tutorials on this site. They are full of useful information and will help you find the correct way of doing things. For example, opening the hidden built in Administrator account is covered in the following tutorial:
    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2969-administrator-account-enable-disable-windows-10-a.html?filter[1]=User Accounts

    This should help you to get your Admin account back.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #3

    In a normal command prompt type:

    net localgroup administrators

    What user accounts are listed as administrators?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 11
    MS Windows 10 Home
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Locked and hidden administrator


    NavyLCDR said:
    In a normal command prompt type:

    net localgroup administrators

    What user accounts are listed as administrators?
    Answer:
    Alias name administrators (hgl - see attachment)
    Comment Administrators have complete and unrestricted access to the computer/domain

    Member
    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
    Administrator
    The command completed successfully.

    C:\WINDOWS\system32

    P.S. I have seen the page you have recommended, "How to Enable or Disable Built-in Elevated Administrator Account in Windows 10,"a number of times but I will study it again for anything I may have missed. Thanks for your help.
    Locked and hidden administrator. Attached Images Locked and hidden administrator.-windows-10-admin-1.jpg 
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 11
    MS Windows 10 Home
    Thread Starter
       #5

    philc43 said:
    Hello and welcome! :)

    I am sure we can help. Firstly, have you looked at any of the tutorials on this site. They are full of useful information and will help you find the correct way of doing things. For example, opening the hidden built in Administrator account is covered in the following tutorial:
    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2...-a.html?filter[1]=User Accounts

    This should help you to get your Admin account back.
    Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, I'm still locked out of the elevated administrator account. Nothing on that page has worked. Still open to suggestions.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 5,169
    64bit Win 10 Pro ver 21H2
       #6

    Here is another tutorial that shows how to view the details of User accounts on your system. Maybe it will reveal what has happened to the account.

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/3...dows-10-a.html
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 11
    MS Windows 10 Home
    Thread Starter
       #7

    philc43 said:
    Here is another tutorial that shows how to view the details of User accounts on your system. Maybe it will reveal what has happened to the account.

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/3...dows-10-a.html
    Thanks philc43. An amazing tutorial. Here are the results of that tutorial. Can you see anything amiss? Based on this, what must I do to return my OS to its pre-screw-up standard, unlocked/unblocked state of health? s.n.: Computer name Dads; User name Harvey. Thaks again.



    AccountType=512
    Description=Built-in account for administering the computer/domain
    Disabled=TRUE
    Domain=Dads
    FullName=
    InstallDate=
    LocalAccount=TRUE
    Lockout=FALSE
    Name=Administrator
    PasswordChangeable=TRUE
    PasswordExpires=FALSE
    PasswordRequired=TRUE
    SID=S-1-5-21-459098871-1041614040-2392201109-500
    SIDType=1
    Status=Degraded




    AccountType=512
    Description=A user account managed by the system.
    Disabled=TRUE
    Domain=Dads
    FullName=
    InstallDate=
    LocalAccount=TRUE
    Lockout=FALSE
    Name=DefaultAccount
    PasswordChangeable=TRUE
    PasswordExpires=TRUE
    PasswordRequired=TRUE
    SID=S-1-5-21-459098871-1041614040-2392201109-503
    SIDType=1
    Status=Degraded




    AccountType=512
    Description=Built-in account for guest access to the computer/domain
    Disabled=TRUE
    Domain=Dads
    FullName=
    InstallDate=
    LocalAccount=TRUE
    Lockout=FALSE
    Name=Guest
    PasswordChangeable=FALSE
    PasswordExpires=FALSE
    PasswordRequired=FALSE
    SID=S-1-5-21-459098871-1041614040-2392201109-501
    SIDType=1
    Status=Degraded




    AccountType=512
    Description=
    Disabled=FALSE
    Domain=Dads
    FullName=
    InstallDate=
    LocalAccount=TRUE
    Lockout=FALSE
    Name=Harvey
    PasswordChangeable=TRUE
    PasswordExpires=FALSE
    PasswordRequired=TRUE
    SID=S-1-5-21-459098871-1041614040-2392201109-1002
    SIDType=1
    Status=OK




    AccountType=512
    Description=Built-in account for homegroup access to the computer
    Disabled=FALSE
    Domain=Dads
    FullName=HomeGroupUser$
    InstallDate=
    LocalAccount=TRUE
    Lockout=FALSE
    Name=HomeGroupUser$
    PasswordChangeable=TRUE
    PasswordExpires=FALSE
    PasswordRequired=TRUE
    SID=S-1-5-21-459098871-1041614040-2392201109-1004
    SIDType=1
    Status=OK
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 5,169
    64bit Win 10 Pro ver 21H2
       #8

    So now we know you only have one Administrator account (built-in but disabled) and you are a standard user and there are no other accounts you can use. As you are not an Administrator and you can't access the built in account you can't make any of the changes needed to get you back to an Admin account status. Neither can you do any of the normal repairs. This is why you always need one available admin account on your PC.

    You will need to reset your PC from a bootable disk. Please make sure you backup any important files before proceeding. I am assuming you do not have any recovery disks or system backups from an earlier point in time.

    You will need to boot from a W10 installation media disk or USB and go into advanced startup options and then reset windows. Create the installation media to match your current setup, ie same type (Home/Pro, 64bit/32bit and language version).

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2...dows-10-a.html

    Reset Windows 10
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 11
    MS Windows 10 Home
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Thanks for the advice. However, the problem still remains. When I try to execute item number three (3) of the recommended tutorial I get the dreaded "To continue, type an administrator password, and then click Yes." But there is no place for a password and the Yes button is not active, as I mentioned in my very first communication with you all. This, along with "Error 5" message has been, and continues to be, my problem. Is there no way out of it besides wiping the C drive and starting over again? Thanks again for all of your help.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 5,169
    64bit Win 10 Pro ver 21H2
       #10

    Sorry, you could use the tech bench to download the W10 ISO instead of the MCT.
    Tech Bench

    I think it has come to this being the only route if you have exhausted all the other suggestions. To be sure though did you try option 4 of the original tutorial to enable the built in admin account. This was the one that should have worked for you. You can use the W10 installation media you create above to do option 4.
      My Computers


 

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