Help please!
I've got a problem and I really need help because I do not understand what is wrong.
I need to make a new limited user account in Windows XP. I log on (as Administrator) and create a user with the users panel in control panel, but I only get the option to create an administrator, I cannot create a limited account. If I create an administrator it replaces my existing administrator login but does then lets me create user accounts - but of course i've then lost my primary (admin) user. It does this on two machines, i'm using Windows XP Pro.
Am I doing something wrong? Or is there something wrong with my admin login.
have you tried login in with the administrator login? and are you talking about the default admin login? you usually want to make a unique username for your admin account anyways.
after typing in the account name, my XP Home says Pick an Account Type: computer administrator or Limited.
I believe you create the account. Then go to computer management (in the administrative control panel), go to users, select the account, go to properties, and add/or remove privledge groupings (group administrators/users/restricted users/etc) from there.
i've got the default admin login on one machine - the other I couldnt say if it is "default" but it has two limited logons already. When I create a new user I only get the option to make an admin login which replaces my existing user account - which I cannot afford to do, but if I go ahead with that i can then create limited logons (but I have to use system restore to get my admin login back).
I'm so stuck. :( *cry*
Bek, WinXP loves to force you to create a personalised Administrator account at every turn and then it attempts to hide the default admin. Your best bet is to play along, but there are ways around it of course. First up, I'll say it again, default admin is getting hidden, not replaced. You aren't losing anything. There are two ways to create a limited account in XP. The second way is to use the Management Console. The first way is to use the User Account panel, provided that you allready have a personalised admin account, it will start letting you create limited accounts.
But since to get rid of that personalised account afterwards we need to go into the Management Console anyway, let's just start there... OK, so I presume you have a basic set up with only the default admin account created:
1. Start-->Run. Enter 'mmc' (without quotes obviously)
2. File-->Add/Remove Snap-in....
3. Add-->Local Users and Groups-->OK, Finish, Close, OK.
4. Local Users and Groups (Local)-->Users.
I have a 'clean' install of XP SP2 here, that is I have five user accounts - HelpAssistant (related to Remote Assistance, which I have disabled because I disabled the related services), SUPPORT_########, some MS thing, also disabled, Guest, not disabled but turned off in User Account panel, ASPNET, which I can probably disable but that has something to do with .NET Framework I'm not likely to ever need to use and of cause Administrator.
A default installation of WinXP will yield at least one more user, the personalised admin account. Since you're not familiar with this, I wonder how you managed to bypass creating that user in the first place?
5. Right click in the empty space below the list of users and select New User....
6. User name is the name given to the account.
7. Full name and Description are not important (Active Directory information).
8. Create, Close.
By default the new user is given Users priveledges, which equates to Limited User in the User Account panel. Since we're using the MMC we have more control, we can assign this user Power User status (see Win2000). If you don't want this, you can quit out and you're done.
9. Double click the freshly created user.
10. Member Of-->Add....
11. Enter 'power users'-->OK, OK. Done!
When you quit out, do not save settings. That saves that console settings (window positioning, Local Users and Groups open, etc, instead of a blank console) - the actual User data is saved automatically.
Why create a new console?
Just use 'compmgmt.msc' to start the computer management MMC (or right click on 'My Computer' and select 'Manage') and select 'Local Users & Groups > Users' and continue from step 5 above.
Am I missing something?
Thank you muchly, I got it working this morning - now at least I can understand why it failed and know what to do next time without all the pallava, thank you very much for your help.
/hug
Melvin, I just found it easier to remember 'mmc' instead of a gazillion different .msc names ;]
As a side note, anybody who would rather skip going through the rigmarole of creating a personalised admin account only to delete it the first instant they get into Windows, just reset the computer at the OOBE screen ;] It won't boot again...