can you change an admin account to standard?

I want to change my first account from admin to standard, but you need to have atleast 1 admin account on available at the time, so since it was my only account, I made another and made that admin too, the I changed my first created account to standard. However! The first account can freely go from standard back to admin by itself...is there a way to stop this?

You cannot demote your root admin account.

When I installed Win7, I had 3 accounts in Vista, 2 Admin and 1 Standard. Standard was the one that I normally use and wanted all the setting transferred to Win7. To be sure that I would not be locked out as Admin, I changed the standard account to Admin. and made all the transfer arrangements from the formerly standard account and it was the only one that I transferred.

After installation I had only one accoount, since I only transferred one. I made 2 others and they were Admin. I changed the account that was transferred to standard. I have not had any problems.

You can adjust the core account permanently to standard

To the original poster, I would make a new admin account, transfer anything that is important to the new account and then delete the problem account

aem said:

You cannot demote your root admin account.

Click to expand...

aem;

I am not sure I understand your post, hope you can clear it up for me?

Windows 7 install, by default, gives you the option of naming the first user account, with Administrator privileges. The root Administrator account is disabled by default.

So if the OP (Original Poster) is using the default administrator account (and has not enabled the root administrator account to use), he can do what I just did: Change the first user account from administrator to standard user. Before I did that, I changed one of my standard user accounts to administrator so I can easily change it back.

So, yes, you can change the first user account from administrator to standard user. Go to Control Panel, to User Accounts, then Manage another account and change it to a standard user account.

Please let me know if this is not correct?

Cheers!
Robert

iseeuu said:

aem said:

You cannot demote your root admin account.

Click to expand...

aem;

I am not sure I understand your post, hope you can clear it up for me?

Windows 7 install, by default, gives you the option of naming the first user account, with Administrator privileges. The root Administrator account is disabled by default.

So if the OP (Original Poster) is using the default administrator account (and has not enabled the root administrator account to use), he can do what I just did: Change the first user account from administrator to standard user. Before I did that, I changed one of my standard user accounts to administrator so I can easily change it back.

So, yes, you can change the first user account from administrator to standard user. Go to Control Panel, to User Accounts, then Manage another account and change it to a standard user account.

Please let me know if this is not correct?

Cheers!
Robert

Click to expand...

For what it's worth, I think you're both correct, it's just that you're talking about different "root"/"first" admin accounts.

There's one administrator account which cannot be deleted or demoted (without really trying), and that's the one which is disabled by default. It's one of only a handful of "in-built" accounts whose RIDs (Relative IDentifiers - like a serial number) are "well known" and always the same on every system:

RID = 500: built-in admin
RID = 501: built-in guest
...
RID = 1000: the first user-created account (not built-in), irrespective of whether it's an admin or not.
RID = 1023: the 24th user-created account
...

Any accounts with RID>=1000 can be demoted or promoted at will, as long as the user carrying out the operation has permissions to do so. Only the built-in accounts are immutable.

I think the request of the original poster is rather simple:
RUN control userpasswords2
Properties on the Account you want to change, as long as it is not "Administrator" account, group membership, Standard User

iseeuu said:

aem said:

You cannot demote your root admin account.

Click to expand...

aem;

I am not sure I understand your post, hope you can clear it up for me?

Windows 7 install, by default, gives you the option of naming the first user account, with Administrator privileges. The root Administrator account is disabled by default.

So if the OP (Original Poster) is using the default administrator account (and has not enabled the root administrator account to use), he can do what I just did: Change the first user account from administrator to standard user. Before I did that, I changed one of my standard user accounts to administrator so I can easily change it back.

So, yes, you can change the first user account from administrator to standard user. Go to Control Panel, to User Accounts, then Manage another account and change it to a standard user account.

Please let me know if this is not correct?

Cheers!
Robert

Click to expand...

As H2S04 said. That root admin account that was disabled by default can be added to other groups, but you cannot remove the Administrators group from it. Removing higher membership groups is demoting.

That first account created during the install even though it is an admin account is not the same as the root admin account. Not being a root admin account, you can add or remove groups to it.

aem said:

As H2S04 said. That root admin account that was disabled by default can be added to other groups, but you cannot remove the Administrators group from it. Removing higher membership groups is demoting.

That first account created during the install even though it is an admin account is not the same as the root admin account. Not being a root admin account, you can add or remove groups to it.

Click to expand...

Thanks! It sounds like we are all on the same page.

So the answer to the OP's question is he can change the Administrator account to a Standard User account as long as it is not the root Administrator account.

Cheers!
Robert

lol...wow...that was hard to follow...

I know what the root/hidden admin account is, and I'm not referring to that I gotta read through everything else slowly...

I changed my first account to admin before I started this thread. But the thing is, I don't have to get on my new admin account to change this account from standard back to admin, that option isn't grayed out for me. So I'm not sure if being able to switch freely like this would be a security issue =/ Is there a way to make it so I can't freely change back to admin?

jepherz said:

lol...wow...that was hard to follow...

I know what the root/hidden admin account is, and I'm not referring to that I gotta read through everything else slowly...

I changed my first account to admin before I started this thread. But the thing is, I don't have to get on my new admin account to change this account from standard back to admin, that option isn't grayed out for me. So I'm not sure if being able to switch freely like this would be a security issue =/ Is there a way to make it so I can't freely change back to admin?

Click to expand...

The original responder used terms that do not apply to Windows at all. There is no "root" anything in Windows...that is a Linux/Unix term.

The "Administrator" account cannot be changed without major hurdles. Any other user account can be changed back and forth from Admin to Standard at will. This answer didn't require nearly so much confusion.

The account that has system root access, is "known" as a root admin account. An administrator account is any account with admin rights. W7 has the Administrators group which is not the same as Xp's Administrators. A user with admin rights in w7 is more like a Power Users loosely speaking.

ok...you are right, accounts can change from standard to admin at will...I made another new account set as standard and it was able to go admin...for some reason I just think thats weird to be able to do that...but I guess this isn't a problem anymore =/

I have another question now then...Theres a problem I want to run that "*Program name* requires Administrator privileges to run." I tried right clicking it, then run as admin, and i just get the same pop up message. I then tried going to properties>compatibility tab>check box: run this program as administrator, and it still doesn't work...why?

I'm new to using a standard account since switching to windows 7 =[

Ignoring the Root/hidden administrator account for the moment - you should not have, (and windows should not Allow), a system without at least one active member of the administrators group.

This means that under normal conditions you cannot demote the last live admin account, as this would effectively lock you out of your own system, as you would have no way to create or re-enable an admin account.

This does occasionally happen and you can end up locked out of the admin functions on a system.

in this case the NT password recovery disk may be used to enable the Root/hidden administrator account if this does not automatically happen when entering safe mode.

Offline NT Password & Registry Editor

jepherz said:

ok...you are right, accounts can change from standard to admin at will...I made another new account set as standard and it was able to go admin...for some reason I just think thats weird to be able to do that...but I guess this isn't a problem anymore =/

Click to expand...

jepherz; I just attempted to change one of my Standard User accounts to Administrator and could not without supplying an Administrator password to the "User Account Control" popup window. That means only an administrator on your computer can change a Standard User account to Administrator. The only reason I can think of that would allow what you describe as "change at will" would be if you did not log out after the change (or reboot). To change a Standard User account to Administrator "at will" is not a normal Windows 7 function.

jepherz said:

I have another question now then...Theres a problem I want to run that "*Program name* requires Administrator privileges to run." I tried right clicking it, then run as admin, and i just get the same pop up message. I then tried going to properties>compatibility tab>check box: run this program as administrator, and it still doesn't work...why?

I'm new to using a standard account since switching to windows 7 =[

Click to expand...

This sounds like a function of the previously mentioned "User Account Control" or UAC. This is a security feature introduced with Vista. It will help protect your computer.

Older programs, or programs not written to use this security feature, will ask you for the administrator permissions each time you start the program. Up to date programs are written to allow you to give Standard User accounts permission to run the program. You can contact the software maker for an updated version of the program or perhaps find a different program written for Vista / 7 that you can use. I also have a couple of these older programs but I feel the UAC security is well worth the minor inconvenience.

Cheers!

Dang...thats why I'm able to change freely. It's cuz I disabled UAC.... Someone suggested I turn it off because it conflicts with steam(a gaming platform thing). It just doesn't work with it on, the screen doesn't dim and ask me for a password, it's just not compatible =/

I'm gonna have to look further into this steam and UAC thing later. So what do people think about UAC on windows 7 though? I know most people just turn it off in Vista cuz it's just annoying. I never had vista though so I don't know exactly how much the same they are or whatever...really wasn't expecting to be asking all these questions switching from XP...

A standard user can NEVER change themselves to an administrator, regardless of the UAC settings. That would simply be foolish and pointless. Only an administrator can promote another user to administrator.

see...now I'm just getting confused again...lemme ask it like this:

If you are on a standard account and try to change that standard account you are currently on to admin, what happens? now that I have UAC back on again, the moment I click on "change your account type" A message pops up asking for my admin password with the avatar I picked for that admin account. I type in that password for the admin account, and it lets me switch to admin.

When I had UAC off though, I was able to change freely...

I'm guessing UAC just conflicts with these old games, its mostly my lil cousin that plays them and I guess they figure little kids care more about the games than security, so they do nothing about to fix compatibility with UAC =T