Advice for setting up UAC in new Win 7

Adams Seven · 18 Sep 2010

My new Win 7 64 bit computer arrives in a few days, and I want to be a good user this time around, and not do everything in administrator mode. I know I'll be safer if I spend most of my time computing as a standard user, and just use admin mode when I have to.

I bought a Win 7 book, read the section on UAC, and think I have a strategy. If I'm off the mark on this, please let me know.

Create a new administrator account and use it to install software, import files, get everything the way I want it.

Create a second administrator account.

Log in via the second administrator account and turn the first admin account into a standard account.

Thereafter, use the standard account for nearly all my computing, and the second-created admin account only when there are administrative chores to do.

If there's a better way of doing this, please let me know. *Or,* if you don't think I'll get into any trouble doing it this way --

-- please let me know that, too!

Bare Foot Kid · 18 Sep 2010

Hello Adams Seven, welcome to Seven Forums!

When Windows 7 installs it creates an Administrator account (not the hidden one), after the install all you have to do is to create a Standard User account to use for everyday business.

You can install anything you like in a standard account, you will just have to enter the user credentials for the administrator account (created at install) when prompted by UAC to complete the software install.

It would not be a good idea at all to delete the Administrator account created for the initial Windows 7 install, doing that causes all kind of unforeseen issues.

Ztruker · 18 Sep 2010

When I installed Windows 7 Pro I had to enable the Administrator account, it was not available after the install. I followed the directions posted here: Enable the (Hidden) Administrator Account on Windows 7 or Vista - How-To Geek

pparks1 · 18 Sep 2010

I'm running on my Win7 computer as a standard user and supplying a username and password combo when I have to do anything that requires admin mode. It's worked out just fine for me, very few problems at all.

Bare Foot Kid · 19 Sep 2010

Ztruker said:

When I installed Windows 7 Pro I had to enable the Administrator account, it was not available after the install. I followed the directions posted here: Enable the (Hidden) Administrator Account on Windows 7 or Vista - How-To Geek

That is an entirely different account than has been referred to here.

It is an extremely bad idea to use this account at all except in extreme cases of authority issues, when in this account any malware that has found its way into the system has free rein to alter the system in any way and the user will get no warning at all that it is happening.

Do not use this account at all.