XP had an ace in the hole. If for some reason you couldn't log on to your admin account, there was always the Administrator account. Win7 apparently doesn't have this. I think if your admin account should get clobbered, or its password get clobbered, you will need to re-install. Am I wrong?It's true that if all your admin accountshave their disabled bit set, you can log on to Administrator in safe mode.That seems silly. That's like carrying a spare tire in the trunk of your car that only works on the left front wheel. Why bother?With the help of others, I have come up with a scheme that would make Rube Goldberg proud. It gives me an admin account that isn't shown on the logon screen (to avoid clutter and confusion) but will allow admin access from a non-admin account, using the "run as different user" thing.I think it would be better if Win7, like XP,gave us this capability withoutcomplicated schemes.Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this could be done simply without compromising security. For instance,Win7 could show hidden accounts when booting in safe mode, and a check box for "hide this account", in the useraccount.Or maybe I'm the only one whowants an alternate admin access? Or maybe you guys have a better way?

The accounts are restricted for security, the run as different user is for this functionto enable the administrator accountnet user administrator /active:yesto disablenet user administrator /active:no

Hi SteveThere have been several workarounds developed for this issue which first appeared in Windows Vista. Here is a link to several of these that was developed shortly after Vista was released. These still work for Windows 7.What do I do: I can no longer log in or elevate to an administrator accountRegards,Thank You for testing Windows 7 Ronnie Vernon MVP

A computer manufacturer who preinstalls a particular edition of Windows is only obligated to support that particular Windows edition.If the computer manufacturer installed a 32-bit edition of Windows Vista and you purchased the computer, the 32-bit edition is what you haveto live with. However, some computer manufacturers will provide their 64-bit OEM disc if you request it, others will not. In essence, youhave the computer manufacturer to contend withand not Microsoft. There is no agreement between a computer manufacturer and Microsoftregarding which Windows architecturea computer manufacturer must support.To sum up, if you purchased a new computer that came with a 32-bit Windows Vista operating system installed, and the computer manufactureris unable orunwilling to supply a 64-bit Windows Vista disc, that is their prerogative. If you still desire a 64-bit Windows Vista operating system, then youare free to purchase one. Example: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bitCarey Frisch

What do I do: I can no longer log in or elevate to an administrator accountThis article talks about a Windows Installation DVD.I bought a pre-made notebook instead of building my own. I guess that's what all you clever folks here on TechNet do, build your own notebooks from scratch. That's ok. I can't know everything. But my notebook didn't come with any kind of Windows disk. I followed instructions and made some sort of disk set from something called D:\Recovery. But that doesn't seem to be the same thing as what you're talking about. I tried using it once just to see, and it erased my whole hard drive and installed Windows just like new. I don't want to do that again.Just in case I get locked out, do you know where I can get this Windows Installation DVD?---------------------------------------------OK Ronnie. Yes, my post above is a tongue-in-cheek parody.But I am not trolling. I am demonstrating a genuine problem that Microsoft needs to address. Every attempt I have made in this forum to discuss this has resulted in censorship and deletion. It doesn't make sense.Microsoft is selling this product into an increasingly consumer dominated market. Yet the fundamental survival tools are not being included. It's likegiving someone a canoe without a paddle.For those millions of us with a factory-installed Home Premium products, it's pointless (and misleading) to advise us to use gpedit and Installation DVDs and so forth. We don't have these tools. That Administrator recovery scenario that we developed was a problem for users who only had an OEM system recovery disk and not a retailinstallation disk. This was because the OEM system recovery diskdid notcontain theWinRE Repair Tools, like the installation disk.This problem was solved to some extent when we were testing Vista SP1 and Microsoft made autility available, to the beta testers,thatthey could useto create a bootable System Repair Disk that included all of the same repair tools that were availableon the installation disk. A couple of well known websiteshave informationcreating this utility for Vista OEM systems.Microsoft has now solved this problem in Windows 7 byincluding the CreateaSystem Repair Disc utility in the Maintenance options. Ronnie Vernon MVP