Activate, Enable and Show Administrator Account in Vista Welcome Screen
Windows Vista has built-in administrator account that is disabled and hidden by default, just like Windows XP (see how to show administrator account in XP). But unlike XP where any normal user account designated as Administrators group will have the same privileges as administrator account, in Windows Vista the administrator account is true super user account (equivalent to root in Unix/Linux). Obe advantage or benefit for using administrator account to login to Vista is admin is not subjected to UAC (User Access Control) restriction (see how to disable UAC).
How to Enable and Activate Administrator Account in Vista and then Unhide or Show in Welcome Screen
To activate the administrator account in Vista, follow these guide’s instructions:
- Logon to Windows Vista with normal user account username and password (must belongs to Administrators group).
- Click on Vista Start button, and type cmd in the Start Search box.
- Right click on the Cmd returned on the search results pane above, then select Run as Administrator.
- In the Command Prompt window, type the following text at the command line to set a password for administrator account. If you want to use a blank password for the Administrator account, skip this step.
net user administrator password
Replace password with the actual password string that you have chosen. Press Enter when done.Note that if your computer is a member of domain controller or has enabled complex password requirement in Local Security Policy, you will have to pick a really hard to remember password mixed with symbols.
- Next type the following command and press Enter to activate and enable Administrator account:
net user administrator activate:yes
- The process should completed with the following message:
The command completed successfully
If not success message is returned, repeat the process again.
- Logout from Vista by choosing Log Off or Switch User.
- Click on Administrator icon and logon with the password you selected.
You can also enable Administrator account via Vista GUI.
Related Articles
- Enable and Unhide Administrator Account with Vista Local Security Policy Setting
- Enable or Disable Built-in Administrator Account in Windows Vista
- Unhide the Administrator Account in Windows XP
- Easily Login to Windows XP with No Password Administrator Account Backdoor Trick
- How to Open Elevated Command Prompt with Administrator Privileges in Windows Vista
- How to Enable the Registry Editor When Disabled by Administrator
- How to Create Hidden User Account (Hide User Account from Welcome Screen) in Windows
- Run Command Prompt Window as Administrator by Right Click Computer in Vista
- Open Elevated Command Prompt Window Here as Administrator at Current Folder Directly in Vista Windows Explorer
- Disable and Turn Off Windows XP Login Screen and Show Traditional NT Log On to Windows Box
Entries (RSS)
August 30th, 2009 01:17
You have the command wrong; you forgot the slash. Should be:
net user administrator /active:yes
Comments state this but I suggest you edit your original article to make it clear. Thanks.
May 3rd, 2009 23:49
I typed net user administrator /active:yes
but and error comes:
system error 5 has occured
access is denied!
What should I do?
I really need to enable it
Please help me
April 9th, 2009 07:21
@jaya28inside
make sure you open cmd.exe with elevated access rights!
March 5th, 2009 06:19
net user administrator activate:yes
does not work
It should be:
net user administrator /active:yes
July 19th, 2008 05:27
Here’s another way to enable the Administrator account in Vista:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/windows-vista/enable-administrator-account-vista/
June 17th, 2008 12:22
If you accidentally lock your self out of the computer by removing your own Adminstrator priviliges (in Vista the local Administrator account is disabled by default), you can use “Offline NT Password & Registry Editor” to either unlock / enable the Administrator account or promote another user to the local administator group to regain access to your locked Windows Vista PC.
August 18th, 2007 11:48
but it’s appeared access denied…
why is thiss///????
cant work… HELPP!