How to Activate Windows 7 Administrator - /Active:Yes
How to Activate the Windows 7 Administrator - /Active:Yes
It's a well kept secret that Windows 7 has a hidden super-user administrator account. I will show you how to
activate this Windows 7 Administrator account from the command line by typing a 'Net User' command. One benefit of logging on
with this super
account is that you will never be prompted for the nagging UAC dialog box.
Your first key decision is what password to
give this administrator's account before you activate it. My point is that the local
group policy may insist on a complex password, thus you will not be able to
activate the administrator account if it has a blank password. This technique also
also
works on Vista and Windows
Server 2008, however, on the latter operating system it is more likely
you want to set
/active:no.
Overview
Logon to
Windows 7 using your usual account.
Launch the cmd prompt - Make sure you select, 'Run as administrator'
Net user administrator p$ssw0rD
Net user administrator
/active:yes
Switch User, or logoff
Logon as Administrator Password p$ssw0rD (Your password may be different!)
Detailed Instructions to activate the Administrator
Logon to
Windows 7 using another administrator's username and password.
Click on the Start button
Click on Start Search.
Type,cmd.
Right-click cmd, select 'Run as administrator' from the shortcut menu.
In the black 'DOS box', type the following at the command line: Net help
user
The idea of the last command is just to check the options for Net User. In particular, examine the
syntax to set its password.
The next instruction is the crucial command. I have chosen password = p@ssworD, you may want to choose different characters.
Net user administrator p$ssw0rD
Net user administrator
/active:yes
Check the message hopefully you get : The command completed successfully.
If not log on as a different administrator.
Switch User, or logoff
Logon as Administrator Password p$ssw0rD (Your password should be different!)
Trap1 - Spaces: There should be no space between the word 'active' and the colon.
Trap2
- Slash: You need a forward slash before the word thus: /active
Net user administrator active:yes is wrong
Net user administrator /active:yes
is correct
I thank Rob Hilton for pointing out the above trap.
Trap3 -
Be
Active:
Pay close attention to the command, it should be active, and not activate.
Thanks
to
Ben O'Sullivan for correcting this activate
--> active error.
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Virtual Machines are great for reducing hardware costs, but they can
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Which VM's are idle, and so are literally a waste of (disk) space.
The benefit of a good utility such as Solarwinds Virtualization Manager
is that you see the big picture yet drill down into the detail of disk,
memory or CPU.
If you prefer a simpler method, visit the Local Security policy,
incidentally, this MMC is worth exploring in its own right.
This is how you navigate to the Local Security Policy.
Firstly click on Windows 7's Start orb, then in the Start Search dialog box type:
secpol.msc. Note: you must include the .msc extension.
Secondly drill down to Local Policy, Security Options
Thirdly double click Accounts: Administrator account status, and select
enable.
One benefit of activating the hidden Windows 7 Administrator is that you have
access to an account, which does not suffer from the annoying UAC dialog box. Although it is possible to suppress the UAC with a local
group policy, there is a lingering fear that security is being weakened.
Another worry is that rumours persist that some commands don't work properly if you turn off the UAC.
Linked to the benefit of suppressing the UAC dialog box is the fact that this Administrator
account has elevated privileges. What this means is that if your run CMD you don't have to 'Run as administrator' before you get unrestricted access to the command line.
Another benefit of knowing this method is to keep the hidden Windows 7 administrator account as a 'back door', for
example, if you have inadvertently locked out
your main account. Sitting there at your computer, you can never believe that you will be so foolish as to lock yourself out, yet logic dictates that somewhere in the world, someone has just done that: locked
themselves out of Windows 7. Wouldn't they love to know how to activate their administrator account?
Naturally, it is a case of administrator by name and administrator by function, this super-user is a
member of the Local Administrator's group. In many ways this super Administrator account reminds me of the Unix root account. As I am not a 'professor' of Unix I do not know if you can hide root, but you can hide
Windows 7's administrator account with this command:
Net user administrator /active:no.
Guy
Recommends: Permissions Analyzer - Free Active Directory Tool
I like the
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permissions for a specific file or folder, takes into account network share
access, then displays the results in a nifty desktop dashboard!
Think of all the frustration that this free utility saves when you are
troubleshooting authorization problems for users access to a resource.
Activating this super account
provides a good opportunity to examine where you can configure Windows 7's accounts. Click on the Start button, Control Panel and select --> User Accounts:
My point is that you can check in the GUI which accounts have activated
successfully. /Active:yes the account is visible. /active:no the
User Name disappears from the list below.
Hidden Administrator's SID
Every Windows account has a unique Security Identifier, or SID for short. It has been a traditional for THE administrator's account to have a SID ending in 500. I was surprised therefore, not to see
any such SID number in Windows 7 - until I activated the hidden administrator. When I launched regedit and checked the HKEY_USERS, there was the famous SID ending in 500 (S-1-5-20-2344314121-13413-500), and it
corresponded to the recently activated administrator's account.
One puzzle remained, if, when you initially logon to Windows 7, can you create (as
opposed to activate) an account called Administrator.
John Wolfe came up with the answer. 'When I tried to name the original account
as Administrator. I was told that the "Account already exists" '.
My point is that you cannot have two accounts with the same name, and unlike
XP, before you can logon to Windows 7 you
must first create an account.
One reason to activate the hidden Windows 7 Administrator account is so that you are no longer nagged by the UAC (User Account Control) prompt. The procedure is straightforward, just head for the cmd
prompt and type: Net user administrator /active:yes.
The only trap is that many systems require a complex password so that you need to add a password to the command string thus Net
user administrator p$ssw0rD Then Net user administrator /active:yes
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