delete computer admin account

[dziadek]

i would like to delete the administrator account on my windows xp pro sp2 machine and use the super administrator as the only account on the machine.
i have already done this on my tablet which is running windows tablet edition which is just like xp pro just has a few things for the screen.

now i cant remember how to do it or maybe the sp2 thing changed it somehow.

i know the risks of using the super admin account but im fine with that and have been using it on my laptop for 2 years now without any anti virus and i haven't gotten a single virus

thanx in advance.

 

[dziadek]

buuuuuuump

 

[gbhall]

why bother?

Whilst I know you can do this i.e., destroy the 'default' account 'admin' and still work with account 'administrator', there is no real reason - why do this? Just set the password for 'admin' to blank, or even go to registry key
HKLM\software\microsoft\windowsNT\winlogin and play with 'defaultUserName' and 'DefaultPassword'. You might have to reduce the number of users to 1 (cant remember) but most people using XP home just dont give a password to Admin, and never see a login again.....

It's some time since I had to do this to allow workstations to automatically login to the local workstation under a Novell network, whilst forcing a login to the network. If you cannot get it to work, there are one or two other significant keys to set, not there to start, and you might need to get back to me....

 

[dziadek]

im not sure you understand
while setting up windows xp it asks you for at least one user name and it automatically make that an account with administrator privileges.

i want to delete that account and leave only the main administrator account that is normally only accessible through safe mode or hitting ctl-atl-del 2 times at the login screen.

 

[dziadek]

figured it out
i logged in as the super admin and went into cmd
then i used a net command along the lines of
net user q /delete
or net user q /dziadekhome /delete
i already forgot which one
lol
bad memory

 

[smore9648]

figured it out
i logged in as the super admin and went into cmd
then i used a net command along the lines of
net user q /delete
or net user q /dziadekhome /delete
i already forgot which one
lol
bad memory

What the hell is (Super administrator)? There is only one kind of administrator

 

[dziadek]

in windows xp there are several different accounts
im going from lowest privileges to highest.

Guest-simple, no password, cant download anything, barley any privliges, pretty much internet access and is able to use some programs already on the computer

Limited User- more then guest but still must rely on the administrator to do certain things

Administrator- account name can be changed to anything you want but this is the main computer account, has access to almost everything

Super Administrator- user name is NOT super administrator, user name is simply administrator and it is a hidden account unless you don't have any other accounts. this account is only accessible though safe mode OR hitting Ctl-Alt-Del two times while at the windows login screen

the keystroke combo brings you to windows secure login where you can type in Administrator as the user name and hit enter to access the account

by default there is no password on this account and it is another weak point in windows.

this is almost a tech support account because it has absolute power in windows.
you will never get a pop up telling you to see the system administrator because thats what your logged in as.

now you know
or you knew what i was talking about just referred to it in a different way and i wasted all this time typing this out.
if thats the case no worries maybe someone else will benefit from it.

the reason i do this is because i don't let anyone use my computers without me breathing down their neck so i don't need any other accounts.

hope this helped

 

[N3051M]

start >run: control userpasswords2

i think you can figure out from there...

 

[gbhall]

as I said

As N3051M says, you cant get a better view than that, which also shows you (as I said) there is no effective difference between users Admin and Administrator.....

 

[N3051M]

As N3051M says, you cant get a better view than that, which also shows you (as I said) there is no effective difference between users Admin and Administrator.....

Yes thats true.. apart from the one obvious difference: the true admin account is built into windows by default (hence when you go to safe mode you see yours and the admin) and the user admin is the one you specify when you're going through the windows setup thing.

I believe the question dzaidek is asking is how to delete the user account, so you're just left with the one admin account, correct?

As far as i remember the rule in windows, there must be at least one user with admin privileges to be present to work. logging in with the default or as you call it "super admin" should let you delete the normal user admin in the control userpasswords2 settings. Although there maybe a prerequisite (like making the admin account show in normal boot login screen?) for this command i don't know, since i can't test it here.

But if you want to know a manual hack, check this out, although i don't know if this is what you're after: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/7/4/7570/05276

 

[DelJo63]

What the hell is (Super administrator)? There is only one kind of administrator

it's poorly labelled here, but there is a hidden user-id that is ONLY visable from SAFE-BOOT.

Just set the password for 'admin' to blank, or even go to registry key
HKLM\software\microsoft\windowsNT\winlogin and play with 'defaultUserName' and 'DefaultPassword'.

this might be viable behide a corporate network,
but this is insane for a home user! NEVER allow a blank password on ANY account unless you like using your backup recovery tools every morning.

 

[gbhall]

this might be viable behide a corporate network,
but this is insane for a home user! NEVER allow a blank password on ANY account unless you like using your backup recovery tools every morning.

Dont disagree at all, but I do point out that the vast majority of XP home users do seem to have no password, and hence no login. They are still using the Admin user, however, which has full rights of course. It is merely a further indication of how MS pay no more than lip-service to user security.

No user with full privilege should, as you say, ever be without a password, but in any sane world that would be enforced by the OS.

On the whole, I doubt if in the real world there is much security advantage, because any hacker will be well aware of the extra Administrator user with no password; can access the registry and discover passwords using tools available on the web; etc etc. All due to the inherent weaknesses of Windows. On the down-side, MS has to leave a back-door open for the few hundred people a day all round the world who forget their own password.....

To make a more useful point, emphasise how almost no matter what you do, your PC is not secure, and you must take all possible steps with firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-this-that-and-the-other. Yet taking regular backups and images is the only real security for people's hard-won data, and this just does not get the measure of coverage it deserves.