Windows Vista administrator account locked down

Windows Vista administrator account locked down

Here¡¦s the details:

Windows Vista Home Premium

I am not experienced with Vista, however am pretty comfortable with XP
and am used to managing computers through admin rights, can do minor,
simple registry tweaks and fixes, and have always been able to recover
from my mistakes. I ain¡¦t scared to run a machine from an
administrator account. Once upon a time, I could access administrator
rights in Vista. That is not to say I really know what I¡¦m doing ¡V I
apparently do not know enough to recognize the advantages of Vista.

Originally I set up the machine and Vista to have only one account,
and that account was set up as an administrator. I think ¡V it¡¦s been
a while and I don¡¦t normally use this machine, it is my wife¡¦s. Well,
she¡¦s my wife for now, but she¡¦s not too impressed with my buying her
a Vista machine. Much is at stake.

Since the last time I worked with the administrator account the
following events occurred that may be relevant:
¡E The machine was out of my control for about a month. Belongs to my
wife who has it at another location and I can only get at it
intermittently. I am confident she could not wander into security
settings by accident.

¡E The problem was discovered during the installation of Linksys
software to install and configure a new .811g router. The software
installed, and was able to achieve a connection through wireless
networking. An internet connection could not be achieved however.
This behavior was very reminiscent of experiences with Live Onecare
(or was it a Windows Update???) arbitrarily and without warning
setting my wireless network connections to ¡§Public.¡¨

¡E This appeared after the machine was hooked up to a cable modem by a
technician from the cable company, and was done out of my presence.
My wife, who was present, does not remember that the installer asked
any questions about the account, but¡K

¡E It also appears Microsoft may have pushed out some updates prior to
the installation of the Linksys software and attempt to create a
wireless connection.

The only security software on this computer is Microsoft Live Onecare.
Security settings show Windows Firewall is turned off when accessed
directly. Live Onecare indicates Firewall is turned on. (no problem,
that¡¦s how my two smoothly operating XP machines indicate).

The problem:

The administrator account (the only account) is locked down as though
it were a severely restricted user account. Note the consequences:

¡E Can not access Live Onecare or Windows wireless networking security
features to assign the wireless network as ¡§Home or Office.¡¨

¡E Can not use the right click menu item ¡§Run as Administrator.¡¨ This
results in the program or feature starting and hanging. Windows
itself continues to run and other programs can operate. Task Manager
reports it as failing to respond.

¡E Security settings can not be accessed from ¡§Run¡¨ command line. .cpl
files retrieve an error message that access is denied. No security
settings can be accessed

¡E Can not access Live Onecare firewall settings.

¡E Following instructions on using Safe Mode to get to administrator
rights failed with similar denials of access.

At this point, I am stumped. I have scoured forums and discussion
groups and have not found a problem that resembles this one. All of
the issues that are similar provide solutions of the ¡§Run as
Administrator¡¨ or running secpol.msc or .cpl files from the run
command line. Those return ¡§access denied.¡¨ Following instructions
on how to log in as an administrator just logs into the same account
with the same restrictions. Windows does label this account as
¡§Administrator.¡¨

So I¡¦m thinking this fine OS has me in a corner and I¡¦ll have to
reinstall. Are there less severe options or something that will
redeem me in my wife¡¦s eyes?

Thanks,



--
-Ajay
PGP key ID = 0xCC93989F
Key can be found on http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/#extract
or
http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?...3989F&op=index
Post private responses in news group alt.anonymous.messages
with the word "Ajay" in the subject line.

Ajay wrote:

(snippage)


> The administrator account (the only account) is locked down as though
> it were a severely restricted user account. Note the consequences:
>
> ¡E Can not access Live Onecare or Windows wireless networking security
> features to assign the wireless network as ¡§Home or Office.¡¨
>
> ¡E Can not use the right click menu item ¡§Run as Administrator.¡¨ This
> results in the program or feature starting and hanging. Windows
> itself continues to run and other programs can operate. Task Manager
> reports it as failing to respond.
>
> ¡E Security settings can not be accessed from ¡§Run¡¨ command line. .cpl
> files retrieve an error message that access is denied. No security
> settings can be accessed
>
> ¡E Can not access Live Onecare firewall settings.
>
> ¡E Following instructions on using Safe Mode to get to administrator
> rights failed with similar denials of access.
>
> At this point, I am stumped. I have scoured forums and discussion
> groups and have not found a problem that resembles this one. All of
> the issues that are similar provide solutions of the ¡§Run as
> Administrator¡¨ or running secpol.msc or .cpl files from the run
> command line. Those return ¡§access denied.¡¨ Following instructions
> on how to log in as an administrator just logs into the same account
> with the same restrictions. Windows does label this account as
> ¡§Administrator.¡¨

Pretty clear evidence of severe infection by viruses/malware. Back up
the data by using Knoppix or a rescue system and wipe/clean-install the
system. There is no point in doing anything else as the system will
never work right otherwise. Make sure you scan any retrieved data with a
current version antivirus using updated definitions before putting it
onto the clean system. OneCare is not recommended; use NOD32, Kaspersky,
or even Avast (free) instead. The built-in Windows Firewall is adequate
for most people.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

"Malke" <notreally@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:uqHxEleVIHA.1168@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Ajay wrote:
>
> (snippage)
>
>
>> The administrator account (the only account) is locked down as though
>> it were a severely restricted user account. Note the consequences:
>>
>> ¡E Can not access Live Onecare or Windows wireless networking security
>> features to assign the wireless network as ¡§Home or Office.¡¨ ¡E Can
>> not use the right click menu item ¡§Run as Administrator.¡¨ This
>> results in the program or feature starting and hanging. Windows
>> itself continues to run and other programs can operate. Task Manager
>> reports it as failing to respond.
>>
>> ¡E Security settings can not be accessed from ¡§Run¡¨ command line. .cpl
>> files retrieve an error message that access is denied. No security
>> settings can be accessed
>>
>> ¡E Can not access Live Onecare firewall settings.
>>
>> ¡E Following instructions on using Safe Mode to get to administrator
>> rights failed with similar denials of access.
>>
>> At this point, I am stumped. I have scoured forums and discussion
>> groups and have not found a problem that resembles this one. All of
>> the issues that are similar provide solutions of the ¡§Run as
>> Administrator¡¨ or running secpol.msc or .cpl files from the run
>> command line. Those return ¡§access denied.¡¨ Following instructions
>> on how to log in as an administrator just logs into the same account
>> with the same restrictions. Windows does label this account as
>> ¡§Administrator.¡¨
>
> Pretty clear evidence of severe infection by viruses/malware. Back up the
> data by using Knoppix or a rescue system and wipe/clean-install the
> system. There is no point in doing anything else as the system will never
> work right otherwise. Make sure you scan any retrieved data with a current
> version antivirus using updated definitions before putting it onto the
> clean system. OneCare is not recommended; use NOD32, Kaspersky, or even
> Avast (free) instead. The built-in Windows Firewall is adequate for most
> people.
> Malke

As a rider to Malke's advice, if considering NOD32, also consider ESET Smart
Security which includes NOD32 but also is an unobtrusive security suite with
a firewall that (unlike Sphinx VistaFirewallControl in conjunction with the
built-in Windows Firewall) has caused me no bother at all. Doug

Thanks for the recommendations. For no good reason I'm not convinced
this has anything to do with a virus, although I concede the
possibility. There is no confidential data at risk and nothing
critical that requires back up. It's just a machine to access the
internet and web mail, games and such. All of which function just
fine, including the hardwired connection through the cable modem.
--
-Ajay
PGP key ID = 0xCC93989F
Key can be found on http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/#extract
or
http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?...3989F&op=index
Post private responses in news group alt.anonymous.messages
with the word "Ajay" in the subject line.

On Jan 13, 3:47 am, Ajay <Nu...@biz.com> wrote:
> Windows Vista administrator account locked down
>
> Here's the details:
>
> Windows Vista Home Premium
>
> I am not experienced with Vista, however am pretty comfortable with XP
> and am used to managing computers through admin rights, can do minor,
> simple registry tweaks and fixes, and have always been able to recover
> from my mistakes. I ain't scared to run a machine from an
> administrator account. Once upon a time, I could access administrator
> rights in Vista. That is not to say I really know what I'm doing - I
> apparently do not know enough to recognize the advantages of Vista.
>
> Originally I set up the machine and Vista to have only one account,
> and that account was set up as an administrator. I think - it's been
> a while and I don't normally use this machine, it is my wife's. Well,
> she's my wife for now, but she's not too impressed with my buying her
> a Vista machine. Much is at stake.
>
> Since the last time I worked with the administrator account the
> following events occurred that may be relevant:
> ¡E The machine was out of my control for about a month. Belongs to my
> wife who has it at another location and I can only get at it
> intermittently. I am confident she could not wander into security
> settings by accident.
>
> ¡E The problem was discovered during the installation of Linksys
> software to install and configure a new .811g router. The software
> installed, and was able to achieve a connection through wireless
> networking. An internet connection could not be achieved however.
> This behavior was very reminiscent of experiences with Live Onecare
> (or was it a Windows Update???) arbitrarily and without warning
> setting my wireless network connections to "Public."
>
> ¡E This appeared after the machine was hooked up to a cable modem bya
> technician from the cable company, and was done out of my presence.
> My wife, who was present, does not remember that the installer asked
> any questions about the account, but...
>
> ¡E It also appears Microsoft may have pushed out some updates prior to
> the installation of the Linksys software and attempt to create a
> wireless connection.
>
> The only security software on this computer is Microsoft Live Onecare.
> Security settings show Windows Firewall is turned off when accessed
> directly. Live Onecare indicates Firewall is turned on. (no problem,
> that's how my two smoothly operating XP machines indicate).
>
> The problem:
>
> The administrator account (the only account) is locked down as though
> it were a severely restricted user account. Note the consequences:
>
> ¡E Can not access Live Onecare or Windows wireless networking security
> features to assign the wireless network as "Home or Office."
>
> ¡E Can not use the right click menu item "Run as Administrator." This
> results in the program or feature starting and hanging. Windows
> itself continues to run and other programs can operate. Task Manager
> reports it as failing to respond.
>
> ¡E Security settings can not be accessed from "Run" command line. .cpl
> files retrieve an error message that access is denied. No security
> settings can be accessed
>
> ¡E Can not access Live Onecare firewall settings.
>
> ¡E Following instructions on using Safe Mode to get to administrator
> rights failed with similar denials of access.
>
> At this point, I am stumped. I have scoured forums and discussion
> groups and have not found a problem that resembles this one. All of
> the issues that are similar provide solutions of the "Run as
> Administrator" or running secpol.msc or .cpl files from the run
> command line. Those return "access denied." Following instructions
> on how to log in as an administrator just logs into the same account
> with the same restrictions. Windows does label this account as
> "Administrator."
>
> So I'm thinking this fine OS has me in a corner and I'll have to
> reinstall. Are there less severe options or something that will
> redeem me in my wife's eyes?
>
> Thanks,
>
> --
> -Ajay
> PGP key ID = 0xCC93989F
> Key can be found onhttp://pgp.mit.edu:11371/#extract
> orhttp://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?search=0xCC93989F&op=index
> Post private responses in news group alt.anonymous.messages
> with the word "Ajay" in the subject line.

did you manage to get this resolved. I have this problem on a brandnew
pc ( sony media hub) and vista...from the very foirst time I set it
up, it seemed entirely locked down. it says I am an administrator, and
t is the only sign in i have, but acts like I am not. cant download
prety much anything, cant change any settigs cant create a new user.
the only get around was to right click on IE explorer on vista bar
( bottom left) and click run as administrator, which at least let me
download activex etc. however, I have not found a way of making it
treat me as admin. cant be virus: this was a prblem from litererally
brandnew out of the box! any ideas...

On Jan 31, 4:18 pm, prest...@btinternet.com wrote:
> On Jan 13, 3:47 am, Ajay <Nu...@biz.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> >WindowsVistaadministrator account locked down
>
> > Here's the details:
>
> >WindowsVistaHome Premium
>
> > I am not experienced withVista, however am pretty comfortable with XP
> > and am used to managing computers through admin rights, can do minor,
> > simple registry tweaks and fixes, and have always been able to recover
> > from my mistakes. I ain't scared to run a machine from an
> > administrator account. Once upon a time, I could access administrator
> > rights inVista. That is not to say I really know what I'm doing - I
> > apparently do not know enough to recognize the advantages ofVista.
>
> > Originally I set up the machine andVistato have only one account,
> > and that account was set up as an administrator. I think - it's been
> > a while and I don't normally use this machine, it is my wife's. Well,
> > she's my wife for now, but she's not too impressed with my buying her
> > aVistamachine. Much is at stake.
>
> > Since the last time I worked with the administrator account the
> > following events occurred that may be relevant:
> > ¡E The machine was out of my control for about a month. Belongs to my
> > wife who has it at another location and I can only get at it
> > intermittently. I am confident she could not wander into security
> > settings by accident.
>
> > ¡E The problem was discovered during the installation of Linksys
> > software to install and configure a new .811g router. The software
> > installed, and was able to achieve a connection through wireless
> > networking. An internet connection could not be achieved however.
> > This behavior was very reminiscent of experiences with Live Onecare
> > (or was it aWindowsUpdate???) arbitrarily and without warning
> > setting my wireless network connections to "Public."
>
> > ¡E This appeared after the machine was hooked up to a cable modem by a
> > technician from the cable company, and was done out of my presence.
> > My wife, who was present, does not remember that the installer asked
> > any questions about the account, but...
>
> > ¡E It also appears Microsoft may have pushed out some updates prior to
> > the installation of the Linksys software and attempt to create a
> > wireless connection.
>
> > The only security software on this computer is Microsoft Live Onecare.
> > Security settings showWindowsFirewall is turned off when accessed
> > directly. Live Onecare indicates Firewall is turned on. (no problem,
> > that's how my two smoothly operating XP machines indicate).
>
> > The problem:
>
> > The administrator account (the only account) is locked down as though
> > it were a severely restricted user account. Note the consequences:
>
> > ¡E Can not access Live Onecare orWindowswireless networking security
> > features to assign the wireless network as "Home or Office."
>
> > ¡E Can not use the right click menu item "Run as Administrator." This
> > results in the program or feature starting and hanging. Windows
> > itself continues to run and other programs can operate. Task Manager
> > reports it as failing to respond.
>
> > ¡E Security settings can not be accessed from "Run" command line. .cpl
> > files retrieve an error message that access is denied. No security
> > settings can be accessed
>
> > ¡E Can not access Live Onecare firewall settings.
>
> > ¡E Following instructions on using Safe Mode to get to administrator
> > rights failed with similar denials of access.
>
> > At this point, I am stumped. I have scoured forums and discussion
> > groups and have not found a problem that resembles this one. All of
> > the issues that are similar provide solutions of the "Run as
> > Administrator" or running secpol.msc or .cpl files from the run
> > command line. Those return "access denied." Following instructions
> > on how to log in as an administrator just logs into the same account
> > with the same restrictions. Windowsdoes label this account as
> > "Administrator."
>
> > So I'm thinking this fine OS has me in a corner and I'll have to
> > reinstall. Are there less severe options or something that will
> > redeem me in my wife's eyes?
>
> > Thanks,
>
> > --
> > -Ajay
> > PGP key ID = 0xCC93989F
> > Key can be found onhttp://pgp.mit.edu:11371/#extract
> > orhttp://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?search=0xCC93989F&op=index
> > Post private responses in news group alt.anonymous.messages
> > with the word "Ajay" in the subject line.
>
> did you manage to get this resolved. I have this problem on a brandnew
> pc ( sony media hub) andvista...from the very foirst time I set it
> up, it seemed entirely locked down. it says I am an administrator, and
> t is the only sign in i have, but acts like I am not. cant download
> prety much anything, cant change any settigs cant create a new user.
> the only get around was to right click on IE explorer onvistabar
> ( bottom left) and click run as administrator, which at least let me
> download activex etc. however, I have not found a way of making it
> treat me as admin. cant be virus: this was a prblem from litererally
> brandnew out of the box! any ideas...

I have the same problem. Nobody seem to know how to go through this.
Please post if you find the solution, Thanks

"galeled" <galeled@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2d834f87-e02d-4a56-a125-cf2e4f434f71@f47g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...
On Jan 31, 4:18 pm, prest...@btinternet.com wrote:
> On Jan 13, 3:47 am, Ajay <Nu...@biz.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> >WindowsVistaadministrator account locked down
>
> > Here's the details:
>
> >WindowsVistaHome Premium
>
> > I am not experienced withVista, however am pretty comfortable with XP
> > and am used to managing computers through admin rights, can do minor,
> > simple registry tweaks and fixes, and have always been able to recover
> > from my mistakes. I ain't scared to run a machine from an
> > administrator account. Once upon a time, I could access administrator
> > rights inVista. That is not to say I really know what I'm doing - I
> > apparently do not know enough to recognize the advantages ofVista.
>
> > Originally I set up the machine andVistato have only one account,
> > and that account was set up as an administrator. I think - it's been
> > a while and I don't normally use this machine, it is my wife's. Well,
> > she's my wife for now, but she's not too impressed with my buying her
> > aVistamachine. Much is at stake.
>
> > Since the last time I worked with the administrator account the
> > following events occurred that may be relevant:
> > ¡E The machine was out of my control for about a month. Belongs to
> > my
> > wife who has it at another location and I can only get at it
> > intermittently. I am confident she could not wander into security
> > settings by accident.
>
> > ¡E The problem was discovered during the installation of Linksys
> > software to install and configure a new .811g router. The software
> > installed, and was able to achieve a connection through wireless
> > networking. An internet connection could not be achieved however.
> > This behavior was very reminiscent of experiences with Live Onecare
> > (or was it aWindowsUpdate???) arbitrarily and without warning
> > setting my wireless network connections to "Public."
>
> > ¡E This appeared after the machine was hooked up to a cable modem by
> > a
> > technician from the cable company, and was done out of my presence.
> > My wife, who was present, does not remember that the installer asked
> > any questions about the account, but...
>
> > ¡E It also appears Microsoft may have pushed out some updates prior
> > to
> > the installation of the Linksys software and attempt to create a
> > wireless connection.
>
> > The only security software on this computer is Microsoft Live Onecare.
> > Security settings showWindowsFirewall is turned off when accessed
> > directly. Live Onecare indicates Firewall is turned on. (no problem,
> > that's how my two smoothly operating XP machines indicate).
>
> > The problem:
>
> > The administrator account (the only account) is locked down as though
> > it were a severely restricted user account. Note the consequences:
>
> > ¡E Can not access Live Onecare orWindowswireless networking security
> > features to assign the wireless network as "Home or Office."
>
> > ¡E Can not use the right click menu item "Run as Administrator."
> > This
> > results in the program or feature starting and hanging. Windows
> > itself continues to run and other programs can operate. Task Manager
> > reports it as failing to respond.
>
> > ¡E Security settings can not be accessed from "Run" command line.
> > .cpl
> > files retrieve an error message that access is denied. No security
> > settings can be accessed
>
> > ¡E Can not access Live Onecare firewall settings.
>
> > ¡E Following instructions on using Safe Mode to get to administrator
> > rights failed with similar denials of access.
>
> > At this point, I am stumped. I have scoured forums and discussion
> > groups and have not found a problem that resembles this one. All of
> > the issues that are similar provide solutions of the "Run as
> > Administrator" or running secpol.msc or .cpl files from the run
> > command line. Those return "access denied." Following instructions
> > on how to log in as an administrator just logs into the same account
> > with the same restrictions. Windowsdoes label this account as
> > "Administrator."
>
> > So I'm thinking this fine OS has me in a corner and I'll have to
> > reinstall. Are there less severe options or something that will
> > redeem me in my wife's eyes?
>
> > Thanks,
>
> > --
> > -Ajay
> > PGP key ID = 0xCC93989F
> > Key can be found onhttp://pgp.mit.edu:11371/#extract
> > orhttp://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?search=0xCC93989F&op=index
> > Post private responses in news group alt.anonymous.messages
> > with the word "Ajay" in the subject line.
>
> did you manage to get this resolved. I have this problem on a brandnew
> pc ( sony media hub) andvista...from the very foirst time I set it
> up, it seemed entirely locked down. it says I am an administrator, and
> t is the only sign in i have, but acts like I am not. cant download
> prety much anything, cant change any settigs cant create a new user.
> the only get around was to right click on IE explorer onvistabar
> ( bottom left) and click run as administrator, which at least let me
> download activex etc. however, I have not found a way of making it
> treat me as admin. cant be virus: this was a prblem from litererally
> brandnew out of the box! any ideas...
>
>I have the same problem. Nobody seem to know how to go through this.
>Please post if you find the solution, Thanks


Boot up in safe mode. Safe mode always has administrative access, and
therefore can restore proper permissions to any account and fix most
settings, if they can be fixed.

Good luck to all of you facing this issue.