How to Find or Change My Computer's Administrator

Steps

1. Locate the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Right click the icon and then click on Manage on the menu that should appear next to the cursor. This will bring up the Computer Management window.
3. Locate the Local Users and Groups heading and click the plus symbol to the left of it.
4. If everything has been done correctly, your window should look something like this. Click on Groups on the menu that opens. You will now see headings for Administrators, Guests, Power Users, etc.
5. Double click on Administrators. This brings up a list of all the administrators on your machine. If you have administrative access to this computer, you should be able to change the settings in this menu.
6. To add a new administrator, click the Add button. This will open a new window. Type in the name of the account you wish to add and click Check Names. The name should now be underlined. Click OK to close this window and save your settings.
7. To remove an administrator, highlight the account you wish to remove from the group and click the Remove button at the bottom of the window.
8. If you wish to retain your own administrative rights, make sure not to delete your account from this list.
9. If the settings for your account haven't been changed, there is no need to reboot. Otherwise, logout and login again so that the settings will change.

Tips

• Give administrative access to the fewest number of people possible.
• The Administrator account cannot be removed from the Administrator group because it is a built-in account. However, having an Administrator account that is named Administrator is poor security. I suggest going to Users under Local Users and Groups and renaming your default Administrator account.
• Make sure all passwords are at least 6 characters long and include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Try to change your password at least every 90 days.
• Create an Administrator account with a very complex password, write it down, and put it in a safe or someplace secure. If you lose your personal password, you can login using this account and reset your personal password.

Warnings

• If you are on a work computer, do not change any administrative settings without checking with your IT department first.
• If you are on a shared computer or a computer not belonging to yourself, don't give accounts administrative access without permission from the owner.

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to How to Find or Change My Computer's Administrator. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.