WebJoel
05-04-2006, 05:20 PM
For some months now, I have had this Windows_XP "Log in" dialogue box pop up, using my firstname "Joel" (as the name of the computer's administrator I presume). There is no password. There has never been any password. I merely have to click "okay" to go ahead and launch Windows_XP.
In past computers and operating systems of mine, I have been able to successfully remove the "Log out" key from the "start" button, thus eliminating the so-called 'need' to "log in/log out"...
Well this last Sunday, disgruntled over this waste of my time with kluge when starting-up the computer, I attempted to remove the "log in" key, and discovered that there were in fact THREE such keys. One, using my first name, seemed to be the 'administrator' -the one with ability to access/edit ALL files & folders... and there were TWO ADDITIONAL "administrator" log-in keys. -Weird...
Typically, if there is only one user (or no need to have seperate accounts, as is the case of my wife and myself using the same computer), the "administrator" is the default and there is NO log-in required. It is when you add even ONE additional account, that this issue appears...
I deleted one seemingly useless "administrator" log-in key. No problems there. Could not delete or edit the SECOND "administrator", so attempted and succeeded in deleting the log-in key of "Joel"... BIG MISTAKE! :-(
I could no longer get into my computer after I'd shut down and re-started! I could get in via SAFE MODE, totally ineffective for dealing with this problem however...
I took the computer to my local pc shop, and he could not get in unless he chained my hard-drive into another machine, and HE was perplexed over this multiple administrator thing too!
He suggested it *might be* malware or spyware... I highly doubted it, as I use a firewall and anti-virals and run 'crap cleaners/spyware-malware removal' tools a few times weekly...
Anyway, he said he'd let me copy all my valuable data onto CDs and he'd format my HDD and re-install XP... but I saw another more attractive option... I wanted another hard-drive anyway, bigger than the current one, so I bought an 80GB HDD and he re-installed my Win_XP onto it and would leave mirroring the important stuff back into the new primary HDD to me to do, and I'd now when ready, just format the OLD 20GB HDD and use that for storage, or running programs I seldom use, etc.
-Has anyone come across this before? I vaguely understand the perceived need for an 'administraror' on a home computer, like if you have kids or 'guests' whom might need to use your computer, but doggone it, it's cruft like this log-in/log-off that make me loathe MS products! :-(
Anyway, I have a two hard-drive computer now and feel slightly better off because of it...
-Joel
In past computers and operating systems of mine, I have been able to successfully remove the "Log out" key from the "start" button, thus eliminating the so-called 'need' to "log in/log out"...
Well this last Sunday, disgruntled over this waste of my time with kluge when starting-up the computer, I attempted to remove the "log in" key, and discovered that there were in fact THREE such keys. One, using my first name, seemed to be the 'administrator' -the one with ability to access/edit ALL files & folders... and there were TWO ADDITIONAL "administrator" log-in keys. -Weird...
Typically, if there is only one user (or no need to have seperate accounts, as is the case of my wife and myself using the same computer), the "administrator" is the default and there is NO log-in required. It is when you add even ONE additional account, that this issue appears...
I deleted one seemingly useless "administrator" log-in key. No problems there. Could not delete or edit the SECOND "administrator", so attempted and succeeded in deleting the log-in key of "Joel"... BIG MISTAKE! :-(
I could no longer get into my computer after I'd shut down and re-started! I could get in via SAFE MODE, totally ineffective for dealing with this problem however...
I took the computer to my local pc shop, and he could not get in unless he chained my hard-drive into another machine, and HE was perplexed over this multiple administrator thing too!
He suggested it *might be* malware or spyware... I highly doubted it, as I use a firewall and anti-virals and run 'crap cleaners/spyware-malware removal' tools a few times weekly...
Anyway, he said he'd let me copy all my valuable data onto CDs and he'd format my HDD and re-install XP... but I saw another more attractive option... I wanted another hard-drive anyway, bigger than the current one, so I bought an 80GB HDD and he re-installed my Win_XP onto it and would leave mirroring the important stuff back into the new primary HDD to me to do, and I'd now when ready, just format the OLD 20GB HDD and use that for storage, or running programs I seldom use, etc.
-Has anyone come across this before? I vaguely understand the perceived need for an 'administraror' on a home computer, like if you have kids or 'guests' whom might need to use your computer, but doggone it, it's cruft like this log-in/log-off that make me loathe MS products! :-(
Anyway, I have a two hard-drive computer now and feel slightly better off because of it...
-Joel