Windows 10 offers two main account types for users, including Administrator and Standard User, each one offering a different set of privileges to use a device. The Administrator type allows complete control, which means that users can change settings globally, install apps, run elevated tasks, and do pretty much anything else.
On the other hand, the Standard User account type is more restrictive. Users with this type of account can work with apps, but they're not allowed to install new applications. They can change settings, but only settings that won't affect other accounts. If an app requires elevation, they'll need administrative credentials to complete the task.
Although it's often recommended to use an account with standard privileges as it offers a more secure environment, sometimes depending on the situation, it may be necessary to change the account type from Standard User to Administrator (or in reverse, from Administrator to Standard User), and Windows 10 includes multiple ways to make this a straightforward process.
In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through virtually every method that you can use to change the account type on your device.
Quick tip: If you're looking to make your main account standard, it's best to create a new administrator account first, and then use the new account to change your old account to standard and make administrative changes.
How to change user account type using Settings
To change the account type with the Settings app on Windows 10, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Accounts.
- Click on Family & other users.
- Select a user account.
- Click the Change account type button.
- Select the Administrator or Standard User account type depending on your requirements.
- Click the OK button.
Once you complete the steps, restart your computer to start using the account with the new membership level.
How to change user account type using Control Panel
To change an account type using Control Panel, use these steps:
- Open Control Panel.
- Click the Change account type option.
- Select the account that you want to modify.
- Click the Change the account type option.
- Select either Standard or Administrator depending on your requirements.
- Click the Change Account Type button.
After you complete the steps, the next time you sign in the account will be limited to the permissions allowed by the user group that you specified.
How to change user account type using User Accounts
To set an account to Standard user or Administrator type using the User Accounts (netplwiz) experience, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Type the following command and press Enter:
netplwiz
- Select the account that you wish to change.
- Click the Properties button.
- Click the Group Membership tab.
- Select the Standard user or Administrator account type depending on your requirements.Quick tip: You can also select the Other membership option, which allows you to choose different user groups, such as Power Users, Backup Operators, Remote Desktop Users, etc.
- Click the Apply button.
- Click the OK button.
- Click the Apply button again.
- Click the OK button again.
Once you complete the steps, restart your computer to apply the changes and start using the new account type.
How to change user account type using Command Prompt
To switch account types with Command Prompt, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
- Type the following command to change the account type to Standard User and press Enter:
net localgroup Administrators 'ACCOUNT-NAME' /delete
In the command make sure to change the ACCOUNT-NAME for the actual name of the account that you want to change. - Type the following command to change the account type to Administrator and press Enter:
net localgroup Administrators 'ACCOUNT-NAME' /add
In the command make sure to change the ACCOUNT-NAME for the actual name of the account that you want to change.Quick info: Users with administrator accounts are part of both, the 'Administrators' and 'Users' groups. As a result, to make a user standard, you only need to remove the user from the 'Administrators' group. - Type the following command view the account type and press Enter:
net user ACCOUNT-NAME
After you complete the steps, the next time the user signs in to the computer, the account will load with new membership level that you specified.
How to change user account type using PowerShell
To change a Windows 10 account type with PowerShell, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
- Type the following command to change the account type to Standard User and press Enter:
Remove-LocalGroupMember -Group 'Administrators' -Member 'ACCOUNT-NAME'
In the command make sure to change the ACCOUNT-NAME for the actual name of the account that you want to change. - Type the following command to change the account type to Administrator and press Enter:
Add-LocalGroupMember -Group 'Administrators' -Member 'ACCOUNT-NAME'
In the command make sure to change the ACCOUNT-NAME for the actual name of the account that you want to change.
Once you complete the steps, the account type will switch to the Administrator or Standard group depending on your configuration.
More Windows 10 resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:
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In Windows 10 / 8.1 the logon screen by default displays the account of the last user logged in (If the user password is not set, this user will be automatically logged on, even if autologon is not enabled.) However, it is possible to display all user accounts on the login screen in Windows 10.
To make Windows 10 / 8.1 display all accounts, change the value of Enabled key to 1 in the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionAuthenticationLogonUIUserSwitch. You can do it either in RegEdit, Reg Add command or Set-ItemProperty PowerShell cmdlet:
Reg Add HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionAuthenticationLogonUIUserSwitch /v Enabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:SOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionAuthenticationLogonUIUserSwitch' -Name Enabled -Value 1
However, the system automatically resets the value of the Enabled parameter to 0 at each logon. In order to always change the value to 1, it’s easier to create a new task in the Task Scheduler that will run at user logon.
The Scheduler task must run one of the commands shown above. You can create this task manually using taskschd.msc graphic console. But it seems to me that it is much easier to create a Scheduler task using PowerShell. In our case, the commands to create a new task may be as follows:
$Trigger= New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtLogOn
$User= 'NT AUTHORITYSYSTEM'
$Action= New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute 'PowerShell.exe' -Argument 'Set-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:SOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionAuthenticationLogonUIUserSwitch -Name Enabled -Value 1'
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName 'UserSwitch_Enable' -Trigger $Trigger -User $User -Action $Action -RunLevel Highest –Force
Make sure that the task appeared in Windows Task Scheduler (taskschd.msc).
Log off and then log on again. The task must start automatically and change the value of Enabled registry parameter to 1. Check the current value of the parameter. As you can see, it is 1:
get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:SOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionAuthenticationLogonUIUserSwitch' -Name Enabled
After the next restart, all user accounts will be displayed on Windows 10 or 8 logon screen instead of the last one.
Tip. Instead of the standard user icons, you can configure the user profile photo from Active Directory to be displayed.
Tip. If the task is successfully triggered, but the list of users is not displayed, make sure if Interactive Logon: Do not display last username policy (see Computer ConfigurationWindows SettingsSecurity SettingsLocal PoliciesSecurity Options) is disabled.
If you want all user accounts to be displayed on all domain computers, it’s better to distribute the Scheduler task using Group Policy Preferences (you can see an example of how to create a similar task in the article How to Configure a Screensaver Using GPO).
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April 17, 2019How to Enable or Disable User Accounts in Windows 10
User accounts help control which files and apps each person can use and what changes they can make to the PC.
If you have a user account that you want to make unavailable without deleting it, you can disable the account. A disabled account can be enabled again later. Disabling an account is different from deleting an account. If you delete an account, it can't be restored.
When a user account is disabled, it's name will be removed from the sign-in screen and Start menu switch user areas so that it can no longer be signed in to.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable a user account in Windows 10.
You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to enable or disable a user account.
- Option One: To Enable or Disable User Account in Command Prompt
- Option Two: To Enable or Disable User Account in Local Users and Groups
- Option Three: To Hide or Unhide User Account in Registry Editor
- Option Four: To Enable or Disable User Account in PowerShell
To Enable or Disable User Account in Command Prompt
1. Open an elevated command prompt.
2. Do step 3 (disable) or step 4 (enable) below for what you would like to do.
A) Type the appropriate command below in the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)
(To disable a local account)
Net user 'User Name' /active:no
(To disable a domain account)
Net user 'User Name' /active:no /domain
Substitute User Name in the command above with the actual user name (ex: 'Brink2') of the account you want to disable.
For example: Net user 'Brink2' /active:no
This is the default setting.
A) Type the appropriate command below in the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)
(To disable a local account)
Net user 'User Name' /active:yes
(To disable a domain account)
Net user 'User Name' /active:yes /domain
Substitute User Name in the command above with the actual user name (ex: 'Brink2') of the account you want to enable.
For example: Net user 'Brink2' /active:yes
5. You can now close the elevated command prompt if you like.
To Enable or Disable User Account in Local Users and Groups
The Local Users and Groups is only available in the Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Educationeditions.
1. Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialog, type lusrmgr.msc, and click/tap on OK to open Local Users and Groups.
2. Click/tap on Users in the left pane, and double click/tap on the Name (ex: Brink2) of the user account you want to enable or disable. (see screenshot below)
3.Check (disable) or
Hide User Account Windows 10 Mail
uncheck (enable (default)) the Account is disabled box for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)4. You can now close Local Users and Groups if you like.
To Hide or Unhide User Account in Registry Editor
If you hide an account using this option, the account's details will not show it as being disabled, but this will still have the same affect as being disabled.
1. Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.
2. Browse to the key location below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWinlogonSpecialAccountsUserList
If you do not have the SpecialAccounts key, then right click on the Winlogon key, click/tap on New, click/tap on Key, type SpecialAccounts, and press Enter.
If you do not have the UserList key, then right click on the SpecialAccounts key, click/tap on New, click/tap on Key, type UserList, and press Enter.
3. Do step 4 (hide) or step 5 (unhide) below for what you would like to do.
A) Right click on an empty space in the right pane of the UserList key, click/tap on New, and click/tap on DWORD (32-bit) Value. (see screenshot below step 2)
B) Type the name (ex: Brink2) of the user account you want to hide for the name of the DWORD, press Enter, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below step 2)
If needed, you can type net users in a command prompt and press Enter to see a list of all user account names on your PC.
This is the default setting.
A) In the right pane of the UserList key, right click on the name (ex: Brink2) of the user account you want to unhide, and click/tap on Delete. (see screenshot below step 2)
B) Click/tap on Yes to confirm, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)
6. You can now close Registry Editor if you like.
To Enable or Disable User Account in PowerShell
For more Disable-LocalUser and Enable-LocalUser command options and details, see:
1. Open an elevated PowerShell.
2. Do step 3 (disable) or step 4 (enable) below for what you would like to do.
A) Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)
Disable-LocalUser -Name 'UserName'
Substitute UserName in the command above with the actual user name (ex: 'Brink2') of the account you want to disable.
For example:
Disable-LocalUser -Name 'Brink2'
This is the default setting.
A) Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)
Enable-LocalUser -Name 'UserName'
Substitute UserName in the command above with the actual user name (ex: 'Brink2') of the account you want to enable.
For example:
Enable-LocalUser -Name 'Brink2'
4. When finished, you can close the elevated PowerShell if you like.
That's it,
Shawn
Not being able to login to your computer due to Corrupted User Profile can be quite frustrating. You will find below the steps to Fix Corrupt User Profile in Windows 10.
Corrupt User Profile in Windows 10
According to Microsoft, User Profile can get corrupted if the Antivirus program on your computer was busy scanning the PC while you were trying to Login to your User Account.
Apart from this, there could be many other reasons for Corrupted User Profile in Windows 10.
Oct 10, 2017 Steps to delete dll files:- Locate and copy file path of said file. Open command prompt. Close explorer. Alt-Tab to command prompt. Execute 'del /f filename' where /f is an option specifying force delete and filename is the entire path to the file, including its name. How to remove dll file.
If the User Profile is Corrupted, you won’t be able to login to your User Account. You can either Login to another User Account (with Admin privileges) or boot your computer in Safe Mode and use any of the following methods.
- Fix Corrupted User Profile Using Registry Editor
- Create New User and Transfer Files from Old to New User Account.
1. Use Registry Editor to Fix Corrupt User Profile in Windows 10
Login to another User Account (With Admin Privileges) or boot your computer in Safe Mode and follow the steps below to Fix Corrupted User Profile in Windows 10.
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.
2. On the Run Command window, type regedit and click on OK.
3. On the Registry Editor screen, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionProfileList.
4. Open the ProfileList Folder and you will see Folders starting with S-1-5. Each of these Folders represents a User Profile or a User Account created on your computer.
Now, the task is to identify the right S-1-5 Folder that belongs to the Corrupted User Profile. You can do this by clicking on each S-1-5 Entry and taking a look at the “Data” Column for ProfileImagePath Entry.
As you can see in above image, the “User Name” is visible in the “Data” Column for ProfileImagePath Entry.
5. Once you find the right S-1-5 Folder, double-click on the State Field in the right pane. This will launch an Edit DWORD Window.
6. On the Edit DWORD Window, change the Value Data from 1 to 0 and click on the OK button.
7. Similarly, double-click on RefCount entry and change the Value Data from 1 to 0.
If you cannot find “RefCount”, right-click anywhere (blank space) in the right pane > click on New > DWORD (32 bit) and type RefCount as the Name for this New DWORD.
8. Close the Registry Editor and Restart your computer.
After this, you should be able to Login to your User Account.
2. Create A New User Account
Another method to Fix Corrupted User Profile in Windows 10 is to create a New User Account and transfer Files from Old to New User Account.
In case you have an alternate Admin Account that is not blocked, you can straight away Login to your Spare Admin Account and create a New User Account.
However, if your Admin Account is blocked, you can follow the steps below (2.1) to get access to Hidden Admin Account that Microsoft makes available for such occasions.
2.1 Access Hidden Admin Account
1. Start your computer in Safe Mode.
2. Next, right-click on Start and click on Command Prompt (Admin).
3. In the Command Prompt window, type net user administrator /active:yes and press the Enter Key on the Keyboard of your computer.
Hide User Account Windows 10 Password
4. You will see a message reading “The command completed successfully“.
5. Now, Restart your computer and you will be able to login to the Secret Admin Account that you just activated.
2.2. Create New User Account
When you reboot your computer after enabling the Hidden Admin Account, you will be able to see both your New Admin Account and also the Corrupted User Account.
Login to the secret Admin Account (no password required) and follow the steps below to create a New User Profile on your computer.
1. Go to Settings > Accounts > click on Family & other users > Add someone else to this PC.
2. Follow the instructions to create a New User Account.
Note: You can either create a New User Account that is linked to your Microsoft ID or create a local user account that is not linked to Microsoft ID.
Important: The Account Name of the New User Account needs to be different from the Corrupted User Account. Later on you can Rename the Account (if you want to maintain the same User Name as before).
2.3. Transfer Files From Old to New User Account
Now the last and final step is to Transfer all your required files from Old to New User Account.
1. Go to Users Folder located at C:/Users.
In this Folder, you will find sub-folders for every User Account on your computer, including the User Account with Corrupted User Profile and the New User Account that you had just created.
3. Open the Corrupted User Profile Folder and copy Desktop, Contacts, Downloads and other Files that you want to transfer to the New User Account.
Important: Do not copy the entire User Folder, as you will end up copying the following hidden system files that are related to your Corrupted User Profile.
- Ntuser.dat
- Ntuser.dat.log
- Ntuser.ini
4. Next, open the New User Account Folder (located at C:/Users) and Paste the Files into the New User Folder.
Now, Login to your New User Account and you will be able to see all the Files from your Corrupted User Account.
Your new User Account will not be exactly the same as your old account, you will still need to change your desktop background, create Folder/Program shortcuts as required by you.