Windows 8 administrator rights required. Alternative file selection using checkboxes. Enable the Administrator account in local users and groups

When working in Windows 8.1, even if the administrative account is enabled, all programs are launched in the usual way. The developers have made a number of changes to the operating system (OS). Regular user accounts, including those with administrator status, do not have full rights, as was the case, for example, in Windows XP. This is done to prevent the launch of unsafe software, including viruses. If you need to get full administrator rights, then use the simple methods given below.

What are they?

The essence of administrative rights in Windows 8.1, and in any other system, comes down to prohibiting or allowing access to certain files and programs, as well as OS functions. This means that without an administrative account that gives the appropriate rights, you will not be able to rename, delete, edit system and some other files and folders with limited access, you will also not be able to run many programs or change settings.

But is such advanced rights really necessary for the average user? Let's consider this issue in more detail.

You bought a computer with Windows 8.1 installed and immediately wanted to understand the system settings, and before that you loaded personal photos, personal correspondence, and financial documents onto your hard drive. Let's assume that you are already connected to the Internet and have full administrative access to the system. You accidentally enabled sharing of a folder with confidential information by changing the access level. Now any attacker can not only download everything that you would not want to show to strangers, but also simply destroy all the information.

Or, for example, they launched an untested program downloaded from the Internet, and it contained a virus that could infect the entire system and erase system files.

If you don't have full administrative access, you won't be able to do many of the things that might pose a risk to Windows 8.1.

Consider, for example, an attempt to delete a system folder:


Insufficient access level message

Windows 8.1 is designed in such a way that the built-in system administrative account is hidden. This is done to ensure the security of the system from accidental user actions, which can lead to malfunctions of the OS and even its failure.

How to get full administrative rights in Windows 8.1

There are three main ways to get full access to all the functionality of Windows 8.1:

  • through the lusmgr window - “[Local users and groups (local)\Users]”;
  • through the “Local Security Policy” window;
  • using the command line.

Local groups and users

Unlocking an administrator account

Local Security Policy

Enabling the Administrator Account

Command line


Running the Administrator Account Activation Command

In the same way, you can, if necessary, deactivate administrator access using the command net user Administrator /active:no or set a login password by entering net user Administrator password.

To ensure the security of Windows 8.1, use the administrative account only as a temporary one, if it is impossible to solve problems that arise in other ways, then proceed to start the operating system in normal mode.

Obtaining administrator rights in Windows 8.1 (video)

Possible nuances

Sometimes there are situations when it is not possible to enable an administrative account using the methods described above.

But there is an alternative method. This is done using the Win8 Admin Enable BootDisk utility, which must be launched from a bootable USB flash drive.

  1. Once launched, enter Y at the command prompt and press Enter, after which the system will reboot into administrative mode.
    Setting up the administrator account launch
  2. Right-click on the thumbnail of the Start menu windows and select “Control Panel” from the context menu.

    Opening Control Panel
  3. In Control Panel, select the “User Accounts” tab.

    Opening a list of user accounts
  4. Since you are logged in under an administrator account, it will open. Here, select “Manage another account” from the list.

    Go to all user accounts
  5. Click on the tab with the thumbnail image of the user whose profile you want to change.

In this article, you will learn what administrator rights are in Windows 8 and why they are needed. The fact is that many PC users have already appreciated all the advantages of the new operating system, however, they were also able to notice some inconveniences. One of them is the fact that when installing certain applications, or when performing certain actions, Windows requests administrator rights. And sometimes it completely prohibits the action.

What are administrator rights

These are full rights that allow you to make absolutely any changes on your PC without restrictions. It is worth noting that users get full access to all files. This means that such rights are granted only to advanced users who know the PC well enough. Otherwise, you may harm your computer.

It is for this reason that developers do not provide administrator rights, hiding this function from inexperienced users. You can use it in several ways. The simplest is to download the administrator profile. Let's look at what it is.

Administrator rights in Windows 8: Video

Administrator account

It is worth noting that an administrator account is created automatically when Windows 8 is installed. However, in order to protect the system from unauthorized changes to settings that could pose a threat to the system, this profile is disabled and the user is prompted to create a new one.

Thus, the account remains, but is not active, and there is no way to download it. We'll talk about how to get administrator rights in Windows 8 a little later. Now let's look at why it is needed at all. This is a special feature for advanced PC users who are involved in administration and settings.

At the same time, it provides full access to all files and the ability to manage other profiles, creating them and deleting them if necessary. It is with the help of this profile that the system is configured and managed. So we come to the main question of how to get administrator rights in Windows 8.

How to get administrator rights

As mentioned above, the easiest way is to download an administrator profile. But in order to do this you will need to activate your account. You can do this in several ways:

  • With help ;
  • Activation in the management console.

It is worth noting that the command line must be run as an administrator. This is easy to do, you will learn about it below. The first option is a little simpler, but if for some reason you cannot use it, then you can resort to the second. Let's take a closer look at them.

How to get Administrator rights in Windows 8: Video

How to activate a profile using the command line

First, let's start the necessary service with administrator rights. To do this, go to the desktop and move the mouse cursor to the upper right corner. After this, a pop-up menu will appear in which you need to open the search. Next, write “command line” in the search bar, right-click on the result and open the service with administrator rights.

In the window that appears, enter the required command: netuseradministrator /active:yes. Press “Enter” and close all windows. Now you can restart your computer and launch the desired account. It is worth warning that this profile is disabled in order to secure the system and prevent some user actions that could disrupt the correct operation of the PC. It also reduces the threat of spreading the virus. Therefore, you should think again about whether to activate the administrator account.

How to enable the administrator account in the management console

If for some reason you are unable to use the command line, there is another way to enable the administrator account in Windows 8. To do this, open Explorer and look for “my computer” in the right menu. Right-click on it and select “Manage”. You can also start this service using the Win+R key combination, and in the window that appears you need to write lusrmgr.msc and press “Enter”.

The window that appears is divided into three panels. On the left side you need to find the “local users” item. Open the folder by double clicking the mouse. After this, you will see two sections “Users” and “Groups”. We are interested in the first. We left-click on the item and see that a list of all accounts available on this computer appears in the middle panel. Here you can rename them, as well as delete unnecessary accounts.

Find the Administrator profile in the list. Right-click on it and select properties. In the window that appears, go to the “General” tab and find the line “Disconnect account”. To activate the profile, simply uncheck the box. Click “apply” and “Ok”.

Restart your computer and select the appropriate profile. You are now a Windows 8 administrator, with all rights and full access to system configuration. .

How to create an account in Windows 8: Video

Administrator rights in Windows 8


In Windows 8 and 8.1, even if you are running under an administrator account, all programs start as normal. To make this clearer, let's give a simple example.

How to become an administrator in Windows 8

Open the Run window and type cmd, launch the command line. Pay attention to the console title, as well as the file system directory you are in. Now close command line, go to the "All applications" section, find there label console and run it as administrator.


Now if you look at the window title and current directory, you will see that they have changed. And still! After all, this time the open command line works with elevated privileges. Is it possible to make sure that all programs, including the console, are launched as administrator by default?

It is possible, but not advisable. Why?

Yes, because in this case, not only useful programs will be opened on behalf of the administrator, but also potentially dangerous ones. Now imagine that a virus will launch with the same administrator rights. Now you can expect anything from him.



If this doesn't bother you, and you are willing to take responsibility for the possible consequences, please give the programs more freedom. Now how to implement this in practice. In Windows 8 and 8.1, an administrator account already exists, but it is disabled by default. And you can see this for yourself. Right-click on the "Computer" icon, select "Manage" in the menu that opens, and select "Local Users and Groups" in the window that opens. The same can be done using the lusrmgr.msc command executed in the Run window.


Select the directory with users, and then in the right part of the window, double-click on the “Administrator” entry. A checked box indicates that the administrator account is currently inactive. If you remove it, the next time you log in you will be offered a choice - either you log in as a user or as an administrator. You can also activate the administrator account through the command line, which we will now demonstrate. While in the user account, launch the console as administrator. For safety reasons, we set administrator password. To do this, run the following command:
Net user Administrator UserPassword

Please note that the password must be different from the one you are currently working under. Now let's activate the administrator himself:
Net user Administrator /active:yes
If you suddenly have problems with your password (wrong password message), do the opposite - first create an admin, and then change his password.

By executing the command Net User, you can view a list of all system users. As you can see, the Administrator is among them.

Now you can go to the Start screen and simply switch to the administrator account, although it is better to log out of the running account completely first.

In general, now you can perform any actions, including launching and installing programs with elevated privileges. If you want, you can also disable UAC control.

Today I want to share one of the secrets of the Windows operating system, namely, I will tell you how to select files in working Windows windows using checkmarks or checkboxes. What is the advantage of this method of selection? The fact is that this option is very convenient when selecting several files that are located in different places.

For example, in the usual way in a Windows window, we can select several files in a row on one side or on the other, but not scattered files. For example, like this R12;

But how to select files located in different places?

There is one way in which you can do this. Just press the " Ctrl"and click with the mouse on the files we need. This method is good when we have few files. But when we have a lot of files in one folder (for example, a family photo album), then this option begins to fail. Which? Let's say you started selecting the files you need, selected five, ten, fifteen files, and on the sixteenth one you did not press the "" key. Ctrl” and clicked on it, and this is where the whole selection disappears. After which you have to start all over again. What if you have already selected 50 files and suddenly missed a key and lost all your efforts? It is at this point that your eye may begin to twitch.

In this situation, another secret of the Windows operating system comes to our aid. It works on both Windows 7 and Windows 8 (I tried it myself). Its meaning is that squares appear next to the files in which you can put ticks (they are also called checkboxes). That is, they put a tick next to the desired file and went on to select it further without fear of resetting the entire selection.

So let's get down to the process of installing checkboxes for selecting files. To begin, click on the “Start” button. If you have Windows 8, then you will probably swear at me now because you cannot find the “Start” button, there is a special article for you on installing such a button, here it is R12; installing the Start button and menu as in Windows 7 on Windows 8 R12; I recommend it to everyone.

So, click the button START" and open ""

In the control panel, select the section “ Design and personalization"(I'm working on Windows 8.1, it may be slightly different on Windows 7)

In the folder options window that opens, find the item “ Use checkboxes to select items" and put a tick next to it

Click “Ok”. That's it. Everything is ready.

Now open the active Windows window in which the files are located and see what happens

Here's a simple Windows secret. Perhaps for some this will seem inconvenient, but others, on the contrary, will see this as an excellent way to highlight different files and will use it regularly.

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