Does Windows 7 Expect the Adminstrator to be called 'Administrator'?

I've just switched up from XP to Windows 7 and am now in the process of reinstalling all my programs.

I'm the only User on my PC and I have obviously given myself Administrator rights. However, I've had numerous occasions already where I've had to change the security settings on some files and folders in order to be allowed to amend them, etc. Example: I installed Sonar music software and all went ok, except when I came to launch it the system asked me to right click the icon and launch 'As Administrator' because I didn't have sufficient rights!?! I then found later on that a feature in the application wasn't saving changes so I exited and gave myslelf 'full control' over the whole folder and subfolders and now all is well.

My User name is based on my own name, so is this the problem? Must I create a second user called 'Administrator' who also has full administrator rights?

 

You do not have to create a second user called 'Administrator' who also has full administrator rights. Some people will disagree with this advice, but you can avoid hassles like these in the future by simply adding your user account to the Administrators Group.

 

How would I go about doing that abeki?

 

Open Control Panel.
Click User Accounts and Family Safety
Click User Accounts
Click Change Your Account Type
Select Administrator
Click Change Account type button
Follow prompt to reboot (if necessary)

 

Hmm, that was what the setting was already, since W7 installation yesterday. Now I'm REALLY puzzled as to why W7 seems to think now and then that I'm not the Administrator.
:mad

John

 

Windows 7 differentiates between "administrator" and "Administrator". The one with "a" has full admin rights in their own account, and that is what you are. The one with A is the only one that has full admin rights over the computer, and you can't become that one unless you log in to that account and do everything from there. You can't rename that account either, at least when I tried on mine it messed up a whole bunch of things.

By forcing you to right-click and pick "Run as Administrator..." Windows 7 is trying to prevent users who don't know what they're doing form accidentally installing malware on their system. Since the user is the by far greatest threat to any computer, this is probably one of the smarter security features they've ever added.

 

And, as an aside, it's pretty much universally accepted that one of the easiest and smartest ways to thwart malware attacks is to operate a machine as a limited user, especially when surfing the 'net.

 

I guess I'll throw my two cents in here. I believe one of the main changes between XP and Win7 has to do with the Program Files folder. Win7 doesn't like anything writing to that folder. So you have to choose Run as Administrator to install most programs.

Older programs which like to keep files/settings in that folder give some trouble because Win7 seems to ignore them when they try to write to that folder without giving an error. Which is what seems to be happening to you. Are most of your problems related to older programs or is it happening with all programs?

 

http://www.johnsongs.co.uk/W7User.gif

Sorry, I'm having a big problem understanding all this. Above is a picture of my user profile.

- I am the only user and there has only ever been one user from the install I did yesterday.
- I am the Administrator - or aren't I?
- Why is the system messing me about when I am the only person with administrator rights it has ever known?

This is why I asked the question originally - did W7 expect to have a user defined at the outset actually called 'Administrator' with administrator's rights? If so, it would have been nice if Microsoft to have flagged that up. And if that is the case then I am inclined to write off the last two or three days' hard work (as Mimsy warns in his post about simply changing my name), and start all over with a clean install so the darn system only knows of someone called 'Administrator' who has Administrator rights.

Or am I still not understanding something?
:banghead

 

The first user name account created, automatically has administrator rights. You do not have to name it Administrator. (I personally do not recommend changing your name. As the window says it will, in truth, only change the display name on the Welcome screen and Start Menu. You account folder will still be named John which to me is just confusing. Leave things the way they are.)

The difference you are seeing between XP and Win7 is UAC User Account Control. Even an administrator has to verify that they want to take certain actions.

 

The name you give to your user account makes no difference to anything. Only the account type - Standard or Administrator - is significant. However some programs will still not install satisfactorily unless you start by right clicking the installation file and clicking Run as Administrator, and you can only do that if your user account is type Administrator.

I won't go into any more detail than that, but simply ask you to try it.

 

Today W7 stopped me from removing a program in Control Panel citing that I didn't have Administrator rights when I have!!! Fed up with this palaver and about to jettison my PC through the window, I then found this on Windows Seven Forums:
How to enable the REAL Administrator

This confirms that there is in fact an invisible uber-Administrator. Typical of MS to decide to assume the role of HAL on MY computer, deciding behind the scenes that my mission is too critical to allow ME to be in charge of it!
:flip
I tried the above hack and it works. This 'pukka' Administrator appears and you can then operate without let or hindrance.
:wine