Problems with 'Standard User' account

trentlad

trentlad

trentlad

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So I took the advice after reading on OcUK that using an 'Administrator' user account can be a security risk compared to using a 'Standard' user account.

I created an admin account in W7 and logged into for five minutes so it should be active (i think). Then I switched my current account from administrator to standard user.

I've now got a few issues with applications that require an administrator to run them. They just will not run even if I select the 'Run as administrator' option.

I'm expecting an administrator password dialogue but instead I get three message boxes:
1.) app has stopped working
2.) access denied
3.) you do not have admin rights - please login as administrator and start the app

Any suggestions how I can run these apps?
 
Which apps are they specifically? Some just won't run without being admin which is the source of a lot of headaches.
 
Any apps that are set to auto run but need admin rights... create a batch file and call them using psexec, thats how I get the core temp to load on startup so my desktop gadget can diaplay cpu temps etc...

Secondly, you did not need to create a New admin account, just enable the built in account.

More info on the apps is required though to help you better.
 
So you actually changed the Administrator account from 'administrator' to user, thus leaving you with no Administator account on the PC?
 
ns400r said:
So you actually changed the Administrator account from 'administrator' to user, thus leaving you with no Administator account on the PC?
Click to expand...

No, he said he changed His account from an admin to standard user....?
In W7, the Real admin account is not enabled by Default.
 
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trentlad said:
I created an admin account in W7 and logged into for five minutes so it should be active (i think). Then I switched my current account from administrator to standard user.
Click to expand...

I only had one user account and its privileges were set to 'Administrator'.

So to turn my account to a 'Standard' user, I took the precaution of first creating a new user account with 'Administrator' privileges and then changed my current user account to 'Standard'.
 
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I know on XP if I wish to run an app as admin; I simply right click, choose that, input the admin username + password. Job done!

Now I have disabled UAC in W7. Could that affect this?
 
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Turn UAC back on and then go back to your standard user account and try to launch one of the apps, you should be prompted to enter the creds for the admin account. Very similar to XP.
 
trentlad said:
So I took the advice after reading on OcUK that using an 'Administrator' user account can be a security risk compared to using a 'Standard' user account.
Click to expand...

It's worth adding that it's much more of a risk on XP than W7 out of the box. If you wanted to meet convenience half-way then you could just use the default administrator account on w7 with UAC enabled.
 
Not sure how this has managed to screw up tbh, unless you've made other "tweaks" or it's just one specific app that is falling over time and time again. What happens if you right-click notepad and run as administrator?

It's fairly basic functionality, when you click run as administrator you either get an admin approval prompt or a prompt for the credentials of an account in the administrators group.
 
No I think you're right.

I've switched off all options provided in System and Security > Action Center > Security, since I don't trust it and I use 3rd party security instead. That goes for firewall, updates, virus protection, spyware, UAC and NAP.

Looking through those options there aren't any obvious items to switch back on, and I know those aren't ALL the security options.

I may be able to access Local Security Policy and alter it in there... or just switch back to administrator and be done with it!
 
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