I'm stuck trying to promote a guest user to admin status while needing to delete the original admin account, but I can't log into that account anymore. Even with the right password, it won't let me in and just gives me an error saying that we can't sign in to my user. I had set this up for my sibling on my laptop to keep my private files safe, but now the guest user has full access, which I didn't intend. I attempted to fix the user permissions by changing things in `C:Users`, which ended up breaking my admin account further. It now redirects me to a temporary profile when I try to open folders. I've tried all sorts of reset methods that haven't worked to get access back. What I need is to create a single admin user with complete access and remove the other users. I tried using recovery CMD, but it doesn't list any users, and boot mode CMD throws errors at me. I'm feeling pretty lost with this whole situation and just want a functioning admin user.
3 Answers
Actually, I found a shortcut that worked for someone else with a similar issue. You can press Win + R, type in `netplwiz`, and then change the user roles there. It lets you switch the guest to an admin and the original admin to a guest, then delete the broken one entirely. It may save you from a full reinstall.
Just so you know, only a current admin can promote another user to admin status, so you'd need to get into at least one working admin profile to do this the right way. Reinstalling will definitely wipe everything and give you a fresh start if that's the route you choose.
You’re in a tough spot! Unfortunately, to promote a user to admin, you really need admin access to do it. If you can't log into the original admin account, one option is to consider reinstalling Windows to set up a fresh admin profile. I know that's a hassle, but it may be the easiest way to get control back. Just be sure to back up any important files if you can access them before doing that.
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