OK....In doing multiple CLEAN installs of Vista (RC1 & RC2) I have
discovered TWO separate ways to enable and use the built-in Administrator
account. What I want to know is what is the difference between these, and
is one of them better to use than the other? Of the two ways, one is VERY
quick and simple and the other is a bit more complex. Here they are:
THE COMPLEX WAY:
Click Start/All Programs/Accessories
Right-Click Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator
Click Allow on the UAC prompt
In the Command window, type regedit and press enter
Navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Add a new key at that level called SpecialAccounts
Add a sub-key in SpecialAccounts and call it UserList
Create a 32-bit DWORD value in UserList and call it Administrator and set
the value to 1
X out of the registry editor
In the command prompt window, type WITHOUT the quotes: "net user
Administrator /Active:yes" and press enter
Log Off
When you log back on, the Administrator account will be there.
THE SIMPLE WAY:
Click Start and right-click Computer and choose Manage
Allow the UAC prompt
Click the little arrow to the left of Local Users and Groups to expand
Click Users
In the left-hand pane, double-click Administrator and UN-check the Account
is Disabled box, click Apply and OK
X out of the Computer Management and Log Off
When you log back on, the Administrator account will be there.
CONSIDERATIONS:
When enabling the Administrator account using the COMPLEX method, the
Account is Disabled box that is referred to in the SIMPLE method gets
unchecked automatically.
When enabling the Administrator account using the SIMPLE method, the
registry modifications that are referred to in the COMPLEX method do NOT get
automatically created, yet the Administrator account is still enabled.
So can anyone enlighten me as to the difference between these two methods
and which one, if any, is the preferred way and why?

Signature
Dan~~
Jerry P - 22 Oct 2006 22:56 GMT
I did mine what you call the complex way. Its very simple....
> OK....In doing multiple CLEAN installs of Vista (RC1 & RC2) I have
> discovered TWO separate ways to enable and use the built-in Administrator
[quoted text clipped - 42 lines]
> So can anyone enlighten me as to the difference between these two methods
> and which one, if any, is the preferred way and why?
Marty Felker - 24 Oct 2006 05:31 GMT
Jerry:
Amazing! Where do get get this info. If you figured it outself
yoursel -kudos.
Marty F
>I did mine what you call the complex way. Its very simple....
>
[quoted text clipped - 46 lines]
>> So can anyone enlighten me as to the difference between these two methods
>> and which one, if any, is the preferred way and why?
kreed - 24 Oct 2006 22:50 GMT
> Jerry:
>
[quoted text clipped - 52 lines]
>>> So can anyone enlighten me as to the difference between these two
>>> methods and which one, if any, is the preferred way and why?
Why would you want to do this?
K
Jerry P - 25 Oct 2006 00:22 GMT
Just read the post here, and you might learn.....kudos........
>> Jerry:
>>
[quoted text clipped - 55 lines]
> Why would you want to do this?
> K
kreed - 25 Oct 2006 01:45 GMT
> Just read the post here, and you might learn.....kudos........
>
[quoted text clipped - 57 lines]
>> Why would you want to do this?
>> K
Still doesn't tell me why. None of it seems particularly COMPLEX or CLEVER.
Do you not think it might be setup this way for a reason?
K