Windows 10: How do I disable a previous administrator account?

I have inherited a Windows 11 Home laptop from a previous employee. I am signed into the computer as a local account. When trying to make any changes to the PC it asks me for a password or pin from the previous employee who obviously had the administrator permissions added. Advice from others has said to go to the Family section in the Accounts menu but there is nothing there for me to action I have also tried going through the control panel into the user accounts but again, it will not allow me to make any changes without the other user's password. If I factory reset the computer, will this r

:)

 

i disable my administrator account

Here is the correct way to do such things:

• Create a spare admin account, same as you ask the locksmith to cut a spare house key.
• Test the spare account, same as you would test the spare house key.
• Promote your account to admin level.
• Test your account.
• Disable the Administrator account.

By taking Step 5 as the first step, you painted yourself into a corner. You must now ask a friend to create a bootable Windows Repair flash disk, using the command RecoveryDrive.exe. Use it to boot your machine into Windows Repair Mode, then use System Restore
to set Windows back to a point then the Administrator account was active.

 

Settings can't be opened using the built-in administrator account


Hello,
Unfortunately I have the same issue as Dabz from upgrading win7 to win10.
I've tried opening settings using all the suggested methods and it will not load using my account with Administrator access nor the built-in Administrator profile. I also tried other methods not listed such as using Run. Control panel is just a stepping stone to add users in Settings.
I'm also having explorer.exe issues, which I believe is preventing Settings from loading.
Using cmd (Admin) I successfully created a new user profile [and granted admin access also using cmd (Admin)], however win10 will not allow this account to log on. win10 does not list this new user within control panel but it does in the start menu. win10 will not allow to log in or switch to the new account via the start menu either.
I can access settings in Safe Mode but this will not allow me to create a new account.
Any help/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers

 

Local Administrator account locked by family time restrictions

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



We understand the difficulties you are facing with the built-in Administrator account and
we appreciate your effort in troubleshooting the issue and providing us the detailed information.



In this scenario we would suggest you to disable and the enable the
built-in Administrator account using the command prompt from a different administrator user account and check if the issue persist.



Steps to disable and enable the built-in Administrator account.

1. Click on Windows Search/Cortana and type
   CMD, right click on command prompt and select run as admin.
   
2. Type Net user administrator /active:no
   and hit enter key to disable the built-in Administrator account
   
3. Restart the PC and login to the
   Administrator account and perform step 1.
   
4. Type Net user administrator /active:yes
   and hit enter key to enable the built-in Administrator account

We await your response.



Aditya Roy

Microsoft Community – Moderator