Windows 10: Is it advisable/useful to have a second (full) Administrator account?

Firstly, I should say that someone suggested this Forum to me and it's one of the most useful things that I have come across on the Internet!
I read somewhere that one way to safeguard your system is to create a second Administrator account in addition to the one that is built-in in Windows, so that should there be a problem with the "original" Administrator account you would use the second one to restore the first one.
If this is indeed advisable, what are the steps to do it? I presume that I should password-protect the second Administrator account.
Would I have the second Administrator account always enabled and the original Administrator account always disabled?

:)

 

Is it advisable to buy a C7 now?

Its pretty difficult to see which ones have the defect.

A bit of advice. At the store, make your phone display something white, like the Google homepage, and lower brightness to half or so, or just check the whole range. You'd see if it has a tint that way. Best if you compare to a white or black paper.

 

Is it advisable to buy a C7 now?

i have read a news in other forum that the batch of c7 as of january is free in defect but theirs a few wuth defect but what i said its few

 

Hi there, I have needed one in the past, it doesn't do any harm, just continue using your normal account until you need to switch to administrator.

You can follow this guide to create it.

 

The built in Administrator account was not intended for general use and is best left disabled. Create an admin level account for your normal use. I like to have a secondary account for use if for any reason I am unable to use the normal account. Any secondary account must be enabled or you could not log in with it. It needs to have a good password or it is a security risk.

 

Thanks for the replies. @swarfega, the guide that you directed me to, doesn't explain how to add an Administrator account if I read it correctly.

@LMiller7, I am already described as Administrator on my PC. It was the one that had been created by default when I installed Windows. However, during the installation of certain programs I had to enable the other Administrator account that has more rights.

How would I create the secondary account that you refer to with the elevated Administrator rights?

 

At work, I have a standard user account on my Windows 10 box which is NOT an administrator. Then, I have a secondary account on the box, which I am not allowed to use to login to the box, but I use it for everything that needs an administrator. So, anytime I get a UAC prompt, I have to type in my secondary account name and password.

 

@pparks1 is your secondary account equivalent to the built-in Administrator account?

This is what is confusing me: The default Administrator account which is created when Windows is installed and the built-in (normally disabled) Administrator Account that apparently has elevated rights. Should (or could) I create a second Administrator Account for safety's sake in an emergency, like the one which is built-in?

 

Yes, my secondary account is equivalent to the built-in Administrator account. However, I am not allowed to logon to the computer with that account.

Yes, having a second account with Admin rights is always a good idea. Most people accomplish this by having their normal everyday account added to the local Admins group. So, that ends up being their primary admin account, and the admin account at install time is their backup, emergency admin account.

 

I created an account in by going through Settings --> Family & Other People and designated it as "Administrator". I hope that this will be fine, and more importantly I hope that I will never have to be obliged to resort to this account in order to solve a problem!

 

That is true but it is not a wise strategy as it is trivial for malware to bypass UAC.

It is much better to use an account that is not part of the administrator group for daily use. As you described you do at work in fact.

 

Also you want to make sure the second administrator account is a local account. If you are using an email address to log into it, then it is likely using a Microsoft Account login which people tend to have more problems with than local accounts. Also, make sure to not forget the password over time.

The "elevated" built-in administrator account in Windows 10 actually has less rights than a user account in the administrators group because the built-in administrator account has UAC disabled. UAC is just the prompt that says "Are you sure you want to do this?" when you try to perform an action that requires administrator privileges. By default, when you disable UAC on an administrator account you get locked out of some Windows apps such as Edge browser and the Microsoft store.

 

Based on the last two postings above:

I now have accounts as follows.
A Microsoft acct, Admin (as created during Windows installation) - my installed programs are in this account.
B Microsoft acct, Admin (I created it after Windows installation) - doesn't have any programs in it.

What I should like to have:

1. Convert B from Microsoft acct to a local acct, keep Admin rights
2. Convert A from Admin to a standard user, keep Microsoft acct

What do you suggest is the right sequence and steps to achieve the above?

 

The order that you have them in.

 

That is what I'd do and in the order you describe 1 then 2 as you don't want to end up in a situation where you have no admin account.

To convert account type you can follow this tutorial (option 1 is probably the easiest)

Change Account Type in Windows 10 Windows 10 User Accounts Tutorials

You can then sign on as user A (as you do now). If you get prompted for User Account Control to get Admin access to do something or other you can then enter the user ID and password of user B.

You should very rarely have to sign on as user B although you'll have to to change the account type of A (I think).

There are a few odd cases you need to be actually signed on as Admin account but I can't remember them off hand - it will be there if you need it.