Windows 10: ms account switch admin problems

set up a new desktop computer for a friend used my ms account to install win 10 when I brought it to him and went to change to his account he tells me he doesnt have his un and password from there it turned into a night mare I couldnt switch users and because Im not sure what info he gave me was correct I ended up being locked out for 24 hours and am back where I started any ideas? I need his original account because he uses office on line etc and dont want to lose any of his info

:)

 

My admin account switched to a user account!


My account may have gotten corrupt in the update, Don't know for sure.
I do know this, This mess is way above my paygrade...LOL...
I really need some help to try to fix this issue.
The attachments can explain far better than me trying type what exactly is going on.
All I can say it's looks pretty darn complicated to me.
I hoping it looks worse than it is.




















I think the simplest way to address this is to make my account an administrator again.
If it can be done, I'm going to need a step by step on how to do it.
Let me know what you all think...Thanks...

 

My admin account switched to a user account!


The first of the many diagrams in this thread show that the link Sign in with a local account instead is displayed for the account that is currently logged on and so the reversion procedure might work for this account. For normal circumstances, that would initiate the conversion back to a local account for the user account currently logged in - see my 23rd & 26th September 2016 posts in revert to local account from one converted to MSAccount. I have no way of knowing how Windows will react to an attempt to use this procedure for the Built-In Admin account and I do not know if that link Sign in with a local account instead will be displayed or not.

I think I side-stepped this issue by suggesting that that

• An extra password-protected Admin level account is created, and
• The Built-In Admin is disabled, and
• The recovery attempt focuses on whichever existing user account remains active afterwards.

Personally, I would reinstall Windows 10 without even attempting this recovery. Installation takes very little effort once everything is backed up and the only necessary user interactions are right at the start & right at the end so it can be initiated before making a pot of tea. It took about 30, 60 & 90 minutes for each of my computers [the 30 minuter is 6 months old, the 60 minuter is 7 years old, 90 minuter is 12 years old].

Raner - I am trying to avoid sounding like I am nagging you into doing a clean install.

• Once you have recovered the existing user account you can attempt to re-enable & remove the MSAccount link from your Built-In Admin if that link appears in Settings, Accounts.
• Bree says it cannot be done and I think the same but I have never tried - I have never been able to get to Settings using the Built-In Admin because it cannot run any Windows 10 Apps so I do not know how it can be done [but the diagrams in Bree's link shows that those users got there].
• Even though I have the safety of having created two spare password-protected Admin accounts I would not want to know that my Built-In Admin was sitting in the background but unable to help me if my other accounts were corrupted.

Denis

 

My admin account switched to a user account!

Unfortunately that is not possible. Microsoft provide no mechanism to do so because it shouldn't be possible to link the built in Administrator account in the first place - except that it can happen under a specific limited set of circumstances....

Unable to unlink MS account back to local

If that is indeed the case here, then a clean install is the only remedy.