Windows 10: Windows 10: How change account from admin into limited user account?

Hello everybody,

I have realized that all the laptops I installed Windows 10 in the last year (several family laptops) are running with Microsoft-Accounts which are Admin-Accounts. Now I read that this is a serious security issue. I would like to change these MS-Admin-Accounts into MS-Limited-User-Accounts?

But how?

And next question: Should I set up for every laptop then a local admin-account?

Thanks a lot for your help.

Hutson

:)

 

User Accounts in win 10

Hi Spike,

To change an existing Admin account to a non-admin account there MUST be another Admin account on the device. You should be glad that Windows disallowed your change because if it didn't you would be, shall we say, screwed.

Simply create a new account and make it an Administrator account. Then from the new admin account change the other existing admin account to a limited users account. As David Haz was eluding to, there must always be at least one active user account on the
device that has Administrator privileges assigned/applied to it.

If you need anymore help with this just let us know and we in the community will be glad to help you further.

-Richard

 

external hard drive transfer GB's

It should be an Admin account since the account created when you install is always Admin.

What does it say under your User name at Settings>Accounts>My Info?

As long as you have one Admin account you can change account types following
How to change a Windows 10 user account type and why | Windows Central

 

As long as you have not disabled UAC, User Account Control, or invoked the hidden full administrator, then your users are actually running as standard users and will be prompted before performing any Admin level tasks - you can if you wish create a standard user on each of the systems in addition to the administrator, but this will not provide much better security and is likely to generate complaints from the users as they will have to set-up the accounts again to how they want them.

If you have any youngsters that you wish to protect further there is Microsoft Family Safety as an option

 

Where did you read that a Microsoft login for an administrator account was a serious issue?

 

The first account created when installing Windows is always an administrator - it has to be else you can't administer your PC. There have been so many threads here where users had thought it a 'good idea' to downgrade it to a standard user for 'safety', only to discover they can no longer install apps or make Settings changes. You must NEVER remove the last administrator from you system. There is a process to recover from such a mistake, but it's complicated and difficult - you don't want to go there.

If you want to restrict what the family and other users can do, then set a password for that first admin account and create new standard accounts for each person. In fact, it's probably a sensible precaution to create a second admin account just in case you ever get locked out of the first one.

 

In Germany, the highest authority for Internet Security (BSI - Startseite) recommend limited user accounts for internet security. When I worked with Windows 7, I also surfed only with limited user Account.

 

Every PC must have an administrator account or you will no longer be able to do simple tasks such as creating a new user, resetting passwords, installing some software or changing many of the Settings. That doesn't mean you have to us it for your browsing. Create a second standard account and use that for most things, then you would only need to log in to the administrator account to make system changes.

Remove the administrator rights from the only admin account on the PC and you will be in big trouble. *Sad

No Admin Access /Cannot change existing user accounts to admin account

I think your problem is that when you set up each of these PCs you used the intended user's Microsoft Account to set up the first (only?) account. If you wanted them to browse with reduced rights you should have set up a local account first (that would be the admin one) then a standard account using their Microsoft Account details.

You could still set up a local admin account, then you could log in to that and downgrade the initial Microsoft Account to a standard user.