In Windows 7 or Vista, how do I enable the administrator account?

During installation, a default computer administrator account named "Administrator" is created. Although this is a computer administrator account, you will still need to create a new account as computer administrator and set an administrator password before creating other accounts; see In Windows, how do I create an administrator account? By default, the Administrator account is disabled in Windows 7 and Vista. In all likelihood, you would not need to enable it unless you need to take ownership of an account you no longer have access to, although it can also be useful for advanced troubleshooting through the command line.

To enable the Administrator account in Windows 7 or Vista:

1. In the Start menu, right-click Computer, and choose Manage.
   
   
2. In the left window pane, select Local Users and Groups. Double-click Users.
   
   
3. In the right window pane, right-click Administrator and select Properties.
   
   
4. On the General tab, clear the checkbox next to Account is disabled.

When you restart the computer, you will be able to access the Administrator account. The default password is blank.

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