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No Longer Administrator..?

Discussion in 'Windows - Virus and spyware problems' started by jlg895, Jan 10, 2007.

  1. jlg895

    jlg895 Regular member

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    Not sure when it happened, but i am no longer the administator of my computer.
    Every time i try to install a program it says that i am either running in safe mode or that i do not have permission and that i need to contact my administrator.
    I would like to reboot everything but the only problem is that because i cannot install new programs i have no idea on how to put my files on a dvdr to do so. Please any advice would be appreciated. I would pay to have it fixed but i can barely afford to have the internet as it is.
     
  2. syxguns

    syxguns Active member

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    Well, tell me what your operating system is, and if you have tried system restore. Can you boot in safe mode and have administrative privileges? Do you have an anti-virus program? Have you tried an online scan at trendmicro.com? With a little more information I may be able to help you get this sorted out. Are you connected to a network?
     
  3. jlg895

    jlg895 Regular member

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    I will gladly provide any information needed and I thank you for your attention.

    Windows XP
    AVG Virus Control Center
    Spybot
    Ad-Aware

    I also read the "read these first" in this forum and did an online scan which came up clean.

    I am not connected to a network. I have comcast which goes right from the cable modem directly into my computer.

    I believed I had done a system restore but I am not that educated (yet) on creating backups or the whole system restore feature. I am going to try booting in safe mode to see if I am the administrator.
     
  4. syxguns

    syxguns Active member

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    You said that you were using Win XP. Is it the Home Edition or the Pro Edition? If you are using Pro then you have the Administrator that you can log on as or your login name that was created at the original Installation of the OS.

    To boot your computer to an earlier state: When starting your computer press F8 repeatedly and a screen will come up. Similar to starting in safe mode, but you will see a line that says something along the lines of, "Boot your computer to a place...". Doing this may restore your settings. Let me know what happens.
     
  5. jlg895

    jlg895 Regular member

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    So I hate to admit it but I have always used a hack xp. I'm sure I'm not the only one though.

    When I hit F8 I get this screen:

    safe mode
    safe mode with networking
    safe mode with command prompt

    enable boot logging
    enable vga mode
    last known good configuration
    directory services restore mode
    debugging mode

    start windows normally
    reboot
    return to os choice menu

    I am not sure which one to pick

    Also this is the exact message i receive everytime I am denied access to install a new program:

    "The windows installer service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running in safe mode or if the windows installer is not currently installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance."
     
  6. syxguns

    syxguns Active member

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    Select, "Last known good configuration". Maybe that will restore your Administrator privileges. If not I still need to know what version of XP you are running. Do you have a welcome screen? I am connected to a domain server, so my startup screen will appear different than yours, but I should be able to get you back your administrative privileges.

    The reason that I wanted you to boot in safe mode was so that you could log on as Administrator (the only way to do it with XP Home), and then grant you (the user) administrative privileges.

    So if you can log on as Admin in safe mode go to users under the control panel, select your user profile, give user Administrative privileges. Let me know if that will work.

    Yeah, hacked versions of the OS can cause some problems. You are not able to get security updates, and additional windows downloads. That runs into a problem because I was going to have you download Tweak from Microsoft. I guess that is out of the question!>)
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2007
  7. jlg895

    jlg895 Regular member

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    windows xp professional

    I booted in safe mode, followed your instructions, and looked at my user accounts. it states that i do have administrative capabilities. but just to be sure I restarted my comp and booted normally. from there, i logged off my account and I am the only user on my computer.

    From there I restarted again, this time booting in last known good configuration. I tried to install a new program and I received the same message. Usually I would piece together maybe its the program I'm trying to install but it happens with all of them. I know that I'm not in safe mode, could there be something wrong with the install directory?
     
  8. syxguns

    syxguns Active member

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    Okay, since you are running XP Pro reboot your computer and when the welcome screen comes up press Ctrl + Alt + Delete (at the same time), twice. This will give you access to the default Administrator account. Use the password that you used when you originally did the Install on the OS.

    If you do not remember the password there is a way to get around it. NT has default settings. You can use a floppy or a CD to get rid of the password and set up a new one that you will remember. This web site will help if you have any questions. http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

    Once you log on as the default Admin on your machine make sure that the settings are set properly for the other users. This should work, but if it doesn't then we will have to take a different rout. I hope you have the original disk for the install, if not you will need to download this information to a floppy disk. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...db-5039-4955-bcb7-4fed408ea73f&DisplayLang=en

    I know that it is a microsoft site, so if you can't download it let me know and I will see if I can find another location for you to download. If all else fails send me a PM with your e-mail NEVER POST AN E-MAIL ON A THREAD!! and I will send it to you. Good luck, let me know how it turns out. I would hate to tell you to do a reinstall.

    One other thing just popped in my head. You said that you did a scan and didn't find anything wrong with your computer. What software do you have on your computer to hunt for registry errors? Maybe Spybot Search & Destroy? It may not fix the problem, but it may clean your registry of unwanted material. Another good registry cleaner is called CCleaner. You can download these two from http://www.download.com Like I said, it's just a thought! Normally something like this should not happen unless something is interfering with your registry settings.
     
  9. jlg895

    jlg895 Regular member

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    I fixed it. It only took me from 9 pm to 4 am but heres how I did it:

    When you attempt to install a program that uses Windows Installer, such as Office XP, you receive:

    The Windows Installer service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running in safe mode or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed.

    This error is probably the result of a damaged registration service.

    To resolve this issue:

    1. Open a CMD.EXE prompt.

    2. Type msiexec /unregister and press Enter.

    3. Type msiexec /regserver and press Enter.

    Also I recommend doing a complete registry fix (I used Registry Fix) first. I cant believe it, I was so close to uninstalling. I thank you Syxguns for all your time and help. Words could not credit you enough. Now if only I could find a way to install direct 9x on my computer. haha. Darn bootleg xp's
     
  10. bkf

    bkf Guest

  11. syxguns

    syxguns Active member

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    I'm glad that you got it up and running!
     

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