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How do I disable a previous administrator account?

Anonymous
2024-09-29T23:33:32+00:00

I have inherited a Windows 11 Home laptop from a previous employee. I am signed into the computer as a local account. When trying to make any changes to the PC it asks me for a password or pin from the previous employee who obviously had the administrator permissions added.

Advice from others has said to go to the Family section in the Accounts menu but there is nothing there for me to action

I have also tried going through the control panel into the user accounts but again, it will not allow me to make any changes without the other user's password. If I factory reset the computer, will this resolve my issue?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Accounts, profiles, and login

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  1. EmilyS726 224.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2024-09-30T00:06:18+00:00

    Hello, this is Emily.

    If your user is not an admin user, you will not be able to make yourself admin, or get rid of the other admin.

    Backup any of your important personal files first.

    Then hold down shift key while you choose Windows restart opton, then choose Troubleshoot > Reset this PC, choose the option that deletes everything.

    =============

    If that option doesn't work, it might be becaue the computer could be domain joined. If that case, do a clean install.

    Video tutorial is available here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsinsider/...

    To perform a clean installation of Windows 11 using the Windows Media Creation Tool. You do need to get access to another computer so you can download the Windows installation files into a flash drive, then use the flash drive to help your computer. Hopefully you have a spare computer, or you can have friend or family help you.

    The following steps should be done on a working Windows computer:

    Download the Windows Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's official website. https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/win... click on the "download now" button under "Create Windows 11 Installation Media"

    Run the tool and select "Create installation media for another PC."

    Choose "USB flash drive" as the media to use for the installation and select "Next."

    Connect a USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of free space to your computer.

    Select the USB flash drive you want to use, and then select "Next."

    The tool will then download the required files and create the installation media.

    =====================================================

    Now these steps will  be done on your problematic computer:

    Go to the computer's BIOS boot menu to have it boot from the USB drive.

    Follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows 11, making sure to choose "Custom install" and select the option to delete all existing partitions.

    Once the installation is complete, you'll have a clean installation of Windows 11 on your computer.

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