All administrator privileges lost after Windows 8.1 update!

Question

Hey guys. The computer with this issue is a Lenovo Y410P Ideapad. It came pre-loaded with Windows 8 64 bit and I updated it to 8.1 64 bit from the Windows Store a few weeks ago. Processor: Intel Core i7-4700MQ CPU; RAM: 8 GB.

So, here's the problem: Before the 8.1 update, I could do anything that I needed to; give User Account Control the okay to run any given program, run the Admin Command Prompt, whatever. UAC would prompt me with a simple "Yes" or "No" whenever I wanted to run a new program, which was pretty often as I had just gotten the computer.

But after the 8.1 update (well, I have reasonable suspicion that the update caused this), all of my administrator privileges were gone and there was no admin account to be found on my computer. I could still run any program that I had given UAC the okay to run before, but now any new or admin-only programs would present me with an unworkable UAC prompt (see Figures 2 & 3)

And, as far as I can tell, the Admin account isn't just hidden or anything. I am the only user (see Figure 1) and, when trying out internet-prescribed remedies, I only get errors (see Figure 4).

So, what can I do? Reinstall Windows? Something else that hasn't been suggested? Keep in mind that I'm not entirely sure that this is traceable back to installing 8.1, that's just what I remember. It may very well be malware, though the computer did come installed with McAfee.

Figure 1: Only one account, supposedly a "Guest".

Figure 2: When trying to change my account type, an admin ability, this dialog box appears. However, there is *no prompt for a password*, forcing me to click "No". Print Screen doesn't work when this dialog box is up, forcing me to take a physical picture of it.

Figure 3: And it's not only for admin-only programs. UAC prompts the same thing when trying to open any new programs, in this case a recently bought game.

Figure 4: I imagine that activating any admin account would work when running the Admin Command Prompt, but I need administrator privileges to do that!

Thanks for any help that you guys can give!

Answer 1

Hi Ethannat,

This issue may occur due to incorrect user account settings or if the User profile is damaged. Let's try few steps to resolve the issue.

Method 1:

I would suggest you to open User Accounts Window and click on Manage another account. Check if you have any other accounts on the computer or if there are any options to create another accounts.

Refer to the article: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki/windows8\_1\_pr-security/manage-another-account-windows-81/a8ce0876-5098-4bcb-b459-4328109b60cc

Method 2:

If the issue persists, I would suggest you to boot the computer to Safe Mode and check if you can login to any administrator account and create a new account from there.

Windows Startup Settings (including safe mode)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows-8/windows-startup-settings-including-safe-mode

Create a user account

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-user-account#create-user-account=windows-8

Additionally please provide the screenshots of Manage another user accounts Window to understand the issue better.

How to include a screenshot in your post

Hope this information helps. Reply to the post with updated status of the issue to assist you further.

Answer 2

Hi,

For a better understanding of the issue, I would need more information from your end.

1. What is the exact issue that you are facing?
2. Do you get any error messages?
3. Did you make any recent changes on the computer prior to this issue?

Please provide the necessary information to assist you further, I will be glad to help you.

Answer 3

""Refer to article""- does not exist- just a run around

Anything but helpful- nothing works!

Answer 4

Hi Ethannat,

Good to know that your issue is resolved. Please feel free to reply, in case if you need any further assistance or information on this issue.

Answer 5

Hey, wow! Method 2 worked!

When I tried Method 1, I got the same message as in "Figure 2", so I couldn't work with that.

However, when trying out Method 2, I booted to Safe Mode with access to the Administrator Console and created a new admin account. When I logged back in, I was surprised to see both the original Administrator account and the new one active! Now, whenever UAC prompts me, I just have to type one of their passwords in and I'm golden.

Thank you so much, Geethu, this issue has caused me a lot of grief and it's great to see it solved!