Guide for Windows

Before getting started, there are some things to understand.  First off, a computer can have multiple administrative accounts, that is accounts that belong to the Administrators group and have the same rights as "Administrator," but there is only one "Administrator" account and it cannot be deleted or demoted (but it can be disabled).  Recent versions of Windows disable the built-in "Administrator" account by default, and walk the user through creating a new account during setup.  This new account is added to the Administrators group, so while it is not "Administrator", it is just as dangerous.

Secondly, a lot of programs and computer configuration options are tied to a user account.  Switching to a completely new user account will likely result in a lot of wasted time reconfiguring applications and moving data around.  This is not the preferred solution.  If, however, you are using the built-in "Administrator" account (very unlikely), it is the only way to move forward with this.  In that case, we recommend you wait until you are installing a new version of the operating system or moving to a new computer before continuing.  The rest of this document assumes that you are not using the built-in "Administrator" account (very likely).

Windows 7

How to not run as an administrator

 

Standalone (Not Domain-Joined/Personal Computers)

Domain-Joined (UT Computers)

Create a new administrative user account  1. Open the Control Panel (Start -> Control Panel)  2. Click on User Accounts and Family Safety    3. Click on User Accounts    4. Select "Manage another account"    5. Select "Create a new account"    6. Enter an account name, select "Administrator", click Create Account   Assign a password to the new administrative account    7. The new account should appear in the list of accounts, click on the new account    8. Select "Create a password"    9. Enter a strong password and click Create Password when done   Make the original user account a standard user    10. Select "Manage another account"    11. Click on your original account in the list of accounts (not the one you just created)    12. Select "Change the account type"    13. Select "Standard User" and click Change Account Type   14. Close the Control Panel. Log off and back on for changes to take effect.

Create a new user account  1. Open the Control Panel (Start -> Control Panel)  2. Click on User Accounts    3. Select "Give other users access to this computer"    4. Click the Advanced tab at the top of the dialog window   5. Click Advanced and click Users in the tree view in the left pane.  Right click anywhere in the middle pane or click on "More actions" in the right pane and select "New User"    6. Enter a user name and full name and specify a strong password and uncheck "User must change password at next logon"   7. Click Create and then click Close Add the account to the local Administrators group  8. Double click on the newly created account in the middle pane and click on the Member Of tab at the top of the dialog window    9. Click Add and type "administrators" in the text box and click Check Names   10. When the group name resolves, verify that it reads "<hostname>\Administrators" and click OK 11. Click OK again Make the original account a standard user    12. Double click on your original user account in the middle pane    13. Click on the Member Of tab at the top of the dialog window select "Administrators" in the list of group memberships and click Remove    14. Click Add and type "users" in the text box and click Check Names   15. When the group name resolves, verify that it reads "<hostname>\users" and click OK 16. Click OK again 17. Close the Local Users and Groups control panel applet 18. Close the User Accounts control panel dialog (or click OK) 19. Close the Control Panel 20. Log off and back on for changes to take effect.

Windows 8.1

How to not run as an administrator

Standalone (Not Domain-Joined/Personal Computers)

Domain-Joined (UT Computers)

1. Open the Control Panel - click on the Windows logo and type "Control Panel" to search for the app.    2. Click on "User Accounts and Family Safety"  3. Click on "User Accounts"  4. Click on "Manage Another Account"  5. Click on "Add a new user in PC Settings"    6. Click on "Add an Account"    7. Choose "Sign in without a Microsoft Account"    8. Click "Local Account"    9. Create the username and a strong password, click Next and Finish when complete.  10. You will return to the "Manage Another Account" menu - select the new account and click "Edit"    11. Choose "Administrator" and click OK    12. Go back to "Manage Accounts (follow steps 1 - 3) again, choose your user account and click on "Change Account Type"  13. Select "Standard" and click "Change Account Type"   14. Log out & back in.

1. Open the Control Panel - click on the Windows logo and type "Control Panel" to search for the app.    2. Click "User Accounts"    3. Click "Give other users access to this computer"    4. Go to the "Advanced" tab and click the "Advanced" button    5. In the expanded Users folder, right-click and choose "New User..."    6. Name the user account and give it a strong password. Uncheck "user must change password at next logon" before clicking "Create"    7. Right-click on the new user and select "Properties". go to the "Member of" tab  8. Click "Add..." and type "Administrators" in the text box, then click "Check names"   9. The name will resolve to "<hostname>\Administrators" , Click OK 10. Click OK again  11. Right-click on your original user account and select "Properties", go to the "Member of" tab  12. Highlight the "Administrators" group and "Remove"   13. Click OK 14. Log Off and back on

Windows 10

How to not run as an administrator

Standalone (Not Domain-Joined/Personal Computers)

Domain-Joined (UT Computers)

1. Go to Start > Settings.    2. Click on Accounts.  3. Click on "Family & Other Users" and "Add someone to this PC"    4. Choose "The person I want to add does not have an email address"    5. Choose "Add user without a Microsoft account"    6. Fill in a username and strong password. Click Next.    7. Click on the new account and Click "Change account type"    8. Choose Administrator and click OK    9. Press the Start Menu and type "Control Panel" to launch that app    10. In the Control Panel click "Change Account Type"    11. Click on your account and click "Change the Account Type"  12. Select "Standard and click "Change Account Type"   13. Log out and back in.

1. Go to Start > Settings.    2. Click on Accounts.    3. Click on "Add someone else to this PC"     4. To continue follow steps 4 - 13 of the "Standalone" instructions and screenshots.

Scenarios

After following the above set of steps, some tasks may not work right away because administrative access is required.  Anytime administrative access is required, a dialog box (UAC) will open prompting you to authenticate with an administrative account.  Using the new account you just created will almost always allow the process to continue, but in some cases you will need to run programs as an Administrator for them to work properly.  If you find yourself unable to run a program you previously ran before or if you are having issue configuring a setting, the Run As... feature outlined below may resolve this issue. 

UAC Elevation Prompts

Below are examples of UAC prompts for each operating system:

Windows 7	Windows 8.1	Windows 10

Run-As Administrator/Other User

Below are examples of running at administrator in each operating system, key combinations/procedures are the same in each OS:

• Run As Administrator: Right-Click on program > Choose "Run as administrator"
• Run As Different User: Shift + Right-Click on program > Choose "Run as different user"

Windows 7	Windows 8.1	Windows 10
Administrator:	Administrator:	Administrator:
Different User:	Different User:	Different User: