Update crippled user account

[ WINDOWS ]

My main — and only administrator — user account has lost key functionality after a Windows feature update: no Start menu, search facility, library files or drive access. I’ve tried various solutions, and even performed a refresh install, but it hasn’t fixed the problem. Strangely, my wife’s non-admin account is unaffected. Please can you help? KEVIN RIDDICK

Nick Peers replies: Kevin had managed to create another user account, but it was a standard user, with no apparent means for elevating to administrator. Thankfully, this can be done by temporarily enabling the system Administrator account. First, while logged into your non-administrator account, right-click the Start button and choose ‘Command Prompt (admin)’ or ‘Windows Powershell (admin)’. Enter the password for your corrupt administrator account, then type the following command: net user Administrator /active:yes

Close the command prompt window, then log out. You should see a new Administrator account appear, select this to log in (it’s not passwordprotected). Now go to ‘Start > Settings > Accounts > Family & other people’. Select your new account and click ‘Change account type’. Select Administrator and click OK. Log out of the Administrator account and back into your new account — click ‘Start > Settings > Accounts > Your Info’ to verify the account is now an admin one. You can now open another Command Prompt (admin) window and type: net user Administrator /active:no

Once you’ve transferred any files or settings across from your old user account to your new one, you can then delete the old account.