Xp Administrator

[jerryhillman]

I have a new computer with Win XP
Home Edition, factory installed. I am
having problems with some of my
programs which I think have something
to do with the Administrator-User
setup. When I first started the computer
I just put in my name and thought
that was enough. When I press F-8
on startup I get into a screen that
lists the following:

ADMINISTRATOR
GERALD HILLMAN

If I start GERALD HILLMAN all my
program icons appear. If I start
ADMINISTRATOR not all the the icons
i I use appear on the desktop.

QUESTION: How do I make myself the
ADMINISTRATOR and at the same
time keep all the icons that appear
under GERALD HILLMAN. I do not
understand how this ADMINSTRATOR-
USER this works in XP. I am the only
user. Is there a way to completely
disable all this security. Can someone
explain to me how to live with the XP
security setup.

Thanks, Jerry

[SuperSparks]

Basically the way it works is that each account is like each users own personal Windows, ie it keeps all the settings and preferences separate for each user. Your icons are one manifestation of this. If you are the only user then you can run everything from the Administrator account, and you'll have full control of the PC just like in 9x.
MS recommend that you use a limited user account for everyday tasks for security purposes, ie any malicious code that might get on your machine can only run with the priveledges of the account that it's running in. If you run as Admin all the time any malicious code would have the full run of the PC with no restrictions. Obviously, it's for you to decide how much of a risk that is. Personally, I normally run as a Power User, but I don't think you get that option in Home edition, and you may find the User account too restrictive.
If you only want the Admin account, log in as Admin and go to Control Panel>User Accounts and you can delete your Gerald Hillman account there.

There's an excellent explantation of accounts here:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tre...asp?frame=true

but it's for the Pro edition, and many of the options aren't available in Home.