Having a Standard user account in Windows is great for security, as it prevents malicious software from installing. But what happens if you need to install software and do not have administrative privileges? Here is how to enable the local administrator account in Windows without logging in.

I recently had a customer with a somewhat unique problem; she needed to install software on her computer, but her user profile was only a Standard user. She shared the computer with her husband; his account was an Administrator user, and he used a Microsoft account for logging in.

But unfortunately, her husband passed away, and she proceeded to take care of her husband's affairs. In the process, she disconnected his cell phone and deleted his e-mail address. It was not until she needed to install some software on her computer did she realize she did not have administrator privileges.

The easiest thing to do would be to perform a clean installation of Windows. But since there was tax software that she could not reinstall, wiping the drive and reinstalling Windows was the last option.

And since all forms of recovering her husband's Microsoft account were gone, the only thing to do was enable the hidden local administrator account and change her account from Standard to Administrator. Since her account was only a Standard user, using a NET command line was impossible, so this would take a little more work.

Note: The following procedures require Windows installation media, editing the registry, and the BitLocker decryption key (if your drive is encrypted). Editing the Registry incorrectly can cause your computer to have errors and possibly not booting. If you do not feel comfortable editing the registry, please get in touch with a local computer technician for assistance.

The first step is to create the installation media, which will require a USB drive 8GB or larger. You will need administrative privileges to make the media, so you may need to create the media on another Windows system with a user with administrator privileges.

Create Windows 11 installation media

Create Windows 10 installation media

The second step is to check if the drive in your computer is BitLocker encrypted. The easiest way to find out if any of your drives are encrypted is by checking their properties in File Explorer.

1. Open File Explorer using one of the following:
1. Left-click on the File Explorer icon (manilla folder) on the Taskbar.
2. Press the Windows logo key + E at the same time.
3. Use the Power User menu by right-clicking on the Start button and selecting File Explorer.
2. In the left-side column, left-click on This PC.
3. In the right-side column, check the icons for the drives. Drives that are encrypted should have a little padlock in the icon.

If your drive is BitLocker encrypted, use the following link to log in to your Microsoft account and find your recovery key. If another person set up your computer, they might have the recovery key inside their Microsoft account. Once you get the BitLocker recovery key, print it out or write it down for future use.

Locate my BitLocker recovery key

Next, you will need to boot up your computer using the installation media. The easiest way to do this is to use the Advanced Boot Options. Make sure you have the Windows installation media connected to your computer before proceeding so that it will appear as a bootable device listed in the Advanced Boot Options.

How to get to Windows 11 Advanced Boot Options

How to get to Windows 10 Advanced Boot Options

Once you get to the Advanced Boot Options, select Use a device and choose the media you created earlier. Your computer will restart and boot from the installation media.

1. When the Windows Setup dialog box appears, left-click on Next.
2. On the following dialog box, left-click on Repair this computer. At this point, you may be prompted for a decryption key. Input it in the space provided and continue.
3. On the Choose an option page, left-click on Troubleshoot.
4. On the Advanced options page, left-click on Command Prompt.
5. In the Command Prompt, type regedit and press Enter.
   
6. In the Registry Editor, highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE in the left-hand column.
   
7. With HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE highlighted, pull down the File menu and left-click on Load Hive ....
   
8. Locate the local drive that has Windows installed on it, then navigate to the Windows>System32>config folder.
   
9. Left-click on the file named SAM (Security Account Manager) and select Open.
   
10. When prompted for a Key Name, give it a unique name (we used TempSAM) and select OK.
    
11. Expand the registry hive you just attached, and navigate to:
    Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\WhateverYouNamedYourHive\SAM\Domains\Account\Users\000001F4
    
12. Double-click on the F binary value to edit it.
    
13. In the Edit Binary Value dialog box that appears, change the value at 00000038 from 11 to 10, then select OK.
    
14. Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

The local administrator account should now appear as a logon option and has no password by default.

Do you like to right-click on a file or folder to show the context menu? Have you noticed that Windows 11 only displays a condensed context menu? Here is how to enable the complete context menu in Windows 11.

One of the most time-saving features in Windows 11 has to be the context menu that appears when you right-click on a file or folder. It usually displays all of the actions that can be performed, like open with or send to, and application-specific actions.

But Windows 11, by default, only shows a condensed context menu. The only way to get all the available actions to appear in the context menu is to select Show more options. But there is a way to enable the complete view of the context menu, but it does require editing the registry.

Note: Editing the registry incorrectly can cause your computer to run erratically or not even boot. It is highly recommended to backup your computer's registry before editing it. Creating a Restore Point will backup the current state of your computer, including the registry. If you do not feel comfortable editing the registry, please get in touch with a local computer technician for assistance.

How to backup and restore the registry in Windows 10 and Windows 11

How to enable the full right-click context menu inside of File Explorer

1. Backup the registry (see the above article).
2. Open the Registry Editor.
• Left-click on the Start button to bring up the Start menu.
• In the upper right-hand corner of the Start menu, left-click on All apps.
• Scroll down the list of programs and left-click on Windows Tools.
• Left-click on Registry Editor. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. Navigate to the following registry key.
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID
4. Right-click on CLSID and select New > Key.
   
5. Type or paste the following code in the name field, then press Enter.
   {86CA1AA0-34AA-4E8B-A509-50C905BAE2A2}
6. Right-click on {86CA1AA0-34AA-4E8B-A509-50C905BAE2A2} and select New > Key.
   
7. Type or paste the following name in the name field, then press Enter.
   InprocServer32
8. In the right-hand column, you will find the default value listed under Data is (value not set).
   
   Right-click on the default value and select Modify.
9. The Edit String dialog box will appear. Leave the Value data field blank and left-click on OK.
   
   The default value for InprocServer32 should now be blank. Restart your Windows 11 computer for the registry changes to take effect.

With more and more computers coming with two (2) drives, managing the free space can be daunting. And the biggest space hog on your computer is your personal folders. So here is how to change the default location of your personal folders in Windows 11.

Most computers that have two (2) drives will have one Solid State Drive (SSD) for the operating system and program files and one Hard Disk Drive (HDD) for data. And by default, Windows 11 saves everything to the same drive as the operating system.

But after a while, your personal folders can get quite large, with all of the music, pictures, and videos you save to your computer. And with Windows 11 saving all of these files on the same drive as the OS and program files, the possibility of running out of free space is quite real.

And if that drive is an SSD, your personal folders are taking up valuable real estate that could be used for other uses, like more programs. So why not move your personal folders to another drive?

Now relocating your personal folders is relatively easy, but there are a few guidelines you want to be aware of. When it comes down to it, the location of your personal folders is set inside of the registry. I include the instructions on restoring the locations of your personal folders via the registry later in this article.

Note: You can remap your personal folders to any drive or folder that has a drive letter assigned to it in File Explorer. It is recommended only to use drives that are built into your computer, not external and network drives. Remember that if you lose connection with an external or network drive, you will also lose connection to your personal folders.

How to change the personal folder location in Windows 11

1. Open File Explorer using one of the following:
• Left-click on the File Explorer icon (manilla folder) on the Taskbar.
• Press the Windows logo key + E at the same time.
• Use the Power User menu by right-clicking on the Start button and selecting File Explorer.
2. In the left-side column, left-click on This PC.
3. In the right-side column, double left-click on the drive you want to use for your personal folders. The contents of that drive will appear in the right-hand column.
4. Right-click on any blank space in the right-hand column, and a context menu will appear..
5. From that context menu, select New > Folder. Give the new folder a unique name, like User files. If there are multiple users on this computer, you will want to create sub-folders for each user.
6. Double left-click on the new user folder you just created. You now need to make six (6) sub-folders inside this folder. Named them: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos.
7. Now navigate to C:\Users\your user name. There you will find all of your personal folders.
8. Right-click on the Desktop folder and select Properties from the context menu that appears.
9. Left-click on the Location tab and left-click on the Move... button.
10. From the Select a Destination dialog box that appears, navigate to the new location for the Desktop folder you just created in Step 6. Once selected, left-click on Select Folder.
11. On the Desktop Properties dialog box, left-click on Apply. You will be prompted to move the contents of this folder from the old location to the new one. Left-click on Yes and let Windows proceed to move this folder.
12. Repeat steps 7- 10 for the remaining personal folders (Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos).

To restore the default location of your personal folders, just navigate to the personal folder you want to restore and right-click on it. From the context menu that appears, select Properties and then Location. Left-click on the Restore Default button and follow the prompts. If you receive an error when trying to restore the default location of any personal folder, you can manually change the location by editing the registry.

Note: Editing the registry incorrectly can render your computer unusable! If you do not feel comfortable editing your computer's registry, please contact a local computer repair technician for assistance.

How to open the Registry Editor in Windows 11

1. Left-click on the Start button to bring up the Start menu.
2. In the upper right-hand corner of the Start menu, left-click on All apps.
3. Scroll down the list of programs and left-click on Windows Tools.
4. Double left-click on Registry Editor. If prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

or

1. Left-click on the magnifying glass to the right of the Start button to bring up the Search dialog box.
2. Type Registry Editor into the Search box and left-click on the app Registry Editor. If prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

or

1. Press the Windows logo key + R to bring up a Run dialog box.
2. In the Open field, type regedit and left-click on OK. If prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

When you have the Registry Editor open, navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

Here is a list of the six (6) personal folders, the registry key, and the default value. Change only the keys for the folders you are having problems with. Once you are done editing the registry, log out or restart your computer for the changes to take effect. For a complete list of user folder keys, check out how to manually change the user files location in the registry.

When it comes to repairing Windows-based computers, the one thing that will positively stop Windows from starting up is a corrupt registry. Having a backup of the registry is essential for quickly getting a system back up and running. So here is how to enable automatic registry backups in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

In previous versions of Windows, the operating system would automatically backup the registry. In fact, Windows did automatically back up the registry until Windows 10 version 1803.

With Windows 10 version 1803, Microsoft disabled the automatic registry backup to help reduce the overall footprint of Windows. Microsoft would prefer you to use the System Restore feature.

But considering that Windows 10 and Windows 11 can take up to 40GB or more of disk space, the folder that contains the registry backup (Windows\System32\config\RegBack) only takes up roughly 100MB or so of disk space. I do not see a problem with having a backup of the registry.

Now over the past couple of years, I have seen an increase in Windows computers that do not have System Protection enabled. System Protection is the feature that creates and manages the System Restore feature.

So when I get a computer in the shop with a corrupted registry, and there are no System Restore points, then the only thing I can do is reformat the drive and reinstall Windows. But you can re-enable the automatic registry backup with a simple registry edit.

Note: If you are not comfortable editing the registry, don't hesitate to contact a local computer technician to assist you.

From my experience, getting the registry backups going again is a two-step process. First, you create the registry key and restart your computer to take effect. Then you run the built-in task inside of Task Scheduler. Let's start with the registry editor.

How to open the Registry Editor in Windows 10 / Windows 11

1. Open the Registry Editor by either
• Searching for regedit (Windows logo key + S)
or
• Run regedit from a Run dialog box (how to open a Run dialog box)
2. Navigate to HKLM (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE) > System > CurrentControlSet > Control > Session Manager > Configuration Manager
   
3. In the left-hand column, right-click on Configuration Manager and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
   
4. Name the new DWORD value EnablePeriodicBackup.
   
5. Right-click on the EnablePeriodicBackup value and select Modify.
   
6. Change the Value data from 0 to 1 and left-click on OK.
   
7. Restart your computer.

Using File Explorer, navigate to the Windows\System32\config\RegBack folder and see if the registry files are backed up. If you encounter a couple of dialog boxes that tell you that you do not have permission to access this folder, left-click on Continue.

You should see five (5) files in this folder; DEFAULT, SAM, SECURITY, SOFTWARE, and SYSTEM. And more than likely, they will be only 0KB in size. If that is the case, we will need to run the task that backups the registry.

Now we need to run the built-in task RegIdleBackup to get the Windows to start backing up the registry. Once you run the RegIdleBackup task, you should restart your computer again to get it fully functional.

How to open the Task Scheduler in Windows 10 / Windows 11

1. Open the Task Scheduler by either
• Searching for Task Scheduler (Windows logo key + S)
or
• Run taskschd.msc from a Run dialog box (how to open a Run dialog box)
2. When Task Scheduler appears, navigate down the left-hand column to Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Registry.
   
3. In the center column, highlight the RegIdleBackup task and select Run in the right-hand column.
4. Restart your computer.

Windows will now be backing up the registry regularly, usually every ten (10) days. Now that you enabled automatic registry backups let's check and see if they are working.

Let's use File Explorer again to navigate to the Windows\System32\config\RegBack folder and see if the registry files have increased in size. You should now see they are no longer 0KB.