Solved: Lost admin rights in Windows 11

Summary

This tutorial video guides viewers on how to regain administrative rights in Windows 11. It starts by identifying the symptoms of lost privileges, such as the absence of a 'Yes' button in the User Account Control prompt. The video offers two solutions: a System Restore using the Settings app, which requires prior restore points, and a more technical approach involving editing the registry in the Windows Recovery Environment. The host demonstrates each method, ensuring viewers can follow along to fix their administrative access issues.

Takeaways

• 🔒 The video explains how to fix the loss of administrative rights on Windows 11.
• 📌 Symptoms of lost administrative rights include missing 'Yes' button in User Account Control prompts and inability to perform administrative tasks like opening Windows PowerShell.
• 👤 The issue becomes critical when the only account on the system is a user-level or standard account.
• 🚫 Attempts to add the user to the administrators group via Local Users and Groups snap-in will result in 'Access is denied' errors.
• 🔄 The first solution involves using the Settings app to perform a System Restore from the Advanced recovery options, which requires prior System Restore points.
• 💡 System Restore can only be initiated from the Settings app due to the lack of administrative rights.
• ⏱ The success of System Restore depends on the availability of restore points created before the loss of administrative rights.
• 📚 The video provides step-by-step instructions for using the System Restore wizard to recover administrative rights.
• 🔄 After a successful System Restore, the system must be restarted to verify the restoration of administrative rights.
• 🛠️ If no System Restore points are available, the second method involves editing the registry in the Windows Recovery Environment.
• 🔑 The registry editing method requires loading a specific hive and modifying a binary DWORD value to change the user account type.
• 🔄 Upon successful registry edit, the system should be restarted to enable the built-in administrator account, which can then be used to regain administrative rights.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the video?

The video discusses how to fix the issue of losing administrative rights on a Windows 11 operating system.

What are the symptoms of losing administrative rights in Windows 11?

Symptoms include the appearance of a User Account Control confirmation prompt without a 'Yes' button, and the inability to perform tasks that require administrative privileges, such as opening Windows PowerShell or creating a new task in Task Manager.

Why is it problematic to have only a user-level account on a system?

Having only a user-level account is problematic because if it loses administrative rights, there is no way to elevate privileges or make system-level changes without an administrator account.

What is the first solution proposed in the video to regain administrative rights?

The first solution proposed is to perform a System Restore using the Settings app and Advanced recovery options, which requires having System Restore points created before losing administrative rights.

Why is the old System Restore dialog in the Control Panel not suitable for this issue?

The old System Restore dialog in the Control Panel is not suitable because it cannot be used due to the loss of administrative rights.

What should be noted about using the System Restore method?

It is important to note that the System Restore method will only work if there are System Restore points created before the loss of administrative rights.

What is the second method proposed in the video if System Restore is not an option?

The second method involves editing the registry in the Windows Recovery Environment, which requires accessing the Command Prompt and using the Registry Editor to modify specific registry keys.

How does the video guide users to access the Windows Recovery Environment?

The video guides users to access the Windows Recovery Environment by restarting the system and selecting 'Advanced options' and 'Command Prompt' from the Troubleshoot menu.

What is the purpose of loading the 'sam' hive in the Registry Editor?

Loading the 'sam' hive in the Registry Editor allows users to modify the registry of the system without having administrative rights, which is necessary when standard methods are inaccessible.

How does the video ensure that the problem is fixed after performing System Restore?

The video ensures the problem is fixed by showing that the 'Yes' button is available in the User Account Control confirmation prompt and that the user account is now listed as an administrator in the User Accounts applet.

What is the final step recommended by the video after regaining administrative rights?

The final step recommended is to restart the system and then try to log in to the account to verify that the administrative rights have been restored.

Outlines

00:00

🔒 Regaining Administrative Rights on Windows 11

This paragraph introduces the video's main topic, which is how to restore administrative rights on Windows 11 if they have been lost. The narrator explains the symptoms of lost administrative rights, such as the absence of the 'Yes' button in the User Account Control confirmation prompt when attempting to open Windows PowerShell or create a new task in Task Manager. The paragraph also highlights the severity of the issue when the only account on the system is a standard user account, which cannot perform administrative tasks. The solution proposed in this section involves using the Settings app to perform a System Restore from an advanced recovery option, which is only possible if System Restore points were created prior to the loss of administrative rights.

05:01

🛠️ Advanced Recovery and Registry Edit for Administrative Rights

The second paragraph discusses an alternative method for regaining administrative rights on Windows 11 when the System Restore option is not available due to the absence of restore points. The method involves using the Windows Recovery Environment to edit the system registry. The narrator guides the viewer through accessing the Command Prompt from the Advanced options menu during startup, opening the Registry Editor, and loading the 'sam' hive from the system's configuration folder. Detailed steps are provided for modifying a specific registry binary DWORD value to change the user account type from '11' to '10', which corresponds to an administrator account. After making the registry change, the viewer is instructed to restart the system, which should enable the built-in administrator account, allowing for the creation of new administrative accounts or modification of existing ones to regain administrative rights.

Keywords

💡administrative rights

Administrative rights refer to the highest level of access and control over a computer system, allowing users to perform critical system tasks and make changes that affect the entire system. In the context of the video, the theme revolves around regaining these rights when they have been lost on a Windows 11 operating system. The script describes symptoms such as the absence of a 'Yes' button in the User Account Control confirmation prompt as an indication of lost administrative rights.

💡Windows 11

Windows 11 is the latest version of the Microsoft Windows operating system, which is the main platform discussed in the video. The script provides solutions for a specific issue that can occur on this operating system, which is the loss of administrative rights. The video's content is tailored to users of Windows 11 who are facing this problem.

💡User Account Control

User Account Control (UAC) is a security feature in Windows operating systems that prevents unauthorized changes to the system by prompting users for confirmation before executing actions that require administrative privileges. The video script describes a scenario where the UAC prompt only shows a 'No' button, indicating the loss of administrative rights.

💡System Restore

System Restore is a feature in Windows that allows users to revert their system settings and programs to a previous state, known as a restore point. The video script outlines a method to use System Restore via the Settings app to recover from the loss of administrative rights, provided that restore points were created before the issue occurred.

💡Advanced recovery

Advanced recovery options are a set of tools within Windows that provide more in-depth troubleshooting and recovery methods, such as System Restore and Startup Repair. The script instructs viewers to access these options to perform a System Restore, which is part of the solution to regain administrative rights.

💡registry

The registry is a database in Windows that stores configuration settings and options for the operating system and its applications. The video script describes a method involving editing the registry in the Windows Recovery Environment to resolve the issue of lost administrative rights.

💡Windows Recovery Environment

Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is a recovery tool in Windows that allows users to perform various recovery tasks, such as system restore, from a bootable environment. The script mentions using WinRE to access the Command Prompt and edit the registry when standard methods fail to regain administrative rights.

💡Command Prompt

Command Prompt is a command-line interface in Windows that allows users to execute commands and interact with the operating system. In the script, it is used to access the Registry Editor within the Windows Recovery Environment as part of the second solution to the problem.

💡registry binary DWORD

A registry binary DWORD is a type of value in the Windows registry that stores binary data. In the context of the video, the script describes modifying a specific binary DWORD value within the registry to change the user account type from a standard user to an administrator.

💡built-in administrator account

The built-in administrator account is a predefined account in Windows that has full administrative rights. The video script suggests that by following the registry editing method, users can enable this account to regain administrative access to their system.

💡netplwiz

Netplwiz is a utility in Windows used for configuring user accounts. The script mentions attempting to open netplwiz as an example of an action that would typically require administrative rights, which becomes impossible when those rights are lost.

Highlights

Introduction to the video on fixing lost administrative rights in Windows 11.

Subscription and notification setup instructions for the channel.

Explanation of symptoms indicating loss of administrative rights in Windows 11.

Demonstration of User Account Control prompt without a 'Yes' button as a sign of lost rights.

Challenges faced when trying to use Task Manager with lost administrative rights.

The severity of the issue when the single account on the system is a standard account.

Inability to add a user account to the administrators group due to lack of rights.

Introduction to the first solution using the Settings app for System Restore.

Instructions for accessing Advanced recovery options for System Restore.

Necessity of having System Restore points created prior to losing administrative rights.

Process of selecting a System Restore point and completing the restoration.

Verification of restored administrative rights post-System Restore.

Demonstration of successfully regained administrative rights in Windows PowerShell.

Confirmation of administrative rights restoration through netplwiz group membership change.

Introduction to the second method using the registry in the Windows Recovery Environment.

Steps to access the Command Prompt in Advanced options and open the Registry Editor.

Detailed guide on editing the registry to regain administrative rights.

Final steps to enable the built-in administrator account and modify user account permissions.

Invitation for viewers to ask questions or leave comments for further assistance.

Closing remarks and call to action for likes, shares, and subscriptions.

Transcripts

Hello and welcome to my YouTube channel! Friends,  if you've not subscribed my YouTube channel yet  

do subscribe it and press the bell icon to  receive notification about my new videos  

in this video we will see how to fix if you have  lost administrative rights on your Windows 11  

operating system so let's get started first of all  we will see what are the symptoms when you lost  

administrative rights in Windows 11 so whenever  you do something that involves administrative  

privileges you will see something like this in  this case I have tried to open Windows PowerShell  

and you can see that here the User Account  Control confirmation prompt has been appeared  

which usually have Yes and No button  if you click Yes the operation will be  

continued and if you click No operation will  be terminated but in this case where you have  

lost administrative rights you can see here  No button only there is no Yes button there  

this confirms that we have lost administrative  rights on this system while if we try to open  

Task Manager and try to create new task you  can see that here I have tried to open netplwiz

and here again I got the same result and that  is User Account Control confirmation prompt with  

No button there is no Yes button and the problem  of losing administrative rights becomes worst  

when you have the single account on  your system and that is the only account  

which is now user level or standard account  and this is why we are facing this problem and  

fixing this is not easy task because if you go to  Local Users and Groups snap-in and locate your one  

and only user account which is user account not an  administrator account and if you try to add it to  

administrators group by assigning some permissions  but you can see here that error has occurred  

and the next error is ‘Access is denied’ and  this is pretty obvious because we do not have  

administrative rights on this system so how  to resolve this problem now let us see our  

first solution which is an easier method and in  this case we will be using Settings app and do  

a System Restore using Advanced recovery option  kindly note that if you perform System Restore  

using the old System Restore dialog present in the  Control Panel you won't be able to do that because  

of losing administrative rights so you have to  go to Settings app then System then Recovery  

and under Recovery options you will find Advanced  startup click on the Restart now button next to it  

in the pop-up window click on Restart now  and your system will be now restarted and  

under Choose an option click Troubleshoot >  Advanced options and under Advanced options  

click on System Restore kindly note that this  method will only work if you have System Restore  

points created before losing administrative rights  if you do not have a System Restore point created  

in advance then you can refer second method which  I will be sharing in this video next now back to  

System Restore wizard click on the Next button  select the System Restore point created earlier  

and click next and then click on finish  button click Yes in the confirmation prompt  

and let the System Restore be working in the  background this will take a while depending  

upon your data on the system and once  this System Restore has been completed  

you will find that you your lost administrative  rights are now back so here in this case System  

Restore has completed successfully we  will now need to restart the system  

so after restart we will try to login back to our  account which is the one and only account on the  

system and we will check if the administrative  rights are now back so here you can see that  

again we have a message System Restore completed  successfully this is usual message after login  

and when you perform System Restore  simply click on the Close button here  

now we will again try to open Windows PowerShell  and see if we can now open it and bypass the  

User Account Control confirmation prompt so  here you can see that Yes button is now back  

and we can easily click on it to proceed further  next we can see here that administrative Windows  

PowerShell is here that means we have gained  our lost administrative rights if we try to open  

netplwiz you can see that under User Accounts  applet the group membership of the one and only  

account has been changed to administrators  that means the problem is 100% fixed here!

now in case if this method doesn't  works for you because of no System  

Restore points created in advanced we  have got the second method which is using  

registry and in this case we will edit  registry in the Windows Recovery Environment  

so we will right click on the Start button  again and go to Settings app and then System  

and then under Recovery options click  Restart now next to Advanced startup and then  

again click on Restart now in the pop-up  window once your system is now restarted  

it will again go back to the Choose an  option screen click on Troubleshoot here

then select Advanced options then under  Advanced options select Command Prompt this time

when the Command Prompt opens type  regedit and press Enter key to open  

Registry Editor in the Registry Editor window  highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE then click File  

and then Load hive when Load hive popup  appears select your system root drive  

where Windows is installed in this case  it is C: drive then go to Windows folder

under Windows locate System32 folder and go  inside it under System32 folder you have to locate  

Config folder and open it inside Config  folder you will find a file named  

‘sam’ select it and then click open in the  Load hive key name type REM_SAM and click OK

now expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry key  then go to REM_SAM then SAM then Domains

then expand Account

then go to Users then expand it and locate the  first registry sub-key here that is 000001F4 in  

the right pane of this registry sub-key you will  find ‘F’ named registry binary DWORD double click  

on it go to line number 38 place the cursor in the  right side of 11 and press delete key on keyboard

and then type 10 that is ten and finally click  on the OK button here close the Registry Editor  

and also Command Prompt and from here you  can Continue or better if you select Turn  

off your PC option and restart your system when  you restart your system you will be able to log  

into built-in administrator account which is now  enabled and using that built-in administrator  

account you can create another administrative  accounts on the system or you can also modify  

existing standard level user account on the system  and make them administrator and this will help you  

to gain the administrative right back  on your Windows 11 operating system  

if you have any question about these methods  do let me know of your comments I'll be happy  

to help you and that's it for now in this  video thanks for watching it if you found  

it helpful do like it share it and don't forget to  subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos!