How to Disable Administrator Account in Windows 10 or 11

Microsoft Windows has had a lot of makeovers over the years, some of which brought more changes than others. These days, most PC users are running Windows 10 or Windows 11.

Both versions of Windows include a built-in Administrator account, which you can enable or disable. And it comes with two kinds of user accounts: Standard and Administrator. The built-in Administrator account is used for the initial setup of your PC. After the setup, users who have access to the built-in Administrator account can perform actions on the machine with no logs or audits.

It’s for this reason you may consider disabling an Administrator account on Windows. This article will cover how to complete the task on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Enabling/Disabling Built-in Administrator Account in Windows 11

If you’ve already updated your machine to the newest installment of Windows, you’ll want to follow the steps outlined in this section to disable the Administrator account.

We’ll start with the instructions to disable the account with Windows PowerShell.

1. Use the Win + X keyboard shortcut to access Windows Terminal (Admin).
   
2. When the User Account Control prompt appears, click Yes.
3. Now, type Disable-LocalUser -Name “Administrator” and click Enter.
   
4. Restart your computer to enable the changes.

If you want to enable the Administrator account, type: Enable-LocalUser -Name “Administrator”

Do keep in mind that if the account’s name isn’t Administrator, you’ll need to change the text to reflect the actual name.

You can also use the Command Prompt to disable the built-in Administrator Account on Windows 11 by following these steps:

1. Use the Win + R keyboard shortcut and type cmd into the search field. Then, use the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keyboard command to open the Command Prompt. Click Yes in the dialogue box that appears.
   
2. Type net user Administrator /active:no in the Command Prompt and click Enter.
   If the account you’re trying to disable isn’t named Administrator, replace the text with the correct name.
   
3. Close the Command Prompt and restart your machine.

To enable the Administrator account type: net user Administrator /active:yes

Enabling/Disabling Built-in Administrator Account in Windows 10

Perhaps you’re wondering what’s the purpose of the built-in administrator account in Windows 10. The likelihood of you actually needing to use it is very slim. The built-in administrator account is already disabled when you purchase a new computer with pre-installed Windows 10. It’s been the practice of Microsoft ever since Windows Vista. Here’s how you enable or disable the built-in administrator account in Windows 10:

Note: This is how you enable/disable a built-in administrator in Windows 10 Pro. That’s because Computer Management is only available in this edition of the operating system.

1. Go to the Start menu (or press Windows key + X) and select Computer Management.
2. Then expand to Local Users and Groups, then Users.
3. Select the Administrator and then right-click and select Properties.
4. Uncheck Account is disabled to enable it, or check it to disable it.
   
5. Click Apply and then OK.

For Windows 10 Home, you can use Command Prompts instructions:

1. Open the Start menu and type cmd into the search bar. Just start typing and select Run as administrator when opening the Command Prompt.
2. Type in the following command: net user administrator /active: yes and press Enter to enable it.
3. Type in net user administrator /active: no to disable it.

If you’ve accidentally locked yourself out of your Microsoft account, a built-in administrator account can help. But only if you’ve already made sure that it was enabled beforehand. Otherwise, you’re out of luck. The primary purpose of the built-in administrator account is for OEM system builders who make tweaks to the system.

User Accounts

Windows 10 has two kinds of user accounts: Administrator and Standard. With a Standard account, you can go about most daily tasks, like surfing the Web, running programs, checking email, etc. But if you want to make significant changes to the system, like adding new software or adding and removing other user accounts, you have to be the Administrator.

In workspace environments, there are a lot of Standard user accounts. When it comes to your personal computer, it’s most likely that you’re the Administrator. If you want to find which type of user account you’re using, this is what you should do:

1. Go to the Start menu and click on the Account logo; it’ll be your username.
2. Select Change account settings.
3. You’ll see a window pop-up and your name there. Underneath, you’ll see if it says Administrator or Standard.
   

How to Delete User Accounts

If you have too many user accounts in your Windows 10 that are either not being used anymore or want to restrict someone’s access to your computer, you can remove them. Just keep in mind a few things:

1. You must be signed in as the administrator to do this.
2. You can’t delete the user account you’re currently signed in to.
3. Make sure to always have one Administrator account enabled to avoid not being able to perform actions that require an administrator.

Here’s how you remove a user account in Windows 10:

1. Go to the Start menu, then select Settings.
2. Next, select Accounts from the options.
3. Then, select Family & other users.
   
4. Select the user account you want to remove under Other users and then select Remove.
5. Accept the UAC (User Account Control) prompt.
6. Select Delete account and data to delete the account and the data and follow the instructions on the screen.

Another way you can do this is to delete a User account in the Command Prompt. Follow these steps:

1. Open a Command Prompt as described above.
2. Type in net user and then hit Enter to see a list of all the users.
3. Type in net user [User account] /delete and then hit Enter again. Replace [User account] with the name of the account you want to delete.

Administrative Power

Unless you’re an expert, you probably don’t know much about how your computer actually runs or what kind of features it offers. Fortunately, Windows 10 lets you customize and organize your PC the way you need it. There are actions that go on in the background that you’re not even aware of, but it’s good to know that you can alter the administrative accounts, both built-in and user accounts.

Have you ever disabled a built-in administrator account before? And have you ever deleted any user accounts in Windows 10? Let us know in the comments section below.