Administrator

When I attempt to log onto Windows Update, I get the following message:

Administrators Only

To install items from Windows Update, you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.

Note If you are running a Windows 2000 (except DataCenter), Windows XP, or Windows .NET Server 2003 operating system, you can run the local administrator account on your computer without having to log off and then log on again.

To run as the local administrator in Windows XP or Windows .NET Server 2003:

Click Start, and then click All Programs (or right-click Windows Update if it is available).

Right-click Windows Update.

Click Run as on the menu that appears.

Do one of the following:

Enter the password for the administrator.

Enter the user name, domain name, and password of a different user account that has administrative permissions on this computer.

To run as the local administrator in Windows 2000:

Click Start, right-click Windows Update, and then click Run As on the menu that appears.

Do one of the following:

Enter the password for the administrator.

Enter the user name, domain name, and password of a different user account that has administrative permissions on this computer.

If the option to run as the local administrator is not available:

Click Start, right-click Windows Update, and then click Properties.

Click the Shortcut tab, and then select the Run as different user check box.

You can also get online support if you are having problems with Windows Update.

I am not, nor have ever been an Administrator. Also, I am not, nor have ever been on a Network. This is a personal home computer. When I e-mailed Microsoft about this problem, they sent me a Knowledge Base article with a "fix", but it only applied to the XP operating system. The steps and prompts did not work on my system which is Windows Me. Amazingly (maybe not!), they have not responded when I re-emailed them with this information. HELP! It's obviously important to be able to log onto the Update site and download fixes and patches for Security issues. I hope you guys can figure this out, and thanks a whole lot for helping.

Glenn J. Miner

P.S. I love your show!

This question was answered on February 8, 2003. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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You are logged on as a regular user, and do not have the privilages to change your Windows system files nor run programs that do (such as Windows update) Try logging out and logging yourself in as Administrator with no password This is default administrative account, I suggest changing the password later for obvious security reasons This might not work if somebody changed the admin account when windows was installed, such as the vendor.

--alex

About the author

Posted by Alex of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on February 8, 2003

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