How to Change the Administrator on a Computer: PC & Mac

Do you need to find out which accounts on your computer have administrator rights? Or maybe you need to change who has administrator privileges? Whether you want to know if your user account is an administrator or just want to change the administrator, you can easily do so on your Windows PC or Mac. If you have a Chromebook, you can find the owner of your laptop, but you won't be able to change it without a factory reset. This wikiHow teaches you how to find and change your computer's administrator on a Windows or Mac computer, and how to find the owner of a Chromebook.

Changing the Administrator on Your Computer

On Windows 11, go to Settings > Accounts > Other users. Click an account, select Change account type, then make the user an administrator or standard user.
On Windows 10, go to Control Panel > User accounts > Change account type. Select a user, click Change the account type, and choose Standard or Administrator.
On a Mac, go to System Settings > Users & Groups. Click the "i" next to a user and check "Allow this user to administer this computer."

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Windows 11

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1
View a list of administrators on the computer. If you just want to find the administrator(s) of this computer, the easiest way to do so is with a simple Command Prompt command. Here's how:^{[1]
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- Click the Windows Search bar in the taskbar (or the magnifying glass icon).
- Type cmd.
- Click Command Prompt in the search results.
- Type netgroup local Administrators and press ↵ Enter.
- If you want to change the administrator, continue with this method.
Open to your Settings via the Start menu in the bottom-left corner of your screen, or hold down the Windows key + I simultaneously.^{[2]
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It is represented by a green human icon.^{[3]
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Look for "Administrator" under your name at the top. If the current account is an administrator, you'll see "Administrator" under the name at the top of the window.
- You must be logged in as an administrator or have the administrator password to make another account an administrator.
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Click Other users. It's in the right panel. You may have to scroll down a little to see it. This displays a list of all users who have accounts on this Windows PC.^{[4]
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- If you only have one account on your PC, that account automatically becomes the administrator. This cannot be changed until you add another account.
- If you need to add another account, click Add account at the top of the Other Users panel to do so.
The "Change account type" button will appear once you select the account.
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Select an account type and click OK. To make the selected user an administrator, select Administrator from the menu. If you want to make a current administrator a standard user, select Standard User instead.
- A Windows computer can have multiple administrators.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Windows 10

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1
Open your PC's Control Panel. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen (or press the ⊞ Win key) and type "ctrl" into the search bar in the pop-up menu. Click Control Panel.
- You can use this method to see a list of all administrators on this computer, as well as change the administrator.
- If you're not using an administrator account, you can't make changes to other user accounts.
This person-shaped icon is on the Control Panel's right-hand side.^{[5]
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Click Change account type. You'll see this under "User accounts" at the top. This displays a list of users with accounts on this computer.
- If you don't see this option, click Manage another account instead.
4
Look for the "Administrator" tag beneath a username. If you see "Administrator" beneath a user's name, that account is an administrator. Windows computers can have multiple administrators.
- You will need to know the admin's login info in order to change the admin responsibilities on your PC.
  - There is a workaround to making yourself an administrator using a hidden administrator account.
- If you only have one account on your PC, that account automatically becomes the administrator. This cannot be changed until you add another account. Click Add another user in PC Settings at the bottom if you need to add an account.
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Make another account an administrator or remove administrator privileges. If you want to change the administrator on your PC, you can easily do so:^{[6]
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- Click the account you want to make an administrator. If you don't see the account you're looking for, you'll need to add it first.
- Click Change the account type.^{[7]
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- Select Administrator.
- "Administrator". Make sure the circle next to Administrator is filled in blue. This means you are attempting to make this account an admin on your PC.
- Or, to remove administrator rights, select Standard. Just make sure you have at least one administrator account before removing admin rights from another user.
- Click Change Account Type to finalize the change.^{[8]
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- Enter your administrator password to confirm.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Mac

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It's near the top of the menu.^{[9]
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This icon resembles two blue silhouettes.^{[10]
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Research source} It should be towards the bottom of the left-hand sidebar.
You should see the name of the current account at the top of this sidebar.
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Look for "Admin" beneath your name. If you see "Admin" here, you're using an administrator account; if not, you're a shared user, and you won't be able to change other users' account statuses.
- Even if you're on a guest account, you should be able to see "Admin" under the name of the administrator account here.
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Make another account an administrator. If you want to change the administrator or give another account admin rights on your Mac, it's easy:^{[11]
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- Click the "i" in a circle next to a user's name. This should be the name of someone for whom you wish to give administrator privileges or remove administrator privileges from.
- Check the "Allow this user to administer this computer" box next to the user's name. Or, if you instead want to remove administrator privileges from an admin account, uncheck the box here.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Chromebook

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Open your Chromebook's Settings. Chrome OS refers to admins as "owners", and there can only be one at a time. Only the owner can make any changes to other accounts on the device, although it is impossible to transfer owner permissions to another account. If you want to see who the owner is, start by clicking the time, then clicking the Settings gear icon.^{[12]
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- If you need to change the owner of your Chromebook, you will need to factory reset your Chromebook.
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Click Manage other people. On this screen, you can see a list of accounts on this Chromebook, including the owner account.
- Only the current owner can alter these settings. Non-admin accounts will receive a warning message instead.^{[14]
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How do I uninstall a program in admin?

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Type this into the file explorer "Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features" while you are on the admin account. From here, you can uninstall any program.

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I'm trying to install Legacy 8.0, but the administrator blocked the install. How can I unblock it?

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Boot the computer in safe mode with the command prompt. From there you can change the administrator password.

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How do I enable battery saver on my computer?

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On the bottom right corner ,there is a battery icon. Right click on it and go to power options. Here you can choose a option for example high performance. If you can't see it, then maybe it is under the additional plans.

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For added security, give administrative access to the fewest number of people possible.

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A standard user has limited control over system changes and cannot install programs, delete system files, or change settings. A guest can use basic files and programs, but has virtually no other abilities.

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Warnings

If you are on a work/shared computer, do not change any administrative settings without checking with your IT department or the owner of the computer first.

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