Changing a User's Account Type

It's possible to change a Windows user account type at any time. For example, you may want to upgrade a standard account to an administrator account so that you can use that account to manage the system. Or you may want to change a guest account to a standard account when it's realized that a person will be using the system consistently for a long time.

To change a user account type, you must have administrator privileges. (This means that you must be logged into the system with an account that is set up as an Administrator account type.) In Windows 10, follow these steps:

1. Display the Control Panel.
2. At the right side of the screen, click the User Accounts heading.
3. Click the User Accounts heading. Windows displays a screen that shows information about your user account. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. Choosing what to do with user accounts (Windows 10).

4. Click the Manage Another Account link. Windows displays the Manage Accounts screen, which shows all the accounts on the current system.
5. Select the user whose account type you wish to change. Windows displays the Change an Account screen. (See Figure 2.)



Figure 2. The Change an Account screen.

6. Click the Change the Account Type link. Windows displays the Change Account Type screen. (See Figure 3.)



Figure 3. The Change Account Type screen.

At this point, select the type of account that user is to have, and then click Change Account Type. The user's account is immediately affected.

To get to this screen using Windows 7 go to Start | Control Panel | User Accounts and Family Safety | User Accounts. Windows displays a screen that shows information about your user account.

Click the Manage Another Account link and Windows displays the Manage Accounts screen, which shows all the accounts on the current system.

To get to this screen using Windows 8, follow these steps:

1. Display the Control Panel.
2. At the right side of the screen, click the User Accounts and Family Safety heading.
3. Click the User Accounts heading.
4. Click the Manage Another Account link. Windows displays the Manage Accounts screen.

 This tip (12461) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.