Administrator Account and Password

Maxine Nietz 1 Reputation point
2026-04-01T20:43:14.0466667+00:00

My brother has a windows 8.1 PC. How can I set it up so that I know the administrator account and password without him having to enter a password to start windows????

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Security and privacy
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  1. AI answer

    2026-04-01T20:43:23.0366667+00:00

    On a Windows PC, an administrator account and password can be known while still allowing Windows to start without a password prompt by configuring automatic sign-in for that account.

    One supported way to achieve automatic sign-in is to use a tool like Autologon, which configures Windows’ built-in autologon mechanism so that Windows logs on a specified user automatically at startup using stored credentials.

    Autologon works as follows:

    1. Run autologon.exe on the PC.
    2. Enter the administrator account name, domain (or computer name), and password.
    3. Select Enable.
    4. After this, Windows will automatically log on with that administrator account at startup without requiring the password to be typed.

    Important security note: Autologon stores the password encrypted in the registry as an LSA secret, but any user with administrative rights on the machine can retrieve and decrypt it. This reduces security and should only be used in trusted environments.

    If the administrator account does not yet exist or is not an administrator, an existing administrator can create or change accounts and make one an administrator via Settings → Accounts, as described in the user account management guidance.

    References:

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  2. Norah-L 10,490 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-04-02T01:41:02.59+00:00

    Good day Maxine Nietz!

    Thank you for reaching out.

    Based on what you described, your brother is using a Windows 8.1 PC, and you’re looking for a way to allow the system to start without requiring him to enter a password each time Windows boots.

    How can I set it up so that I know the administrator account and password without him having to enter a password to start windows????

    I understand your concern. However, please not that obtaining or controlling someone else’s administrator account and password isn’t recommended, as it can compromise privacy and security. Instead, if the goal is to avoid typing a password at startup, Windows 8.1 supports automatic sign‑in. This allows the system to boot straight to the desktop while still retaining the account’s credentials for administrative tasks when needed.

    To enable automatic sign‑in in Windows 8.1, you can use the built‑in User Accounts settings:

    • Press Windows + R, type netplwiz and press Enter.
    • In the User Accounts window, clear “Users must enter a username and password to use this computer.”
    • Select the account, choose OK, and enter the password once when prompted. After that, Windows 8.1 will sign in automatically at startup.

    Hope this could help. Feel free to let me know if you have more related questions!

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