FIX: Hidden Administrator account does not show up in the Login Screen.
If you have enabled the hidden administrator account but it does not appear on the login screen, or if another user account not appears on the login screen while it is enabled, continue below to fix the problem.
Recently one of my customers accidentally disabled the only user account he had in Windows 10 and as a result he cannot log in and use his computer. To fix the problem, I enabled the administrator account using the registry in WinRE, but unfortunately after restarting the Administrator account does not appear in Login screen.
After investigating the issue, I realized that the issue occurs because the user account has been hidden using the registry, so I proceeded to unhide it using the instructions below.
FIX: Windows 10 Administrator or User Account Not Appearing on Login Screen.
1. At the login screen, press and hold down the SHIFT key and click Power > Restart, to restart your computer in Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
2. At the next screen, click Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.
3. Click on the Administrator account.
4. When prompted for the Administrator password click Continue (or type it if you have specified a password.)
5. In command prompt type regedit and press Enter.
6. In Registry Editor, click to highlight the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key.
7. From the File menu, select Load Hive.
8. At "Load Hive" screen:
a. Locate the Windows drive (where Windows are installed on), and navigate to this folder: Windows\System32\config
b. Explore the contents of the config folder, select the SOFTWARE file and click Open.
9. Then type a new Key name: (e.g. "Repair") and press OK.
10a. Now navigate to the following key (from the left side):
- HKLM\Repair\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
10b. At the right side, right-click and Delete the user account that does not appear in the Login screen. (e.g. the Administrator account in this example.)
10c. Click Yes to confirm your decision.
11a. Now at the left side highlight (select) the New Key you created before under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (e.g. the "Repair" key in this example)…
11b. …and from the File menu click Unload Hive and…
11c. …click Yes to confirm.
12. Close the Registry Editor & the Command Prompt windows and click Continue to Windows 10.
That's all folks! Did it work for you?
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January 20, 2024 @ 6:58 pm
Hello,
There is no SpecialAccounts in my Winlogon folder, just AlternateShell, GPExtension, lostMode, ShellPrograms and UserDefaults.
Administrator does not appear in UserDefaults either.
Prior to this, I used Command Prompt and typed "Net user Administrator /active: yes" next to x:\Windows\System32>
then Enter, and saw the Command completed successfully message, so I should have an Admin account.
What else can I do for the Administrator account to appear on log in screen?
Thank you for your help
January 22, 2024 @ 11:33 am
To see the Administrator account: Right-click on Start menu and go to Shutdown or Sign out > Sign Out. If you still cannot the Administrator account Repair Windows with an In-Place Upgrade or to perform a clean installation of Windows.