You can create new users in a couple of different ways. You can use the Computer Management MMC Console, or you can use the User Accounts applet from the Control Panel. The User Accounts applet found in the Windows Control Panel gives you most of what you need for adding users to a simple system. For a network situation, you should use Administrative Tools that can configure the Active Directory (the identity management database for Windows Servers).
Literally Creating the Accounts
This part is simple. You can open the Control Panel, select the User Accounts and Family Safety option, and then select User Accounts. Or if you are working in Classic mode, you can just go directly to User Accounts from the panel, select Manage Another Account, and then select Create a New Account. You will have to choose a type of account: Standard User or Administrator.
Standard User accounts are recommended if you are going to have others using the machine who you do not want to provide permissions to because they might pose a security risk (inexperienced users or children). After the account is created, you can change the password for it, change the picture, and establish Parental Controls One of first things I do (as I use classic mode and ‘display as menu’ on Computer, Control Panel, etc.) is to right-click the Start orb, select Properties, then Customize, and add Administrator Tools to both All Programs and the Start Menu.
A more advanced way to create an account is through your Administrative Tools, Computer Management (which opens the Computer Management MMC) console. You can also right-click Computer and select Manage to open this console. Using this method can give you a greater level of control over your accounts in that you can configure Group memberships, password settings, and profile/home directories all from a centralized location.
From here, you can expand Local Users and Groups, right-click the Users folder, and select New User (or select the Users folder and select New User from the Actions pane under More Actions).
Type in a username and full name—the description is optional. Then enter a password and one of the following options to go with the account:
- User Must Change Logon at Next Logon—The first time the user logs on to the system, she is asked to provide her own personal password, as opposed to the one you’ve assigned.
- User Cannot Change Password—Forces the user to use the password you created.
- Password Never Expires—With this option, the user never has to worry about changing her password.
- Account Is Disabled—Makes it so that the account is temporarily inaccessible. This is a good option if a user account is going to go unused for an undetermined amount of time but you think the user might be coming back. You can disable her account as a preventative security measure but not delete it until you know the account will never be used again. This frequently comes into play in corporate environments as employees come and go (and frequently come back again).
Note: If you want to delete a user account, you can do that from within the same User Accounts applet. When you attempt to delete the account, it asks you if you want to delete everything or if you want to have a copy of the user’s Documents, Favorites, Music, Pictures, and Videos folders on your desktop. It will not copy email messages or other settings, but this is a great way to preserve the user’s personal items or more easily move them over to another machine.
View blog reactions
