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Can't load Firefox 10.0, Admin access riddle

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I’ve downloaded Firefox 10.0 and can't get past the window requiring Administrator privileges, even though my named user account is listed as the administrator. - If I select Administrator it won’t accept the password. - If I select my account name, which IS the Administrator, the window closes and the entire process dies.

I've downloaded and installed software for three years on this computer without any problems. So what’s the cleanest, least problematic way to resolve this? Delete the Administrator account and rename my user just Administrator? I kind of doubt Windows Vista would allow the Admin account to be deleted but don't know.

I’ve downloaded Firefox 10.0 and can't get past the window requiring Administrator privileges, even though my named user account is listed as the administrator. - If I select Administrator it won’t accept the password. - If I select my account name, which IS the Administrator, the window closes and the entire process dies. I've downloaded and installed software for three years on this computer without any problems. So what’s the cleanest, least problematic way to resolve this? Delete the Administrator account and rename my user just Administrator? I kind of doubt Windows Vista would allow the Admin account to be deleted but don't know.

All Replies (6)

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Try making another administrator account and then install firefox on that account and see if that helps.

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Thank you for the suggestion. I'll try that.

Wait, actually, when I tried to change my user account to Administrator the Windows response was along the lines of "Sorry, can't do that, there's already an account with that name."

At that point I wondered about deleting the existing Administrator account, then renaming my user account as Administrator - but what are the effects of deleting the Administrator account? There seem to be a lot of layers to all of these functions, and I use this computer for work so can't have it going non-operational on me.

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Have you installed Firefox on this machine before? Have you tried installing Firefox to a non-default location, for example by creating a folder on your desktop, and installing Firefox there when prompted for a default or custom location?

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Check that you do not run Firefox as Administrator.

Right-click the Firefox desktop shortcut and choose "Properties".

Make sure that all items are deselected in the "Compatibility" tab of the Properties window.

  • Privilege Level: "Run this program as Administrator" should not be selected
  • "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" should not be selected

Also check the Properties of the firefox.exe program in the Firefox program folder (C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\).

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Hi - I can't install it anywhere, can't get past the window that initially shows up asking me to select a user with admin access. If I select Admin user the password is rejected, if I select the user that is designated as Admin (but named differently) the window disappears - and that's the end of the process.

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Thank you. I will try these. Firefox hasn't been loaded on this computer before so isn't on the desktop but I can move the uninstalled downloaded file to the desktop and right click on that.