Log in to Windows 10 as Administrator using RDP

windows windows-10 remote-desktop administrator uac

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Solution 1

I don't understand this answer, but I am going to provide it in case it helps anyone else. Understand, I have had this problem for weeks, but it was just an annoying hindrance so I didn't really dig in until now.

I finally logged in remotely as the real "Administrator" to see if that worked. It had already worked locally but, given my experience, I was surprised when it did work. After about a 30 second wait, the Settings panel displayed normally. Then things got weird.

I went back to my original local account that was assigned group Administrators but was not working. Again, after about 30 seconds or so, it worked and the Settings panel displayed normally. Earlier today and in the past weeks, I have let that panel sit for very long periods without change. Only after I logged in as "Administrator" did it work.

Solution 2

Do you receive the error message "The connection was denied because the user account is not authorized for remote login" or do you see another error message? You can verify the account is granted remote login capability through the following steps:

Right-click on the Windows Start button.
Select Control Panel.
Click on System and Security.
Click on Administrative Tools.
Double-click on Computer Management.
Under Local Users and Group, double-click on Remote Desktop Users in the right pane of the window.
Is the administrator account or "administrators" in the Remote Desktop Users group? If not click on the Add button to add the account or accounts to which you wish to grant remote login access.

Alternatively, you can click on Users under Local Users and Groups then double-click on the relevant account, then click on the Member Of tab. If you don't see Remote Desktop Users listed as one of the groups to which the account belongs, click on the Add button and then add Remote Desktop Users as a group to which the account belongs.

Example for a domain administrator account, but the process for checking remote login access for a local administrator account is the same.

19,630

Richard_G

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Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Richard_G over 1 year

I have two Windows 10 machines. I remote into the desktop using my laptop. Remote works, but I cannot get Administrator access. Both are Windows 10 Pro. Both have the same local accounts, each with Administrator. If I log in directly, both give me Administrator access. Before I upgraded from Windows 8.1, I was able to remote as Administrator, at least as I recall. However, when I remote to the desktop, I do not have Administrator on that desktop.

I've tried about everything I know, including running RDP itself As Administrator. UAC is on Always Notify on both machines.

Is it possible to RDP as Administrator on Windows 10? If so, how? Thanks...

EDIT: Symptoms, in particular: Settings screen is blank, save for a gear in the center. Attempting to uninstall programs, the response was that I needed to be an administrator. UAC does allow me to elevate privileges, however.
- moonpoint about 8 years
  
  Something you could try would be to create a new account on the system and put that account in the Administrators and Remote Desktop Users groups, or add an existing account to those groups, and see whether the same problem occurs.
Richard_G about 8 years

As I indicated, the session works fine with the exception that I am not an administrator. I cannot change settings, as it gives me a blank screen with a settings gear in the center, in particular.
Richard_G about 8 years

This works if I am logged in locally. And, I can use User Accounts to Manage Other Accounts either way, however... And, yes, I am a member of Administrators on both systems.
moonpoint about 8 years

When you stated "Remote works, but I cannot get Administrator access," I thought you meant that you could establish a connection to the system via RDP, but couldn't log in under the administrator account. If you issue the command whoami /groups from a command prompt while logged in via RDP, do you see "BUILTIN\Administrators" listed? Is there something in particular you are trying to do that doesn't work when you log in remotely, but does when you login locally?
Richard_G about 8 years

Yes, it shows I am a member of BUILTIN\Administrators both locally and remotely. I updated the original question to elaborate on the symptoms.
moonpoint about 8 years

I'm normally logging into Windows systems remotely as a domain administrator, but I just tried logging into a Windows 10 system via RDP under a local administrator account on the system to confirm that access should be the same. I uninstalled a program I needed to upgrade anyway. I was able to uninstall the program without any prompt to provide administrator credentials and accessing "Settings" showed a normal display, so, though I can't, unfortunately, say why you are experiencing those problems, I can say you should not be seeing those symptoms.
Richard_G about 8 years

Good information.