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Q:  Awhile back you did a column about not running a PC as Administrator. I set up a user account. Is there an easy way to set up the software for the user as I had it as the administrator – Internet Explorer, Google, Chrome, Outlook, etc?

– Terry P.
Fort Walton Beach, Florida

A: This is a rather unusual operation, as user account settings are a matter of personal choice, and not really intended to be shared among accounts.  While you and I both know the reason behind why you’re doing this, obviously Microsoft didn’t when they designed their product.  But I did some thinking on the subject, and I’ve come up with a method to do this that simply involves a little sleight of hand, and pulling the proverbial wool right over Windows’ eyes.  I say all this so you’ll understand this is not necessarily a normal way of doing business in Windows, nor is it a Microsoft-recommended procedure.  With that in mind, proceed at your own risk, and remember that It’s Geek to Me is not responsible for anything that might happen to your computer from following or not following advice given in this column.

So, here goes:  While signed-in as Administrator, open Windows Easy Transfer.  You can do that in Win7 by opening the Start menu, and in the “Search programs and files” box at the bottom, begin to type the words File Transfer.  By the time you get done typing Transfer, you should see either “Transfer files from another computer” or “Windows Easy Transfer” at the top of the menu.  Click it to launch it.

What we’re going to do is tell Windows that we’re going to move your settings to another computer.  Instead of doing that, we’re going to turn around and restore them to the same computer, but under a different account.  Pretty sneaky, eh?  I thought so.  To proceed, hit “Next” in the wizard and choose “An external hard disk or USB Flash Drive”.  You don’t actually have to use an external device, since we’re restoring to the same machine, but you need to choose that option nevertheless.  On the next screen, click the link that says that this is the old computer.  Wait for the next screen to finish scanning the accounts, and then deselect all of the accounts except Administrator.  Then click that account’s “Customize” link.  Uncheck everything except “Program Settings” and click “Next”.  At this point you may provide an optional password to protect the file that Windows is about to create.  Click on “Save” and select a location for the file, then wait while Windows does its thing.  Make sure you make a note of the location to which you saved the file.  When the wizard completes, start it back up again the same way you did before, but this time, when you get to the screen asking whether it’s the old or new computer, choose new.  On the next screen, choose Yes, to indicate the files have already been saved, then navigate to the location where you saved them.  Select the file, and click “Open”.  Now here’s the tricky part.  On the next screen, find and click on the “Advanced Options” link near the lower-right corner.  This allows you to specify the account to which the settings should be mapped.  Choose your desired account, and click “Save”, then click “Transfer”.  Once again give Windows time to do its thing, and you’re done.  If you did everything right, you will have fooled Windows into doing exactly what you asked me for.  I hope it works for you.  Good luck, and happy computing.