MY Dell notebk running on XP-pro has the default 'administrator' and another user 'admin1'.
'admin1' was given 'adminstrator' rights. But I cannot install any program when using 'admin1'. Also, my 'system restore' tab is missing and when I try to use 'system restore' under the 'accessories->system tools', I was told I have no privilege.

Can someone help?

Is this a new problem? Were things working OK previously? Any new hardware and or software?

The default admin account is usually left untouched if you are using Pro on a single computer.

admin1 would be the basic user account.

What happens when you try to install programs? Any error message?

As to System Restore:

Error: Can't Access System Restore - Disabled by Group Policy - or System Restore tab missing



Go to Start - Run and type regedit then press enter.



Navigate to the following registry Key.



HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Win dows NT\SystemRestore



In the right pane, right click on each of these Value Keys and select delete.

"DisableSR"

"DisableConfig"



Close Regedit. Right click on My Computer and select the System Restore tab. A reboot may be necessary.



If the above doesn’t fix the issue, there’s a registry edit at Kelly’s Korner.

Look on line 278 left side. http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm



These steps, and registry fix are also known to repair the inability to enable System Restore after it has been turned off.



More information on “System Restore Group Policy restrictions”



Note: There is a good possibility this was caused by malware/virus infection. Click here for cleanup instructions.

http://bertk.mvps.org/html/error.htm...sabledByPolicy





As a first response you might want to post a HijackThis log for review by our Pros in that section:

Please follow the instructions HERE & then post your log in a new thread in the Spyware, Adware, Viruses and HijackThis Logs section.
(Not in this section please).

Please specify what issues you appear to be experiencing along with your log.

OK, all along I could not load any new prog/apps but I didn't really think abt it coz I could use the 'Administrator' logon.

But recently I (under Admin1) tried to set the system restore point and was told that I do not have enough privilege. I also realised that the system restore tab is missing from 'my computer' properties. Everything seems OK under 'Administrator'.

I have a regularly updated Norton on my NB and the last scan was OK. I also went and did an online scan by trendmicro. No problem. Same for ad-aware.

HELP!

If the Admin1 account never worked properly just delete it and create a new account.

If you need to transfer data try this:

How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile

As such corruption is generally malware related I would still suggest posting a HijackThis log.

Also did you check your Group Policy settings?