Adding a Power User to my pc.

[de8212]

Someone suggested I log on as a Power user to play games in Win2K. Normally I just log on as admin (I'm basically the only person using my pc anyway). I guess it's better for games because admin has alot of stuff running in the background. So when I do this I can't access the servers in UT GOTY edition.
Is it because a Power user doesn't have rights to use the connection? I have never messed around with adding different users so I don't really know whats going on.
Any help is appreciated.
de

 

[Nevo]

There's no more running in the background when logged on as admin than there is when logged on as anyone else.

The reason to not log on as admin is that it's harder to perform a Stupid User Trick and demolish your OS.

Most likely, your new user doesn't have write permissions to your UT directory and that's the cause of the problem.

 

[EmperorRob]

<< UT directory >>

You mean his Unreal Tournament directory?

 

[de8212]

Well, maybe you are right but that's what I read (I remember now). It was on a website. i'll try to find it though.

Not arguing with you just trying to get the best performance out of this old thing that I can.

de

 

[de8212]

HEre it is.



<< TextThe first thing you should do in Windows 2000 is Add a User intended for gaming. Many of you are probably just logging in as Administrator by default as there are no restrictions on what you can do. That said, the Administrator is running extra features that aren?t needed, but will lower system resources as a result, thus reducing performance. Being a Power User is perhaps the best trade-off for this reason. >>



And here's the whole link. Unless I misunderstand it.

http://www.3dspotlight.com/tweaks/win2k_compatiblity/compat2.shtml

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< Someone suggested I log on as a Power user to play games in Win2K. Normally I just log on as admin (I'm basically the only person using my pc anyway). I guess it's better for games because admin has alot of stuff running in the background. So when I do this I can't access the servers in UT GOTY edition.
Is it because a Power user doesn't have rights to use the connection? I have never messed around with adding different users so I don't really know whats going on.
Any help is appreciated.
de >>



This and the &quot;forgot my password&quot; thread are the reasons people should not be using NT/2k/linux/unix/*BSD. If people cannot remember thier passwords or know how to get them back they are hopeless. If they use admin for DAILY funcions like playing games or browsing the web they do not understand the need for security.

ONLY use admin for system management purposes. Use a NORMAL account for day to day tasks. No compromising. This is important.

 

[de8212]

<< This and the &quot;forgot my password&quot; thread are the reasons people should not be using NT/2k/linux/unix/*BSD >>



OK. I will go ahead and uninstall Win2K.

 

[Nevo]

de8212, that source you cited is a bunch of bunk. There is nothing more running when you log in as admin than there is when you log on as any other user. (Unless you've set things up that way.)

Having said that, you can probably turn off many of the services on your system if you're not using them (Alerter, for example) for a miniscule improvement in available resources. However, I wouldn't expect a whole lot of improvement. For instance, the Alerter service lets you receive popup messages from another user. It doesn't consume any CPU time, tho. It simply tells the operating system, &quot;Hey, when network traffic of this type comes in, send it to me,&quot; and goes to sleep until the OS wakes it up with a message. It might consume some memory, and that may or may not be important to you.

n0cmonkey has a point about security, but you must consider this in context. If your machine is in your living room, and you live alone, then there's not much of a security threat by logging in as admin all of the time. (If your machine contains confidential company data and sits in the lobby, things are different.) Personally, I used to always log in as administrator until I fat-fingered a command that resulted in a reinstall of the operating system. I would suggest logging in as a non-administrator for day to day operations more to protect yourself from your own stupidity more than anything else. You can always launch an app with runas if you need to run something in administrator context.

However, DON'T, as n0cmonkey cautioned, forget your admin password!

Also, be sure to set a strong admin password. If you don't know the ins and outs of protecting yourself against attacks while online, a blank admin password can be an invitation to a hacker when you're online.

If you're really going to uninstall W2K and go to (shudder) Win9x, you're taking a big step back! 🙂

 

[de8212]

Nah, Nevo I was just being sarcastic. My bro uses the pc for some stuff but everything I need is backed up on a cdrom. Even if I lost it all right now my world would not come crashing to an end.

I don't believe everything I read (especially out here on the internet) so that's why I was asking.

I appreciate everyone's input. For some odd reason I cannot access the server now, even as Admin. Bear in mind I haven't made any change other than add a user as a Power User. When I logged on as it, I could not access the server. I immediately logged back in as Admin and all was OK. Then about an hour later up until now I cannot connect with the UT Master Server. I made no changes to the game at all.
Any idea where to start?
de

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< de8212, that source you cited is a bunch of bunk. There is nothing more running when you log in as admin than there is when you log on as any other user. (Unless you've set things up that way.)

Having said that, you can probably turn off many of the services on your system if you're not using them (Alerter, for example) for a miniscule improvement in available resources. However, I wouldn't expect a whole lot of improvement. For instance, the Alerter service lets you receive popup messages from another user. It doesn't consume any CPU time, tho. It simply tells the operating system, &quot;Hey, when network traffic of this type comes in, send it to me,&quot; and goes to sleep until the OS wakes it up with a message. It might consume some memory, and that may or may not be important to you.

n0cmonkey has a point about security, but you must consider this in context. If your machine is in your living room, and you live alone, then there's not much of a security threat by logging in as admin all of the time. (If your machine contains confidential company data and sits in the lobby, things are different.) Personally, I used to always log in as administrator until I fat-fingered a command that resulted in a reinstall of the operating system. I would suggest logging in as a non-administrator for day to day operations more to protect yourself from your own stupidity more than anything else. You can always launch an app with runas if you need to run something in administrator context. >>



Exactly. I have done some stupid things on my computer. On win9x you cant win. In my OS of choice, if I am not running as root, I am fine. I screw up a file or two of my own, but nothing important to the system. And if you wake up, half drunk half hung over, and double click on that .exe someone sent you saying it has naked pictures of some hottie it will not hurt as bad if you are not admin 🙂



<< However, DON'T, as n0cmonkey cautioned, forget your admin password! >>



I uhhh speak from experience here. 😛



<< Also, be sure to set a strong admin password. If you don't know the ins and outs of protecting yourself against attacks while online, a blank admin password can be an invitation to a hacker when you're online. >>



For NT a strong password was greater than 6 characters and less than 8. More or less than that would theoretically make your password easier to crack (security focus had an article about this a while back). Remember :!@#$%^&amp;*(){}]['><,./? are all valid characters. I think some other wierd ones are too (&THORN;?).



<< If you're really going to uninstall W2K and go to (shudder) Win9x, you're taking a big step back! 🙂 >>



I have never used w2k so I cannot comment on this really... But almost anything would be better than 9x.