"account unknown s-1-5-32-547"

hi, i'm not sure if this should be alarming and i'm much obliged to your help. I just found that by right clicking Start > open all users > programs > properties I can access the permission table for access rights. The first one listed is "account unknown S-1-5-32-547" with full control etc and special permission. is this default? i never set those permission rights. i run an simple xp home and i should be the only user of this computer. there are only two accounts - the default administrator and mine (admin rights), and no guest or users, hopefully. another thing is that i can only view this part when i safeboot into administrator. while logging in with the current account, the tab just isn't there. in fact i can't see any security tabs where it should be. anyways, thanks in advance~ mjncheers

Hi Mjncheers.

Two things.

First, the S-1-5… number you see is the SID of a user or group account. I think the shorter number applies to a group, instead of a user. User SIDs are a lot longer. Usually windows translates these numbers into names that you'll recognize. If the user or group has been deleted, the permissions will still be present on object on your computer. So, when you look at the permissions of those objects, all you will see is the number, instead of the name. This is because the account is no longer present on the machine and the number no longer translates to a name. This is insignificant, and for the sake of leaving well enough alone, I would recommend you just leave it. However, you should be able to delete this entry without any side effects.

Second, the security tab is not present when you are booted into normal mode because you have Windows XP Home edition. Windows XP home edition is a hacked down version of Windows that is not made to be secure in any shape or form. The only way to change NTFS permissions on objects with XP Home edition is from safe mode, or with the CACLS command line command. Windows XP Professional would always have the security tab present. There may be third party tools available to make these changes in other ways, but natively, I have mentioned the only two ways I know of to manage permissions in Windows XP Home.

Hope this helps.

Hi Appleoddity, aaagggh…a sigh of relief. Thanks so much for your answer. I was really nervous over this.

You're certainly welcome, and welcome to WhatTheTech.