Enable (or work around) Administrative shares in Windows 8

Question

So in using Windows 8, I've discovered that the administrative shares are disabled. There seems to be no easy way to get them re-enabled.

Is anyone aware of a work around, or solution?

I did not have this issue with Windows 7 After disabling UAC. However in Windows 8 this still doesn't work.

This is all I could find, however I am not satisfied with the information provided.

http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/win8/windows8-administrative-shares.htm

http://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/windows_8-file_sharing-windows_administrative_shares,2-195.html

What other information do you want that isn't in the links you've given? Solution 3 in the first link seems exactly what you're after. — George Duckett, Oct 24 '12 at 14:31
"however I am not satisfied with the information provided" You need to explain this — Moab, Oct 24 '12 at 15:08
I was hoping that there was a non "hack" solution around this. I often re-format . install these computers and didn't want to have to enable it this way each time. — Brado, Oct 25 '12 at 14:06
With regards to the registry entry you could always export it to a .reg file and simply import it after a reformat to save the effort of opening the registry each time but it is still just as much of a "hack" as there is no official "Enable admin shares" option anywhere — Graham Wager, Oct 25 '12 at 14:15
possible duplicate of How to enable administrative shares on Vista and XP? — Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007, Sep 29 '14 at 18:09

score 11 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 12 '20 at 13:48

Note: If the computer is part of a domain, this does not apply as the admin shares are automatically enabled upon joining.

To enable the admin shares for computers in a HomeGroup or Workgroup, you must first ensure that File and Printer Sharing is enabled:

In the Desktop, right-click the Network icon in the system tray and click Open Network and Sharing Center:
Click Change advanced sharing settings in the left hand menu:
Under the current profile, find the File and printer sharing section, and click Turn on file and printer sharing:
Click Save Changes and confirm the change if prompted.

Warning - the next section involves changing the Registry. Be extremely careful as incorrect editing can result in a non-functioning system or other problems!

Press Windows+R and type regedit followed by Enter. Click Yes to confirm starting it as an Administrator if prompted.
On the left hand side expand the tree along the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Select the System folder and in the right hand pane, right click, click New then DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Set the name to LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy then press Enter. Double-click the new entry and set the value to 1.
Exit the registry editor and restart the computer.

I accept your answer even though its the same as in the link, since you at lease spent the time to format it nicely. — Brado, Oct 25 '12 at 14:06
@Graham Wager I have a Question: Can I add the specified key in registry using c#. if so, how??? — kashif, Jan 25 '13 at 12:16
The restart is not needed in any version of Windows, neither in Win 8, as far as I remember. — Roland Pihlakas, Jun 07 '18 at 21:40

score -2 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 24 '12 at 14:49

-2

Your first link there has the best solution IMO. Edit the registry and add the right.

http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/win8/windows8-administrative-shares.htm

answered Oct 24 '12 at 14:49

Jared Tritsch

3,160

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Enable (or work around) Administrative shares in Windows 8

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