Why can't I access the administrative shares or remote administrative functions from a remote computer?

Windows Vista prevents local administrators from using their administrator powers over the network. This results in the inability to remotely administer a computer using filesharing and tools that use similar technology (such as the computer manager MMC snap-in and the administrative shares, such as C$). However, this DOES NOT affect Remote Desktop in any way.

To allow administrators local to a computer to use their administrator powers when accessing the Vista computer remotely, please follow these steps:

CAUTION: Improperly modifying the registry can harm your system.

  1. Click start
  2. Type: regedit
  3. Press enter
  4. In the left, browse to the following folder: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\system\
  5. Right-click a blank area in the right pane
  6. Click New
  7. Click DWORD Value
  8. Type: LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy
  9. Double-click the item you just created
  10. Type 1 into the box
  11. Click OK
  12. Restart your computer