There are a number of situations with adapters where some or all the GUI configuration features aren't available — they don't appear, or can't be changed.

Also, there are situations where settings can be changed, but profiles cannot.

This is usually because the account you are logged in does not have administration rights. This situation is not relevant for operating systems without administration accounts, such as Windows Me, Windows 95, and Macintosh.

Many recent operating systems distinguish between administration accounts, which can perform almost any function on a computer, and user accounts, which have restricted rights. There are several advantages to this distinction, even for casual comptuer users.

• When you are using a computer with user rights only, there's much less chance of causing serious damage to the operating system. Logging on as administrator only when system changes need to be made safeguards your system from careless mistakes or unintentional modifications.
• If more than one person uses your computer, each can set up their own preferences without affecting other users, or the overall computer configuration.
• The administrator can put security in place that stops other people (such as hackers) misusing the computer.

Doc: n101290.asp Sept. 2, 2004