Unable to remove myself as administrator of my wife's laptop and reconnect her account as such.

[all4myWife]

My wife's laptop had been factory reset. I needed to use it and set it up again. When she needed it back, I tried to factory reset and it won't let me. I'm unable to remove myself as administrator. This is an issue!! Save my marriage!!!!!!!!!!

[Max3Aj]

@all4myWife, Welcome to HP Support Community. 

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you. 

Okay, let’s save both your marriage and the laptop — one admin account at a time.

Here's the game plan to make your wife the admin again and remove yourself gracefully:

Step 1: Create Her Local Admin Account

1. Go to Settings → Accounts → Other users
2. Click “Add account”
3. Select “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information”, then “Add a user without a Microsoft account”
4. Enter a username and password for your wife
5. Once created, click her account → Change account type → set it to Administrator

Step 2: Remove Your Admin Account (optional)

Once her account is an admin:

1. Sign into her account
2. Go to Settings → Accounts → Other users
3. Select your account, then Remove

Important: Do not delete your account before giving her admin rights, or you’ll get locked out of admin access entirely.
 

Still Want to Factory Reset and Start Fresh?

If you're okay with resetting the entire laptop to let her set it up from scratch:

1. Go to Settings → System → Recovery
2. Under Recovery options, choose Reset this PC
3. Select Remove everything (if she wants a fresh start)
4. Choose Local reinstall (faster and doesn't require internet)
5. Follow prompts

If Windows says “You don’t have permission,” then the account you're using is not truly the top-level admin — let me know and I’ll walk you through overriding it with recovery tools.
 

BONUS: Making It Her Microsoft Account

After setting her up, sign in to her Microsoft account under Settings → Accounts → Your Info, so it syncs everything back (email, OneDrive, etc.)

I hope this helps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Select "Yes" on the bottom left to say “Thanks” for helping! 

Max3Aj

HP Support