Admin shares are Windows defaults that provide access to every hard drive partition on a system. Older versions of Windows may have these shares enabled by default, but on modern versions they are disabled.
See the instructions for each operating system.
Windows 8, 10, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2, and Server 2016
Add the following to the Windows registry:
Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Name: LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1
Windows 7
Add the following to the Windows registry:
Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Name: LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1
Windows Vista
Add the following to the Windows registry:
Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Name: LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1
Windows XP
Add the following to the Windows registry:
Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManServer\Parameters
Name: AutoShareWks
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1
Windows 2003
Add the following to the Windows registry:
Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManServer\Parameters
Name: AutoShareServer
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1
Windows 2008
Add the following to the Windows registry:
Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManServer\Parameters
Name: AutoShareServer
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1
Admin share access can be tested by navigating in Windows Explorer to
\\DEVICENAME\admin$For additional information regarding editing registry keys, please see the following
Microsoft Article.