Resetting a Forgotten Password Tutorial
NOTES
The built-in Administrator account is found on the Welcome
screen only if there are no other accounts available, other
than Guest, or when the computer is booted into Safe Mode.
To get Admin account on the "Welcome Screen" make sure that
there are no accounts logged in.
The built-in Administrator account can create and change
passwords for all users, but cannot restore a forgotten one.
When a password is changed, that account will lose all
encrypted files, personal certificates and stored Internet
Explorer passwords or network resources.
Press "CTRL-ALT-DEL" twice to get the classic Windows logon
box. Type: Administrator. If this account has a password,
enter it. Otherwise, leave the it blank.
Recovering a password is much more difficult. Using a
cracking program can take weeks!
RESET A PASSWORD USING THE ADMINISTRATOR ACCOUNT
1. Boot into Safe Mode.
2. Log on using the built-in Administrator account.
3. Open: Control Panel-->User Accounts.
4. On the Users tab, select a user name, the password to
change and click Reset Password.
RESET A PASSWORD AT THE LOGON SCREEN WITH THE COMMAND PROMPT
At the logon screen, press Shift+F10 to open a Command Prompt
with adminisrative priviledges and type:
net user {username} {password}
{username} = The Account's User Name
{password} = This will be the new password
RESET A PASSWORD USING OFFLINE NT PASSWORD & REGISTRY EDITOR
Bootable CD (Freeware)
http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html
· This disc can set, reset or unlock the password of any user
account.
· You do not need to know the old password to set a new one.
· Works with Windows NT/2k/XP/Vista.
RESET A PASSWORD USING NT PASSWORD HACK
This will blank the Administrator password (Freeware)
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/tools/ntpassword/ntpasswordhack.zip
RECOVER A PASSWORD USING THE LOGIN RECOVERY WEB SERVICE
Login Recovery is a service to recover passwords for Windows NT,
2000, XP, 2003 and Vista (Fast = $30, 3-day wait = Free)
http://www.loginrecovery.com/index.php
LINKS
How to reset the Administrator's password
http://www.petri.co.il/forgot_administrator_password.htm
EFS, Credentials, and Private Keys from Certificates Are Unavailable After a Password Is Reset
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290260/en-us
Administrator and User Passwords in Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/win_xp_passwords.htm
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