Forgot Windows Password

  • Thread starter Thread starter ColTom2
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ColTom2

Hi:

I have a friend who has forgotten his Windows sign on Password. He has now
tried for over a week he said to recall it, but apparently has no clue.

I have never used a Windows sign on Password, so I do not have a any idea
how he can rectify this problem.

Any simple solution?

Thanks
 
ColTom2 said:
Hi:

I have a friend who has forgotten his Windows sign on Password. He has now
tried for over a week he said to recall it, but apparently has no clue.

I have never used a Windows sign on Password, so I do not have a any idea
how he can rectify this problem.
Click to expand...


If you have forgotten your password, if you have another user account
with administrative privileges you can log into that account and change
your original user account's password from the User Accounts applet in
Control Panel. If you don't have another account like this set up or
don't have the password to it, you'll need to log into the built-in
Administrator account. In XP Home, boot the computer into Safe Mode. Do
this by repeatedly tapping the F8 key as the computer is starting up.
This will get you to the right menu. Navigate using your Up arrow key;
the mouse will not work here. Once in Safe Mode, you will see the
normally hidden Administrator account. The default password is a blank.

In XP Pro, you do not need to go into Safe Mode. At the Welcome Screen,
do Ctrl-Alt-Del twice to get the classic Windows logon box. Type in
"Administrator" and whatever password you assigned when you set up Windows.

If you reset the built-in Administrator account's password in Home or
have Pro and don't remember the password, use NTpasswd to change the
built-in Administrator account's password to a blank.

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Then go to the User Accounts applet in Control Panel and set passwords
that you will remember and make other desired changes.


Malke
 
In
ColTom2 said:
Hi:

I have a friend who has forgotten his Windows sign on
Password. He
has now tried for over a week he said to recall it, but
apparently
has no clue.
I have never used a Windows sign on Password, so I do not
have a any
idea how he can rectify this problem.

Any simple solution?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Tell your friend to try logging on with the built-in
Administrator account and going to Control Panel -> User
Accounts to change the password to something he'll remember.

How he logs on with the Administrator account depends on what
version of XP is installed on his computer.

XP Home Edition

To logon with the built-in Administrator account in XP Home
Edition you have to restart the computer and boot into Safe
Mode.
To start in Safe Mode, reboot your computer and
start tapping the F8 key as soon as you see anything displayed
on the screen.
Keep hitting F8 until the Advanced Startup
Options menu appears.
Use the up and down arrow keys on your
keyboard to select Safe Mode.
Hit Enter.
Click on the Administrator icon.
Unless you changed it, the password should be blank.

XP Professional or Media Center
Restart your computer.
If the Welcome screen is displayed, hit the Ctrl + Alt + Del
key combination twice.
This should bring up the Log on to Windows dialog.
Enter Administrator in the User Name box.
If you set up a password for this account, enter it now.
Otherwise, leave the password box blank.

If that doesn't fix the problem, take a look here.

Offline NT Password & Registry Editor
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Ultimate Boot CD for Windows®
http://www.ubcd4win.com/howto.htm

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
ColTom2 said:
Hi:

I have a friend who has forgotten his Windows sign on Password. He has now
tried for over a week he said to recall it, but apparently has no clue.

I have never used a Windows sign on Password, so I do not have a any idea
how he can rectify this problem.

Any simple solution?

Thanks
Click to expand...


Simply log in using the built-in Administrator account (which
cannot be deleted) and modify the desired account(s) and use Start > Run
"control userpasswords2" to modify the desired account(s).
Click to expand...

By design, the only way to log into the Administrator account of
WinXP Home is to reboot into Safe Mode. For WinXP Pro, pressing
CTRL+ALT+DEL twice at the Welcome Screen will produce the standard login
dialog box.

How to Log On to Windows XP If You Forget Your Password or Your
Password Expires
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q321305

Failing that, Linux-based password cracking utilities abound on the
Internet, freely available to anyone who can use Google.



--

Bruce Chambers

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