RE: Lost Administrators Password

Phil Stewart wrote:

I would have liked to see an answer as I am in the same boat. Have
been told the only fix is to reformat the hd and start over.

"kevinodonnell" wrote:

I forgot my administrators password. I didn't set up a security
question or
make a reset password disk. OK, so sometimes I'm an idiot. I really
need to
have access to my files...oh, about an hour ago. Is there anything I
can do to log in to my own computer?

Next time make a new post instead of tacking onto someone else's. That
way both you and the OP will get the help you need. Here is your
answer:

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. Log in and go
to the User Accounts applet and set a password you will remember.

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

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

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
.

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