Hi Jann,
Recommended method by Microsoft:
If you know the passwords for any accounts on the machine, try to log in
using those accounts to see if any of them are administrators. If so, use
that account to reset the password on the original administrator account.
You can simplify this by logging on with any account for which you know the
password, and then looking at the membership of the administrators group
using the Local Users and Groups tool in the Computer Management snap-in
(run Compmgmt.msc or right-click My Computer and click Manage). Focus on
trying to remember the passwords for those accounts, or finding anyone who
knows the passwords for those accounts.
• If that didn't work, consider reinstalling. One thing to consider is
whether you are using EFS encryption anywhere—if so, you won't be able to
get back into your files if you reinstall, unless you exported the recovery
agent key ahead of time.
• If your machine has another copy of Windows on it, try booting to that
copy to recover your data. If you have access problems ("access denied")
then you can log into the second copy as an administrator and use the
Advanced Security dialog box to take ownership of those files and
directories.
• If you need immediate access to your data and don't have a second copy of
Windows on your machine, or if you feel that a reinstall might endanger
your data, then you should perform a "parallel install"™install a second
copy of Windows on the same machine and use that installation to recover
your data to a network drive or somewhere else.
Thanks,
(e-mail address removed)
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
