HELP!!!! Changing user passwords...

  • Thread starter Thread starter andyhay
  • Start date Start date
A

andyhay

I was wondering if anyone could PLEASE email me and tell
me how to change the "Owner" password from the command
line and create a new user with a password that I know,
or disable the User feature altogether.

Here's the deal.. I just had to repair windows (by
inserting the original disk) because one of my system
files became corrupt. The setup went through all of the
original installation procedures, asked me some questions-
-I skipped the part about setting up users.

NOW when I boot up, there is a user called "Owner". I
never set this user up, but it is the only one choice on
the screen. The installation must have given it a
password because when I try to bypass it with the enter
key, it says invalid password or something to that effect
and I can't log on to my computer.

Now, it will let me log onto the repair mode (if I insert
the original disk) because it set the Administrator
password as blank--so I can get a command line with the
list of commands such as "NET" and "BOOTCFG", etc.

Please let me know if there is a way to resolve this. My
email is (e-mail address removed) . I can't afford to
lose all my work.

Thanks in advance!
Andy Hay
 
You don't say if you're running XP Pro or Home.

If Pro: Press CTRL-ALT-DEL twice at the Welcome Screen. Enter
Administrator, and any password, at the old style logon. This will get you
into the built in Administrator account.

For Home: Boot into Safe Mode, and the built in Administrator account will
appear on the Welcome Screen.

Then See Help and Support and search for "take ownership" to recover your
user files.

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308421

You can also create a new user profile and copy the old one to it.

Copy a User Profile:

Open System in Control Panel. On the User Profiles tab, and under Profiles
stored on this computer, click the user profile you want to copy, and then
click Copy To.

In the Copy To dialog box, under Copy profile to, type the location for the
new profile, or click Browse to select the path.
Click Change to open the Choose User dialog box, click a new user from the
Names list, and then click Add. The new user name will appear in Add Name.
Click OK to add the user as a new user profile on your computer.

Note: You must be logged on as an administrator to the local computer to
copy user profiles. To open a Control Panel item, click Start, point to
Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click the appropriate icon.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151
How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile
 
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