login problems

[-keevill-]

I have a notebook with WinXP Pro running on it for about 18mths and I have
always logged in to the local machine with the administrator / password
profile. Now suddenly today, it says login incorrect. I have checked caplock
isn't to blame and I've manually typed administrator and the password I've
used for ages and it simply refuses to allow me in.
How can this have happened and how can I resolve it to get into my machine?

 

[Bob I]

Is Numlock on?

 

[Rock]

I have a notebook with WinXP Pro running on it for about 18mths and I have
always logged in to the local machine with the administrator / password
profile. Now suddenly today, it says login incorrect. I have checked
caplock isn't to blame and I've manually typed administrator and the
password I've used for ages and it simply refuses to allow me in.
How can this have happened and how can I resolve it to get into my
machine?

See if anything here helps.
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/lostpass.htm

 

[-keevill-]

Is Numlock on?

Numlock/Caplock are not on. I type the password temporarily into the
username box just to test the keyboard is producing the right letters and it
is !
I am CERTAIN of the password since I use the same one for literally hundreds
of machines I Have set up over the years and anyway it was working on this
machine until yesterday.
Are there any known viruses which can cause this ?

 

[-keevill-]

See if anything here helps.
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/lostpass.htm

I gave up and formatted the machine but I would LOVE to know how it
happened. I am pretty certain that nobody deliberately and mischievously
changed the password but of course cannot be sure.
How else could it have happened ?
Any ideas anyone??
I'm an experienced IT guy so I exhausted all the usual things such as
keyboard problems and also tried other user profiles such as an account
which had been used in the past to join a domain but nothing could get me
in.

 

[Rock]

I gave up and formatted the machine but I would LOVE to know how it
happened. I am pretty certain that nobody deliberately and mischievously
changed the password but of course cannot be sure.
How else could it have happened ?
Any ideas anyone??
I'm an experienced IT guy so I exhausted all the usual things such as
keyboard problems and also tried other user profiles such as an account
which had been used in the past to join a domain but nothing could get me
in.

I don't know. Did you try the Administrator account password reset utility
from here: http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/editor.html