Password Problem - XP Home

[RAH]

A friend of mine called last night in a panic. Her log-on password no
longer works for XP Home. She didn't lose the password, it just
doesn't work anymore. Is there anything I can do to help her short of
reinstalling Windows? Is it possible to run Windows Restore some way
without doing a normal start-up of Windows?

Dick

 

[JS]

For XP Home users:
Boot the computer into Safe Mode
Do this by pressing the F8 key (several times) after the Power On Self Test
is finished, until the Start menu appears.
This will get you to the correct menu window.
Once in Safe Mode, you will see the normally hidden Administrator account
and any other accounts.
(Note: Accounts are displayed alphabetically).
Use the Up/down arrow keys to highlight the 'Administrator' account.
The default password is a blank (no password required).

Once your in, then:
Click Start/Run/and type in: Control Userpasswords2 and then press OK
Next click on the Advanced tab and then click Manage Passwords.

Also See: Forgotten your Windows XP Home password
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894902/en-us
and: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894901/

Also see: How to log on to Windows XP if you forget your password or if your
password expires
(This Microsoft article applies to both XP Home and Pro)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/321305/en-us

JS

 

[Bruce Chambers]

A friend of mine called last night in a panic. Her log-on password no
longer works for XP Home. She didn't lose the password, it just
doesn't work anymore. Is there anything I can do to help her short of
reinstalling Windows? Is it possible to run Windows Restore some way
without doing a normal start-up of Windows?

Dick

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).

Unless she's set the built-in Administrator's password via the
Management Console (_not_ the Control Panel), it's probably still blank.
WinXP Pro asks the user to set the Administrator's password during
installation, but WinXP Home doesn't.

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

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

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