unknown password

  • Thread starter Thread starter Barbara
  • Start date Start date
B

Barbara

my son has a new computer/windows xp professional at
college. today when he turned on the computer instead of
the regular signon where he clicks on his name it came up
with his user name and then asked for a password of which
he has no idea what that may be. any suggestions?
thanks.
 
Barbara said:
my son has a new computer/windows xp professional at
college. today when he turned on the computer instead of
the regular signon where he clicks on his name it came up
with his user name and then asked for a password of which
he has no idea what that may be. any suggestions?
thanks.
Click to expand...

First, you should never use a password that you can't remember. You deserve
what you get if you do.

Second, try replacing his name at the logon with Administrator and login
under that name. If there was no password set, you don't have to enter one
to login. If there is a password set for the administrator, hopefully you
remember what that one is. If you can't remember any passwords set, then
your solution will be found by doing a google search for Windows XP lost
password. You will not find the answer here or on Microsoft's site and I
really shouldn't be sharing the answer myself.
 
Barbara;
Someone else with access at the college may have set a password.
Perhaps he can locate the person and get the password.

Try leaving the password blank.

The password is Case Sensitive.
Check Caps Lock and try various of Capital combinations.
In the future he should password all profiles with Administrator
access, including the default Administrator.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=321305
If you do not have a Password Recovery Disk, it is to late to make it.
Or
Log in to any account that has Administrator access.
Then go to User Accounts in Control Panel.
Select the user and change the password.

Reboot to Safe Mode, select Administrator, leave password blank.
Then go to User Accounts in Control Panel.
Select the user and change the password.
If you are using Windows XP Pro and have encrypted data, you may
permanently lose access to the encrypted data.

Here is another option:
http://www.wininternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/index.asp

Another option is to install Windows XP on another partition and take
Ownership of your data.
You could also perform another installation on the same partition,
although this is not a permanent fix and it is recommended to perform
a Clean Installation after retrieving your data.

After this is resolved, take precautions to not lose the password.
 
-----Original Message-----
my son has a new computer/windows xp professional at
college. today when he turned on the computer instead of
the regular signon where he clicks on his name it came up
with his user name and then asked for a password of which
he has no idea what that may be. any suggestions?
thanks.
.
I am having the same problem - have tried numerous fixes
Click to expand...
for the past 3 days- to no avail. Have contacted original
software supplier w/ fixes -none of which work- like your
son's computer there is no control. I recently heard
where another person has the same problem. Please respond
regarding attempts at fixes . Will advise in attempt to
regain admin. rights based on what you may have not
attempted.
 
Your son's computer is probably connected to his school's network.
Technically, he may have 'joined a domain', inwhich case the default logon
method changes. See if this helps:

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 291559
"HOW TO: Change the Logon Window and the Shutdown Preferences in Windows XP"
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;291559

By the way, what happens if your son simply presses Enter or Esc when asked
for a password? And has he spoken with one of the school's network
administrators about this?

Mike Mulligan
 
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