User disabled. Unable to log on to computer.

[Guest]

Whilst trying to fix another problem yesterday, I disabled my one and only
user account in XP. As a result, I cannot logon, and get an error message.
The computer only starts loading and then I get to the logon screen, and when
I click 'OK' it states that the user account has been disabled. As a result,
I cannot get in to Windows to change the settings. Can anyone tell me how to
fix this?

 

[Jerry]

At the log-on screen do a CTRL-ALT-DEL twice and log-on as the Administrator
(assuming you know the correct password - or none was created during the
initial install).

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your suggestions but this did not work. Does anyone else have any
suggestions?

 

[Malke]

Whilst trying to fix another problem yesterday, I disabled my one and only
user account in XP. As a result, I cannot logon, and get an error message.
The computer only starts loading and then I get to the logon screen, and when
I click 'OK' it states that the user account has been disabled. As a result,
I cannot get in to Windows to change the settings. Can anyone tell me how to
fix this?

In XP Home, boot the computer into Safe Mode. Do this by repeatedly
tapping the F8 key as the computer is starting up. This will get you to
the right menu. Navigate using your Up arrow key; the mouse will not
work here. Once in Safe Mode, you will see the normally hidden
Administrator account. The default password is a blank.

In XP Pro, you do not need to go into Safe Mode. At the Welcome Screen,
do Ctrl-Alt-Del twice to get the classic Windows logon box. Type in
"Administrator" and whatever password you assigned when you set up Windows.

If you reset the built-in Administrator account's password in Home or
have Pro and don't remember the password, use NTpasswd to change the
built-in Administrator account's password to a blank.

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Then go to the User Accounts applet in Control Panel and set passwords
that you will remember and make other desired changes.

Also, if you somehow disabled the built-in Administrator account, have
XP Pro, and neglected to create a second account, booting into Safe Mode
will enable the account temporarily for that one session.


Malke

 

[Guest]

Malke,

Thanks so much for your help. That worked perfectly - oh and I was working
in XP Professional. You are a legend!

Tracey

 

[Malke]

Malke,

Thanks so much for your help. That worked perfectly - oh and I was working
in XP Professional. You are a legend!

Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you got it sorted. Now you have
seen first-hand why it is a good idea to have at least two user accounts
with administrative privileges. So make an extra one for emergencies.

Thanks again for taking the time to let me know things worked out for you.


Malke