Weird password problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Geoff Briedé
  • Start date Start date
G

Geoff Briedé

Felicitations,

I've come across an unusual problem that I've never before encountered on
over 30 XP machines, ever since the OS came out.

I am setting up my computer to be accessed remotely, as I've done before
several times, and went into Control Panel/User Accounts to create a
password for that reason; I generally leave my account's password field
blank until I actually NEED to have a password

Clicking on "Create a password" prompts me to type in the password twice and
provide the hint. Clicking then on the "Create Password" button after
entering the info brings up the error: "Windows cannot change the password".
There was NO field into which you're to type "the present password", which
is what you'd expect since there is no password in the first place. After
OKing that dialog away however, my account shows up as now being "Password
protected". So, I naturally click on "Remove password" and again the same
error dialog comes up: "Windows cannot change password" and once that is
OKed away, the account resumes its non-password protected condition.

Dropping into Administrator mode and trying to create and/or change the
password results in the exact same error(s).

What's more, in order to get the computer to boot back into my regular
(admin. too) account, it is necessary to Shut Down (not Restart) the box; a
reboot brings me to the Login window where it won't accept ANY password as
being correct, nor will it start the account if I leave the field blank.

It's very odd.

Is there a way - there MUST be a way - the reset the password of an account
from inside the Administrator account?

I've tried everything I can think of - to no avail.

Thanks for reading - and TIA,

- Geoff
 
Hi Joe,

Good idea! I tried it. I can't delete the account until I create ANOTHER
admin-type account. So, I did so - two of them, in fact - but I can't set a
password for either of those two as well.

There seems to be a rather large corruption of the password file.

Any other ideas?

TIA,

- Geoff
 
How about hacking it? Here's a link to a utility that'll reset your
administrator password offline. You boot the system to the utility and it
edits the SAM file to set your password. Who knows, maybe it'll fix it when
it resets it.

Joe
 

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