Thank you for your prompt response. I have tried "Administrator" with
no password, but this does not seem to work.
It keeps going back to the same logon.
I will try the F10 option soon (I am using a different computer
because I can't log on to the Internet on mine).
Just in case this doesn't work, if I can't log on with Administrator,
and I have no other accounts, how do I reinstall Windows?
tony...
Try this...
There is a freely-available program that many users employ to get over this
hurdle by resetting the administrator's password to a blank. You may want to
give it a try in case you've found no other way to resolve this password
problem.
Obviously you have available another PC connected to the net so that you can
download the necessary program.
Download the file to reset your password from...
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/
1. On the top of the webpage click on the "Bootdisk" button.
2. In the "Download" section toward the bottom of that page click on the
cd080802.zip file and download it to your Desktop. Note it's a ZIP file so
the contents of that file will have to be extracted.
3. I assume you know how to do this by merely right-clicking on the ZIP
file, click on Extract All, Next, Next, Finish.
4. A folder will be created on your Desktop titled "cd080802".
5. Inside that folder will be the cd080802.iso file. It's this .iso file
that allows you to create a bootable CD from that .iso image.6. Hopefully,
you have a CD-burning program, e.g., Nero, Roxio, etc., that allows you to
merely double-click on the .iso file and the program will open and create a
bootable CD from that .iso image. If you don't have such a program perhaps
you have a friend or acquaintance who does and he or she can help you with
creating the bootable CD. There are other programs available on the net that
allow you to do this as well - one popular program is the freely-available
ISO Recorder program - see...
http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm
Now that you've created the bootable CD that's designed to reset your
password, insert the CD in your optical drive and boot to it.
The following are step-by-step instructions for using the program. The
example involved is a single-partitioned HDD, but the basic steps are the
same for any size HDD, except where the drive is multi-partitioned. If the
latter is the case the steps will be slightly different but they will not be
unduly complicated or substantially different under those circumstances.
As you progress through the screens the information provided and steps
involved may appear more complicated than they really are. In virtually
every step during the process the user will simply be pressing the Enter key
or some other simple keystroke. So don't be intimidated by what appears to
be a lengthy & complicated process. It really isn't.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Case is important when responding to the prompts so ensure
you enter the correct lower or upper case.
1. Hopefully your PC is set up so that it will boot to a bootable CD. If
it's not, change the motherboard's BIOS boot priority setting so that the
CD-ROM (optical drive) is first in boot priority.
2. Boot to the password reset CD. At the first screen you will see the
"boot:" prompt. Press Enter.
3. "Step ONE" is to select the drive on which the Windows OS is installed.
If the drive has been multi-partitioned all the partitions will be listed.
The prompt ("Step ONE") will be "Select: [1]".
Press Enter assuming [1] is the boot partition. Otherwise enter the correct
number of the partition containing boot system.
4. The next prompt ("Step TWO") will be "What is the path to the registry
directory? (relative to windows disk) [WINDOWS/system32/config]:".
Once again, press Enter.
5. The next prompt will list a number of options of which [1] is "Password
reset...".
Press Enter.
6. The next prompt at "Step THREE: Password or registry edit" will list
three options. The default prompt "[1]" will reflect the first option, "Edit
user data and passwords". Again, press Enter.
The next prompt will ask for the username listing the default
[Administrator]. Enter your username (ensuring that you enter the proper
case, e.g., TONY), and press Enter.
The "User Edit Menu" will display listing various options. The first option
is to "Clear (blank) user password" so enter "1" at the prompt.
The confirmation "Password cleared!" message should appear.
7. At the next prompt enter "!" (exclamation mark) to quit the "User Edit
Menu". Press Enter.
8. At the next prompt enter "q" to quit the process.
9. At "Step FOUR" enter "y" to write changes. Press Enter.
10. At the "EDIT COMPLETE" message, press Enter to confirm ending the
process.
11. The "#" prompt will appear indicating termination of the process. Remove
the CD and reboot.
Hopefully your Administrator's password has now been reset to a blank
password and you should gain access to the system.
Anna
