iogt007 said:
After replacing hardrive and reformating and installing all microsoft
updates, There is no password protection on my laptop for the Administrator
account in safe mode since when I click on control panel, it searches but
nothing displays so I can't access the user accounts to password protect it.
Is there a hot fix for this problem? Any suggestions are welcome to resolve
this problem. Everything works fine in normal start-up mode but I can't
access the control panel in safe mode.
I don't have a solution to your Control Panel problem. What I can pass along
is a couple of methods you can use to add a password to the built-in
Administrator account while in Normal Mode.
Option 1
While logged on in normal mode with an account that's a Computer Administrator,
open a
command prompt window (Start -> Run -> cmd.exe in the Open box -> Click OK).
Note: If Run is not listed on your Start menu you can hit the Windows + R keys
at the same time to launch the Run box. Also, you can open a command prompt
window from the Start menu under Accessories.
Once you have the command prompt window open you can use the net user
Administrator "password" command. For example, if you want the Administrator to
have a password of $AbCdE123$, you'd enter the following command at the prompt.
net user administrator $AbCdE123$
It's a simple matter of putting the appropriate password right after the name
of the user account you want password protected.
Hit the Enter key. You should see a line stating that the command completed
successfully.
Restart your computer, boot into Safe Mode and test the new password for the
Administrator account.
Note: You can use this method to reset the Administrator's password to the
default blank password by entering the following at the command prompt;
net user administrator *
After you hit Enter, you'll be asked to enter the current password twice. Once
again, you should see a line stating that the command completed successfully.
Option 2
Go to Start -> Run and enter the following in the Open box.
control userpasswords2
This should launch the alternate User Accounts applet. It should look similar to
this;
http://www.mvps.org/marksxp/images/autologon/wel12.jpg
On the Users page, if it's not already checked, put a check mark in the box next
to "Users must enter a
user name and password to use this computer".
Note: Keep in mind that having this box unchecked is a security risk.
In the "Users for this computer" box, click on Administrator so it's
highlighted.
In the "Password for Administrator" box, hit the "Reset Password" button.
Enter the desired password twice and click OK.
Back at the User Accounts applet, leave the box at the top of the page checked
if you want to be asked for a password and hit the OK button. Hit the Cancel
button if you had to add a check mark to that box and want to leave it
unchecked.
Restart your computer, boot into Safe Mode as Administrator and see if the new
password works.
Keep in mind that having all your user accounts including the built-in
Administrator account password protected will not prevent your computer from
being accessed. Armed with a CD that contains any of a number of freely
available utilities, a knowledgeable person can reset any user account password
on your computer and logon. You can add a BIOS password that needs to be entered
when the computer first boots, but even that can be overcome. Bottom line is
don't lose your laptop.
Good luck
Nepatsfan
