XP Password..

[shawn]

We're running Windows XP at work. We have to login with CTRL-ALT-DEL and
enter our password to get on the network.

About 1.5 to 2 months ago I changed it so I wouldn't have to do that.. I
made it so it would automatically log me in without typing password. I
forgot my password.

How can I recover it? It's not necessary, as I'm using the computer right
now to type this message, it's just in case someone ever asks me then I'll
want to have it handy.

 

[shawn]

What I did was go in to Users in Control Panel and uncheck the box where
users must enter a password.

I usually set my password for example like "cat01" for the month, then
cat02, etc, but I tried all the combinations I think it could be.

 

[shawn]

Oh yeah, by the way, we're on a domain, so does that mean my password is on
there? I can't CTRL-ALT-DEL and hit Change Password because it asks me for
the old one.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Oh yeah, by the way, we're on a domain, so does that mean my password is
on there? I can't CTRL-ALT-DEL and hit Change Password because it asks me
for the old one.

If you're on a domain then you should ask your server administrator or
HelpDesk to assist you.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Oh yeah, by the way, we're on a domain, so does that mean my password is
on there? I can't CTRL-ALT-DEL and hit Change Password because it asks me
for the old one.

Two things.

First, if you're on a domain, you are at a business of some type and have an
IT group, and THEY are the ones you should contact. This is part of what
they are paid for.

Trying to go around them will only annoy them, when they have to figure out
what *else* you did. Resetting a password is one thing, fixing a Windows
install is quite another.

Second, if you're on a domain, you're using XP Pro, and that means that
there is the possibility that you invoked encryption. You need to stop and
consider if you did in fact do this; if you didn't, no problem. But if you
did, resetting the password from outside the account will prevent you from
ever accessing the encrypted data, unless you backed up the account
certificates and have them to import.

So, go talk to your IT folks.

HTH
-pk

 

[shawn]

Thanks for the advice guys. Since my computer works and I can use everything
just fine I'll just leave it as is.

We're a very small company (about 10 people) and we do have a network
consultant, but he is very unresponsive. I could email him and never hear
back. I can call him and a lot of the times he won't answer and if he does
answer sometimes he'll say he'll call you back and never does. He's the only
person working for his company and might be in the process of moving office
due to personal problems, but really he's never been that responsive.

We're in the process of shopping around for someone else who wants to take
over things here. Good thing is we're on a very simple setup and it's not
that large scale.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Friday, January 16, 2009 8:41:16 AM, and on a
whim, shawn pounded out on the keyboard:

Thanks for the advice guys. Since my computer works and I can use everything
just fine I'll just leave it as is.

We're a very small company (about 10 people) and we do have a network
consultant, but he is very unresponsive. I could email him and never hear
back. I can call him and a lot of the times he won't answer and if he does
answer sometimes he'll say he'll call you back and never does. He's the only
person working for his company and might be in the process of moving office
due to personal problems, but really he's never been that responsive.

We're in the process of shopping around for someone else who wants to take
over things here. Good thing is we're on a very simple setup and it's not
that large scale.

Hi Shawn,

I was wondering why you needed your password if Windows was auto-logging on.

You password is set on the domain server and can be changed easily from
there. It wouldn't even take 5 minutes, so it's not a big deal for the
Administrator to take care of.

Where is your company located? I'm always looking for new clients. ;-)


--
Terry R.

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[shawn]

The ONLY reason I wanted to remember the password was in case anyone saw
that I had it boot up without asking me to login. I didn't want anyone to
yell at me. I was thinking of changing it back to asking me to ctrl-alt-del
login, but can't figure the password. Besides I probably should have left it
for security reasons anyway.

We're in New Jersey, BTW. Pretty simple setup we have here.. Win 2003SBS,
about 10 XP machines which are kind of old like 1.7Ghz and no dual core
even, also an older Win2000 server running accounting software. We've got a
Firebox X15 as our firewall and two networked laser printers.

 

[Daave]

You can't change the domain password on your PC. It needs to be done on
the server with usrmgr.exe.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Friday, January 16, 2009 12:31:23 PM, and on a
whim, shawn pounded out on the keyboard:

The ONLY reason I wanted to remember the password was in case anyone saw
that I had it boot up without asking me to login. I didn't want anyone to
yell at me. I was thinking of changing it back to asking me to ctrl-alt-del
login, but can't figure the password. Besides I probably should have left it
for security reasons anyway.

We're in New Jersey, BTW. Pretty simple setup we have here.. Win 2003SBS,
about 10 XP machines which are kind of old like 1.7Ghz and no dual core
even, also an older Win2000 server running accounting software. We've got a
Firebox X15 as our firewall and two networked laser printers.

Hi Shawn,

I was wondering why you needed your password if Windows was auto-logging
on.

You password is set on the domain server and can be changed easily from
there. It wouldn't even take 5 minutes, so it's not a big deal for the
Administrator to take care of.

Where is your company located? I'm always looking for new clients. ;-)

Shawn,

I haven't tried this nor do I know if it will work on domains, but you
could try here if you can't get to the Administrator:

You're out of my area. Too bad.

--
Terry R.

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[Terry R.]

The date and time was Friday, January 16, 2009 12:34:54 PM, and on a
whim, Daave pounded out on the keyboard:

You can't change the domain password on your PC. It needs to be done on
the server with usrmgr.exe.

Unless the option is checked to "Allow user to change password" in the
User account.

--
Terry R.

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[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

You can't change the domain password on your PC. It needs to be done on
the server with usrmgr.exe.

Try this command from a workstation:

net user Daave SomePassword /domain

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Friday, January 16, 2009 1:36:27 PM, and on a
whim, Pegasus (MVP) pounded out on the keyboard:

Try this command from a workstation:

net user Daave SomePassword /domain

That only works if "User cannot change password" is unchecked in Account
options of the Account tab in User Properties.

--
Terry R.

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[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

The date and time was Friday, January 16, 2009 1:36:27 PM, and on a whim,
Pegasus (MVP) pounded out on the keyboard:


That only works if "User cannot change password" is unchecked in Account
options of the Account tab in User Properties.

Indeed - but most administrators want their users to change their passwords
regularly.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Friday, January 16, 2009 10:41:54 PM, and on a
whim, Pegasus (MVP) pounded out on the keyboard:

Indeed - but most administrators want their users to change their passwords
regularly.

Most? I'm not sure about that. I think that changing passwords isn't
as secure as having a good one to begin with and using different
passwords for each different area one is needed. How many people do you
know that use the same password for everything? That's a false sense of
security.


--
Terry R.

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[shawn]

Yes, they do want us to change our password every 2 months or so. It's not
required and nobody does it but me. I find it really annoying. I was doing a
word and then the month number, for example cat1, cat2, cat3, up to cat12.

So, if I do a "net user name password /domain" it says "The request will be
processed at a domain controller for domain sonalicorp.local.
Syste error 1355 has occured.

The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted."

But they do allow us to change password, by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL and Change
Password.

I just can't remeber what it was changed to last time I changed it. It
should only be one or two things and I've tried them. No luck.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Monday, January 19, 2009 6:38:34 AM, and on a
whim, shawn pounded out on the keyboard:

Yes, they do want us to change our password every 2 months or so. It's not
required and nobody does it but me. I find it really annoying. I was doing a
word and then the month number, for example cat1, cat2, cat3, up to cat12.

So, if I do a "net user name password /domain" it says "The request will be
processed at a domain controller for domain sonalicorp.local.
Syste error 1355 has occured.

The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted."

But they do allow us to change password, by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL and Change
Password.

I just can't remeber what it was changed to last time I changed it. It
should only be one or two things and I've tried them. No luck.

It will need to be changed from the server in the User Account if you
can't remember the current password.


Terry R.