Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Forgot your password to get back into Windows XP?

Because of the security features built into Windows XP, it is virtually impossible to get back into the system without the password.
You have several options to try and get around this problem.


If you have access to another user account with administrator rights, you can use that account to change the password
of the account that is locked out. You can also use the default Administrator account that is built into Windows XP.

First you need to boot the system into Safe Mode.
1.Restart your system.
2.When you see the blue Dell globe or screen, press the ( F8 ) key about 3 times a second.
3.You should get the Windows startup menu. Use the (Up or Down) arrow keys to highlight (SafeMode)
4.Press (Enter) on (Safe Mode), then press (Enter) on (Windows XP).
5.The system should boot to Safe Mode.



Once you are at the Account Log on Screen, click on the icon
for the user account with administrator rights, or click on the icon
for the administrators account.
Note: For Home the Administrator account isn't normally shown & in Safe Mode you have to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys twice to show.
For PRO you can do this in normal mode

When the system has booted to the desktop, use the following steps to change the accounts password.
1.Click Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools.
2.Click Computer Management.
3.Double click Local Users and Groups, double click the folder Users.
4.Right click on the account name that is locked out, and click on Set Password.
5.You may get a warning message about changing the password, simply click proceed.
6.Leave the New Password box blank, also leave the Confirm Password box blank.
7.Click OK, and OK again.
8.Then close all Windows, reboot the system and try to log in.


There are also applications that can recover the password for you.
The following companies provide these applications at a cost.
iOpus® Password Recovery XP here.
LostPassword.com, here.
Asterisk Password Recovery XP v1.89 here.
Windows XP / 2000 / NT Key here.


If the above information does not help in recovering the password, the only option left is to
format the hard drive then reinstall Windows and the system software.

9 comments:

Providence computer repair said...

No matter what kind of computer you have, you always need the most up-to-date Anti-Virus software in your system. Not only do protection from Virus programs protect your computer from crashing, but they also prevent you from accidentally passing the infection to other computers of family.

Maureen Grace said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Computer Repair said...

For better computer protection, you should use an Internet firewall. Operating systems like Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP with SP2 comprise built-in firewall and this is turned on by default. Check whether it is on or not. If not, turn it on.

pc repairs birmingham said...

You should also update the operating system regularly as Microsoft releases updates to protect the users from virus attack. Have you installed the most recent version of Microsoft Office? Your Microsoft Office programs will also be updated by Microsoft Update.

computer repair said...

No matter what kind of computer you have, you always need the most up-to-date Anti-Virus software in your system. Not only do protection from Virus programs protect your computer from crashing, but they also prevent you from accidentally passing the infection to other computers of family.

Computer Repair said...

Very interesting post! It will be great to learn this. As a computer ages, regular computer repair and maintenance should be considered an integral part to owning a computer.

IT jobs said...

Job interviewer as well as the job interviewee should have proper preparation which help alleviate some of the stress involved in job interviews.

free computer repair said...

It's nice that there are tutorials now online, This would save you time and money since you no longer have to visit a computer shop for a repair.

Computer Repairs Gold Coast said...

Really helpful guidelines and instructions you have posted there. Last month I faced this problem but instead of password recovery I installed a new window. :(