Tutorial to Create a Windows XP Password Reset Disk

Creating a Windows XP password reset disk is a great way to protect yourself from the possibility of forgetting your account password. With it, you can easily reset Windows XP password and get right in to Windows XP.

It's true that there are ways to recover lost Windows passwords without a password reset disk but they are often complicated and time consuming.

Be proactive by creating a password reset disk right now. With a password reset disk, you don't ever have to worry about forgetting your password again.

Follow these easy steps to create a password reset disk for your Windows XP account:

1. 
   

   Click on Start and then Control Panel.

   
   


2. 
   

   Click on the User Accounts link.

   
   

   Note: If you're viewing the Classic View of Control Panel, double-click on the User Accounts icon.

   
   


3. 
   

   In the pick an account to change area of the User Accounts window, click on your Windows XP user name.

   
   


4. 
   

   In the Related Tasks area on the left, click the Prevent a forgotten password link.

   
   


5. 
   

   When the Forgotten Password Wizard window appears, click Next

   
   

   Note: You will need a floppy disk drive and a blank floppy disk.

   
   


6. 
   

   On the next screen, verify that a blank floppy disk is inserted in your floppy disk drive.

   
   

   Click Next to continue.

   
   


7. 
   

   With the disk still in the drive, enter your current account password in the text box and click Next.

   
   


8. 
   

   Windows XP will now create the password reset disk.

   
   

   When the progress indicator shows 100% complete, click Next and then click Finish in the next window.

   
   


9. 
   

   You can now remove the floppy disk from your computer.

   
   

   Label the disk Password Reset and store it in a safe place.

   
   

• Tutorial to Create a Password Reset Disk in Windows 7
  
  


• Tutorial to Create a Password Reset Disk in Windows Vista

 

Lost or Forgot Computer Password? Reset Windows XP password!

If you have lost or forgotten your password for logging in to a computer running the Windows XP operating system, there are a few different options:

If you created a Windows XP password reset disk for Windows XP, you can use that disk to reset Windows XP password on your account. For more information on how to create and use password reset disks go to the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to create and use a password reset disk for a computer that is not a domain member in Windows XP

How to create and use a password reset disk for a computer in a domain in Windows XP

If you don't have a Windows XP password reset disk, the other option is to log on as the Administrator (or to have the person who is the machine's Administrator log on) and change the Windows XP password for your user account. For information on how to do this go to the following Mircosoft article:

How to Log On to Windows XP If You Forget Your Password or Your Password Expires.

If you don't know the Administrator password, and don't have a Windows XP password reset disk, then you will not be able to log on to Windows XP, and will need to reinstall the operating system and recreate any user accounts.

There are some programs available on the web which claim to be able to reset the Windows XP password(s) without access to an Administrator account, but these are not Microsoft programs, and are not recommended. If you do wish to try one of these programs (at your own risk), a web search should turn up a number of options.

Other tips:

• First, do you have the administrator password? Login as an admin and change the password of your user ID


• NEW: If you are an Administrator user, and are logged into Windows right now because your PC is setup to log you in automatically, but have forgotten your password in fact, and would now like to change it. well, Windows requires you to know the old one. However, there is a brute force way to reset the Administrator password. Open a Command prompt (START—> RUN—> then type “cmd” without the double quotes) and then type the following command:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  net user username newpassword

  
  

  Remember, if the username has spaces in it, then enclose it in double quotes, e.g.,

  
  
  
  
  
  

  net user “Jackson” pulpypass

  
  

  This would change Samuel Jackson’s password to pulpypass provided Samuel Jackson was an Administrator user.

  
  


• Don’t have admin access? Well, you can get it if you wish by downloading a cool utility from Thomas Mathiesen to recover Windows password if you have forgotten it.


• Or, you could just download this program to reset Windows XP / 2000 / NT security if the Administrator password, secure boot password, or the key disk is lost.


• NTAccess can replace the administrator password of a Windows XP, Windows NT or Windows 2000 system by rebooting the computer with a special set of boot disks or CD-ROM (XP only). This is useful if you forgot the administrator password and cannot access the Windows XP/2000/NT system.


• Petter N Hagen has put together an Offline NT Password & Registry Editor, which is basically a single floppy or CD containing everything you need to edit the passwords on most Windows systems.

Tutorial to Unlock Windows XP Administrator Password!

The Windows XP administrator passwordis the password used to access the "Administrator" account.

This account usually doesn't show up on the logon screen and most people don't know it exists. Usually that's okay because you won't need to use your computer under this account very often.

There are a few times when you will need this password! When you're accessing the Windows XP Recovery Console or you're trying to boot into Windows XP Safe Mode, you'll need this password before you can continue.

Follow the steps below to quickly find the administrator password on your computer!

1. 
   

   Try leaving the password blank. More often than not, the Administrator password doesn't exist at all! Just press Enter without typing anything when asked for it.

   
   


2. 
   

   Enter the password to your account. Often times, depending on how Windows XP was setup on your computer, the primary user account will also be the administrator user account.

   
   


3. 
   

   Try to remember your administrator password. If you installed Windows XP on your computer yourself, you probably set the administrator password during the Windows XP installation process. If that's true, you might be able to make really good guesses at what the password might be.

   
   


4. 
   

   Have another user enter his or her password. If there are other users that have accounts on your Windows XP computer, one of them may be setup with administrator access.

   
   


5. 
   

   Recover Windows XP administrator password using a password recovery tool. Password recovery tools are software programs reset Windows XP password without reinstalling the OS.

   
   


6. 
   

   Perform a clean installation of Windows XP. This is a last resort option. This type of installation will completely remove Windows XP from your PC and install it again from scratch.

   
   

   If you're just curious about your administrator password, I wouldn't suggest this extreme solution. However, if you're needing the administrator password to access diagnostic tools and this is your last effort to save your PC, performing a clean install will work. Keep in mind that it is a time consuming process due to the fact that all of your data must be backed up and then later restored.

   
   

Reference: Tips to unlock Windows admin password?