Deleting Administrator password in XP Pro.

[PinoyGeek]

Good Day!!! Kindly help me, somebody put an Administrator password on my
computer and I need to access my files. Im only using the administrator
account, even i choose to run in Safe mode it keeps asking for the
administrator password which I don't know thus preventing me to access my
computer, all of my important documents are in there. Is reinstalling and
choosing repair existing windows will reset/remove the administrator password?

Thanks a lot in advance and more power.

 

[Parkus45]

this doesnt make sense cause you in safe mode, (it has happend to me before)
when booting you computer, press F8 (if dell) or boot in safe mode. when
brought up to screen, it should say administrator as the first one, and then
your acount as the second one. click on the admin one which should not a
password on it, then go to the control panel, and take the password off of
the other acount

"PinoyGeek" wrote:

> Good Day!!! Kindly help me, somebody put an Administrator password on my
> computer and I need to access my files. Im only using the administrator
> account, even i choose to run in Safe mode it keeps asking for the
> administrator password which I don't know thus preventing me to access my
> computer, all of my important documents are in there. Is reinstalling and
> choosing repair existing windows will reset/remove the administrator password?
>
> Thanks a lot in advance and more power.
>
>

 

[Patrick Keenan]

"PinoyGeek" <PinoyGeek@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:EB81BF75-E255-4AE2-BA15-7797999D150D@microsoft.com...
> Good Day!!! Kindly help me, somebody put an Administrator password on my
> computer and I need to access my files. Im only using the administrator
> account, even i choose to run in Safe mode it keeps asking for the
> administrator password which I don't know thus preventing me to access my
> computer, all of my important documents are in there. Is reinstalling and
> choosing repair existing windows will reset/remove the administrator
> password?
>
> Thanks a lot in advance and more power.

A repair install will not remove or reset the password. The account
password is required no matter how you boot.

You can remove the password from outside the account, but I must warn you
that if you do this, *and* if you had turned encryption on, you will
probably never see the encrypted data again. The two exceptions to this,
which far too many people who use encryption neglect to do: specifying a
recovery agent, or backing up the certificates.

If you are at all uncertain of whether you did this, if the data is of any
value, stop now.

Get another hard disk, clone the original drive to it, and remove the
password from the clone. You will be able to tell right away if the data
was encrypted - you won't be able to read it. Remembering the old
password won't help.

You can also attach the drive to another system, take ownership of the
folders, and copy the files.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

You will find a number of boot CDs, mostly Linux based, that can remove the
password.
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=Linux+tools+to+remove+XP+passwords&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

Do create another user account when done, and migrate your documents and
settings to it. Using only the Administrator account is a rather bad idea,
for a number of reasons.

HTH
-pk

 

[PinoyGeek]

Thanks for the reply, but it seems that you don't understand my question. I'm
only using the Administrator account no other account was created, so Normal
or Safe mode it keeps on asking for the password, while before it goes
straight to my Windows desktop without asking for password, once you click
the Start icon, what you will see is the Administrator as the login account.

"Parkus45" wrote:

> this doesnt make sense cause you in safe mode, (it has happend to me before)
> when booting you computer, press F8 (if dell) or boot in safe mode. when
> brought up to screen, it should say administrator as the first one, and then
> your acount as the second one. click on the admin one which should not a
> password on it, then go to the control panel, and take the password off of
> the other acount
>
> "PinoyGeek" wrote:
>
> > Good Day!!! Kindly help me, somebody put an Administrator password on my
> > computer and I need to access my files. Im only using the administrator
> > account, even i choose to run in Safe mode it keeps asking for the
> > administrator password which I don't know thus preventing me to access my
> > computer, all of my important documents are in there. Is reinstalling and
> > choosing repair existing windows will reset/remove the administrator password?
> >
> > Thanks a lot in advance and more power.
> >
> >

 

[PinoyGeek]

Great help, thanks and God bless.

"Patrick Keenan" wrote:

> "PinoyGeek" <PinoyGeek@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:EB81BF75-E255-4AE2-BA15-7797999D150D@microsoft.com...
> > Good Day!!! Kindly help me, somebody put an Administrator password on my
> > computer and I need to access my files. Im only using the administrator
> > account, even i choose to run in Safe mode it keeps asking for the
> > administrator password which I don't know thus preventing me to access my
> > computer, all of my important documents are in there. Is reinstalling and
> > choosing repair existing windows will reset/remove the administrator
> > password?
> >
> > Thanks a lot in advance and more power.
>
> A repair install will not remove or reset the password. The account
> password is required no matter how you boot.
>
> You can remove the password from outside the account, but I must warn you
> that if you do this, *and* if you had turned encryption on, you will
> probably never see the encrypted data again. The two exceptions to this,
> which far too many people who use encryption neglect to do: specifying a
> recovery agent, or backing up the certificates.
>
> If you are at all uncertain of whether you did this, if the data is of any
> value, stop now.
>
> Get another hard disk, clone the original drive to it, and remove the
> password from the clone. You will be able to tell right away if the data
> was encrypted - you won't be able to read it. Remembering the old
> password won't help.
>
> You can also attach the drive to another system, take ownership of the
> folders, and copy the files.
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421
>
> You will find a number of boot CDs, mostly Linux based, that can remove the
> password.
> http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=Linux+tools+to+remove+XP+passwords&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
>
> Do create another user account when done, and migrate your documents and
> settings to it. Using only the Administrator account is a rather bad idea,
> for a number of reasons.
>
> HTH
> -pk
>
>
>

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

"PinoyGeek" <PinoyGeek@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:EB81BF75-E255-4AE2-BA15-7797999D150D@microsoft.com...
> Good Day!!! Kindly help me, somebody put an Administrator password on my
> computer and I need to access my files. Im only using the administrator
> account, even i choose to run in Safe mode it keeps asking for the
> administrator password which I don't know thus preventing me to access my
> computer, all of my important documents are in there. Is reinstalling and
> choosing repair existing windows will reset/remove the administrator
> password?
>
> Thanks a lot in advance and more power.
>
>
Now that your problems are solved, step back for a moment
and consider this. How many sets of keys do you have for
your car? More than one? Why? And how many admin accounts
do you have for Windows? Just the one? What happens if it
goes sour for some reason?

 

[M.I.5¾]

"Parkus45" <Parkus45@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9C6176E0-D37F-4FD1-ADB2-86D75A88CFD1@microsoft.com...
> this doesnt make sense cause you in safe mode, (it has happend to me
> before)
> when booting you computer, press F8 (if dell) or boot in safe mode. when
> brought up to screen, it should say administrator as the first one, and
> then
> your acount as the second one. click on the admin one which should not a
> password on it, then go to the control panel, and take the password off of
> the other acount
>

I think you misunderstand. Although the Administrator account does not have
a password by default, it is quite possible (and indeed adviseable) to add
one.

It is almost equally easy to remove it, just go to:

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

Burn it to CD. Boot from the CD and delete the password (don't set another
one, it won't work).



> "PinoyGeek" wrote:
>
>> Good Day!!! Kindly help me, somebody put an Administrator password on my
>> computer and I need to access my files. Im only using the administrator
>> account, even i choose to run in Safe mode it keeps asking for the
>> administrator password which I don't know thus preventing me to access my
>> computer, all of my important documents are in there. Is reinstalling and
>> choosing repair existing windows will reset/remove the administrator
>> password?
>>
>> Thanks a lot in advance and more power.
>>
>>

 

[M.I.5¾]

"M.I.5¾" <no.one@no.where.NO_SPAM.co.uk> wrote in message
news:468b878c$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...
>
> "Parkus45" <Parkus45@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:9C6176E0-D37F-4FD1-ADB2-86D75A88CFD1@microsoft.com...
>> this doesnt make sense cause you in safe mode, (it has happend to me
>> before)
>> when booting you computer, press F8 (if dell) or boot in safe mode. when
>> brought up to screen, it should say administrator as the first one, and
>> then
>> your acount as the second one. click on the admin one which should not a
>> password on it, then go to the control panel, and take the password off
>> of
>> the other acount
>>
>
> I think you misunderstand. Although the Administrator account does not
> have a password by default, it is quite possible (and indeed adviseable)
> to add one.
>
> It is almost equally easy to remove it, just go to:
>
> http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html
>
> Burn it to CD. Boot from the CD and delete the password (don't set another
> one, it won't work).
>

Oh, and I should add that if the administrator has used encryption files or
folders (XP Professional only) then they will be lost (but then you can't
access them anyway).

 

[Bruce Chambers]

PinoyGeek wrote:
> Good Day!!! Kindly help me, somebody put an Administrator password on my
> computer and I need to access my files. Im only using the administrator
> account, even i choose to run in Safe mode it keeps asking for the
> administrator password which I don't know thus preventing me to access my
> computer, all of my important documents are in there. Is reinstalling and
> choosing repair existing windows will reset/remove the administrator password?
>
> Thanks a lot in advance and more power.
>
>


How to Log On to Windows XP If You Forget Your Password or Your
Password Expires
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kben-usQ321305

Failing that, Linux-based password cracking utilities abound on the
Internet, freely available to anyone who can use Google.

For future reference:

The built-in Administrator account really was never intended to be used
for day-to-day normal use. The standard security practice is to rename
the account, set a strong password on it, and use it only to create
another account for regular use, reserving the Administrator account as
a "back door" in case something corrupts your regular account(s).

A wiser course of action would be to create another user account
for your daily use, and copy desired the files and settings from the
Administrator account to this newly created user profile.

HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kben-us279783

How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kben-us811151


--

Bruce Chambers

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