How To Get Into Xp When The Password Is Forgotten?

[BONGO]

My mum has a tower here that's got important work info on it. Nobody knows the password to get onto the one and only account on the computer. What's the score now?? It's Xp Home edition (I think it's home...)

Bongo

[David]

Retart the PC, keep tapping F8 (I think, always forget!) then select safe mode. Then click the administrator account and should get you in.

[BONGO]

what if it's the admin password that's been forgotten?

In safe mode cn you do everything? Like alter documents, print them, move them to a USB hard drive thing etc?

[David]

what if it's the admin password that's been forgotten?

In safe mode cn you do everything? Like alter documents, print them, move them to a USB hard drive thing etc?

Unless its been booted in safe mode before and had the admin password changed then it will be blank. You should be able to access all the docs, I think you can reset the password of the account normally used from there.

[Mr Motivator]

Yeah it's F8.

Turn it on and keep pressing F8 untill a funny screen comes up, you can change the administrator password (you'll work it out, you're not a fool) from there without knowing the old one.

I had to do it on my old XP pc when it crashed and corrupted my account settings .

[Extreme_biker0]

As i've pointed out before, there's no need to boot to safe mode to access the administrator account:-

Boot normally, and when you reach the screen where you select the user you want, press ctrl+alt+del twice, and a box will appear asking for your username and password. In the user name box type 'administrator' without the quotation marks, and leave the password box blank, and hit ok.

Just like the safe mode approach though, if a password has been set, then this will not work.

[basher]

Have actually tryed no password at all and press enter usually thats the default one or was for me.

[BONGO]

cheers. Done that, but it's a no go. Now what?

[Muel]

Connect the hard drive up to another computer as a slave? hat'd be my next step. You'll be able to get files off it, but not crack the password problem. Well, you probably could, but I don't know how.

[Extreme_biker0]

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Download the ubuntu linux image from there. This is not as scary as it sounds dont worry. You'll probably need the i386 version, so basically go to that page, select your location and press download, change nothing else.

Burn the cd to a blank cd.

Pop it in the cd drive of the unaccessible computer, and boot from the cd.

Select 'try ubuntu without changing my pc' or whatever it says.

It will automatically boot up to a very friendly windows-like desktop, and mount all your hard disks for you. So what this means is once it boots up, click 'places' (at the top) and click the disk drive you want to look at. You'll be able to copy any files you want to keep to a usb drive, or if you have a separate cdrw drive to the one that's running the ubuntu disk.. burn them to cd.

Good luck.

Extreme_somalia0

[Mr Motivator]

Or if you don't want to download all that crazy stuff ^, go to eBay and buy a copy of Knoppix on DVD. When you get it, put it in the CD drive and tell it to boot from the CD. It all boots up like a crazy version of Windows and you can double click the normal hard drive icon on the desktop and then plug in an external hard drive/usb stick and copy over all the files.

[Davetrials]

start in safe mode then change the admins password..?

thats what i did.

[Gavyn.]

start in safe mode then change the admins password..?

thats what i did.

yes but if the actual admin acount has a password then you won't be able to access it even in safe mode.

I would go along the lines of looking for the software which allows you see what has been written in the password entry form previously.

[G-baby158]

If none of that works put a new op onit but just one over the top not a hole new one, once you have done that go onto 'my computer' then search and put in what it was called then it will come up and you copy it.

[MadManMike]

To be honest there is no easy way of doing it - otherwise the password feature would be useless.

Like others have said, try installing Linux or maybe Windows 2000 as dual boot (ie, so you can run either XP or 2000, run 2000 and get your stuff) - None of these are quick, easy options though unfortunately.

[Hendrix]

I would advise trying to mount the hardrive on another PC.

Though - at the end of the day... the quickest option is no doubt - trying to boot from another OS.

Either way - good luck.

[NicP]

Not sure if its been mentioned

but isnt there a way of editing the SAM file?

Or am i being naive.

NicP