# forgot administrator password



## kamaal (Feb 28, 2005)

what does i do if i forgot "Administrator password" in Windows XP operating system? either, can i recover the password or not or i have to format the program n reinstall it?


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## GNUrag (Feb 28, 2005)

good news, WIndows XP has gone open source!!!

ps: please see to it that you post your queries in right section.


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## kamaal (Feb 28, 2005)

hi GNUrag, what does u mean ? i couldn't understand? what dows it mean "right section"


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## Ethan_Hunt (Feb 28, 2005)

kamaal said:
			
		

> hi GNUrag, what does u mean ? i couldn't understand? what dows it mean "right section"



well with u being a newbie let me explain what Gnu meant.....theres a separate section in Digit which has discussion realted to all the open source projects Like linux and stuff.....here's the link *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=8

So next time post ur query out here.....and welcome to the forum  

@Gnu....man u could have framed the answer a lot simpler now.....couldnt ya


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## technovice (Feb 28, 2005)

*mods: take notice*

hey there are two threads of the same topic in this forum with slightly diff messages
mods please take notice!
@kamaal has offered the same tea in 2 different cups


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## enoonmai (Feb 28, 2005)

I've posted a solution here:

HOWTO - Recover lost Windows 2000/XP/2003 Admin Passwords


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## jamesbond007 (Feb 28, 2005)

You said you lost Administrator pass, well if you can log into any other low priv user account then I guess you can create a new pass for Admin without having to reinstall XP here it is
log into any ordinary user account
go to start --> run and type cmd
In the Dos window that opens type : NET user admin*  and press Enter
(here admin is your administrator account)
type a new pass
I did this once.
Please correct me if Iam wrong!!


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## enoonmai (Feb 28, 2005)

That's only if he's created another user with Administrator privileges and he knows its password at least.  If you do have another account with admin privileges, you can always login, enter
net user administrator *
or
net user <username> *
and change the password.


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## yehmeriidhain (Feb 28, 2005)

I dunno whether its legal or not .... But i used ERD Commander once for changing my admin pass..

Using it was as easy as cutting a baked cake with knife


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## Charley (Mar 1, 2005)

Ok, so you say you forgot your Windows administrator's password, huh? Oh well, it doesn't really matter if you did or you just say you did. The fact is that you need to gain access to a computer and you cannot "remember" the administrator's password.

How can you get out of this situation without formatting and re-installing the operating system?

One method of gaining access to the system is by trying hard to remember the forgotten password, or a password of another user which has the same level of administrative rights. However I don't think this approach will help you, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here reading, would you?)

Another method is by trying to restore a backed up System State (in Windows XP)  in which you do remember the password. The problem with doing so is that you'll probably lose all of the recently add users and groups, and all the changed passwords for all of your users since the last backup was made.

A third method might be to install a parallel operating system on a different partition on the same computer, then use a simple trick to gain access to the old system.

The fourth option is by using 3rd party tools that will enable you to reset the lost password and logon with a blank password.

Free Windows password tools are usually Linux boot disks that have NT file system (NTFS) drivers and software that will read the registry and rewrite the password hashes for any account including the Administrators. This process requires physical access to the console and an available floppy drive but it works like a charm! I've done it myself several times with no glitch or problem whatsoever.

Beware!!! Resetting a user's or administrator's password on some systems (like Windows XP) might cause data loss, especially EFS-encrypted files and saved passwords from within Internet Explorer. To protect yourself against EFS-encrypted files loss you should always export your Private and Public key, along with the keys for the Recovery Agent user.


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## godsownman (Mar 1, 2005)

If you have another account on the same computer open that it can be a guest or a limited account .
Then click open control panel -> user accounts -> and on the left of the page you will see an option for creating a reset disk .

Create a disk with a clean formatted floppy and then restart the computer .

When you are asked for the administrator password type a wrong one that how u will be able to initiate the password recovery disk and then follow the instructions in the window that open and you should be able to reset your password without a single trouble.

But remember that you must make the disk on the computer where it is to be used.

If you have only created an administrator account then you shall have to go to safa mode to create the disk .

Press F8 on booting the computer.
Safe mode has got its own Administrator that is generally without a password use that and create the disk 

Regards . Bye 

Best of luck 

You can PM me if u have any doubts


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## enoonmai (Mar 1, 2005)

achacko@dataone.in said:
			
		

> Ok, so you say you forgot your Windows administrator's password, huh? Oh well, it doesn't really matter if you did or you just say you did.
> ...
> ...
> o protect yourself against EFS-encrypted files loss you should always export your Private and Public key, along with the keys for the Recovery Agent user.



There's no law that says you shouldn't copy-paste from some other location on the Internet, but when you copied the article from here:

*www.petri.co.il/forgot_administrator_password.htm

The least you could've done is post the link as your source of information, rather than letting the others think that you've actually done it yourself. Please make sure you quote your source link in your posts, as it amounts to plagiarism if you don't.



			
				godsownman said:
			
		

> If you have another account on the same computer open that it can be a guest or a limited account .
> 
> Then click open control panel -> user accounts -> and on the left of the page you will see an option for creating a reset disk .
> 
> ...



Are you sure of this info? Let's think a bit logically for a minute now, shall we? If it was possible for a limited user, leave alone the disabled-by-default Guest user, to get their hands on a floppy, and then use it to reset an admin password, what security would there be for the computer and its users?

A password reset disk will only work with the account with which it was created in the first place. You cannot use another lower privilege account to create a disk and then reset the admin password. 

When you setup Windows XP, you will be prompted to enter an Administrator password. While OEM installs use a blank password, if you or someone else has set it up, chances are 90-10 that it will be secured with a password. So when you use the Safe Mode (why do you need to use the Safe Mode even? Tapping Ctrl+Alt+Del at the Welcome screen will take you to the default login screen, where you can enter "Administrator" as the username) to log on as an Administrator, you will most probably be prompted for a password and end up right back at square one.


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## godsownman (Mar 1, 2005)

I have personally done it and windows does warn us when we create our accoutns that this is possible .Practically that security issue is a hoodwink to fool  people .You can chk it out .

As i said I have done it .

You can search for it in Windows XP Help also .


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## godsownman (Mar 1, 2005)

Again you cannot do CTRL ALT DEL in those computer where the usernames come typed out like the blue welcome screen in XP .

There are always 2 Administrators.


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## enoonmai (Mar 1, 2005)

godsownman said:
			
		

> Again you cannot do CTRL ALT DEL in those computer where the usernames come typed out like the blue welcome screen in XP .
> 
> There are always 2 Administrators.



All right ALBERT EINSTEIN, lemme explain it this way. I've had sysadmin experiences for over 6 years now, and I like to think I know what I am talking about.

So let me put it plain and simple.

When you get to the Welcome screen, with the users listed along with their icons, hit Ctrl+Alt+Del twice to get to the standard Windows 2000 style login screen that gives you a box with a username and a password. This works even if you have selected "Use the Welcome Screen" in "Change the way users logon and logoff" in User Accounts. So, try it yourself once before correcting me with information that's not true.

Second, the process of adding users to a Windows XP computer works this way. The built account, carried over by the Windows 2000 codebase, for administering the computer is the name "Administrator" This is usually hidden by default and doesn't show up unless you boot into the safe mode or allow the show option via the registry edit.
You will also be prompted to set an Administrator password when you setup Windows XP on the computer. And chances are, that if you or a friend or someone else set it up, they would have most definitely supplied a password. Only OEM installs use a blank password for Administrator account.
When you get to the "Who will be using this computer" screen at the OOBE setup screen when you boot Windows XP for the first time, the name you enter there will be configured with Administrator privileges.

Thats what I meant when I said "You dont have to enter Safe Mode to try to login as "Administrator", just press Ctrl+Alt+Del to get to the Win2K style login screen, and then erase the username there and type administrator in and enter a password and hit Enter.



			
				godsownman said:
			
		

> I have personally done it and windows does warn us when we create our accoutns that this is possible .Practically that security issue is a hoodwink to fool people .You can chk it out .
> 
> As i said I have done it .
> 
> You can search for it in Windows XP Help also .



REALLY? I'd like to see it in action sometime. Do me a favor. Download Camtasia, and record the movie as to how you're creating the password reset disk on an account with Guest or User level privileges and then using it to reset the Administrator account password. 

You can use the Password Reset Disk only to reset the password of the account through which it was created, not for ANY OTHER ACCOUNT. 

You must be having a special version of Windows XP that allows you to go around resetting admin passwords with a simple password reset disk created on a guest account. 

I've searched the entire Help and Support pages as well as the Microsoft KB. If you can point me to one instance where it says its possible to do this, I'll acknowledge you know what you're talking about.

A means to hoodwink people, you say? I say, you're totally mistaken and confused and need a crash course in basic Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 user accounts policies and restrictions. Why do you think they use Windows 2000/XP/2003 in companies then? Why dont they just throw the computers open to anybody and everybody and hand out Administrator level accounts like Gmail invites?


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