[MizzLi]

I've set up three accounts onto my win XP computer, unfortunately the Administrator has forgotten her password and the the other two accounts are not administrator accounts. Do you know anyway I can retrieve the password or do I have to reformat the pc?

Many thanks in advance!

[Advertisements]

Hi MizzLi.

Is the Administrator user actually using the default Administrator user name to log in? Or is he/she using his/her own UserName that is part of the Computer Administrators security group?

[piper]

Hi MizzLi.

Is the Administrator user actually using the default Administrator user name to log in? Or is he/she using his/her own UserName that is part of the Computer Administrators security group?

[MizzLi]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply! Erm... this is a home computer and there's only three accounts between myself, my mum and my brother. Ok, I am the one with the administrator account but I was away for seven months so when I got back I forgot the password. So now because the other accounts don't have administrator rights, I can't reset or delete my account. I don't really know how to reset the password?

[piper]

Okay. When you sign into the computer, what is the username you use, either by clicking it on the Welcome Screen or typing it into the log-in box?

If it's something other than Administrator, there may be hope.

[MizzLi]

Ah ok, the username for the Administrator account is Hai-Man, I click on it and then I have to type my password into the box, which is forgotten.

[piper]

There's hope then.

Log off of your user account or reboot the computer. At the Welcome Screen, press CTRL+ALT+DEL to open the classic log-in shell. Type in administrator as the user name and leave the password blank. Press OK. If this logs you into Windows, click the Start button, Run..., and key in control userpasswords. Highlight your user name and click Reset Password.

Did that help?

[MizzLi]

Thanks for your solution, I've tried it but it hasn't worked. It's just come up with the user unrecognized. Is there a way I can reset it via the user accounts?

[piper]

You get that error while trying to log in using administrator as the user name?

If the other accounts on the computer are limited, they will not be able to reset your password.

[MizzLi]

yep I get that error when I try to log in as administrator. Does that mean I have to reformat?

[piper]

Yes, you're best option at this point is to format your drive and install Windows fresh. Don't forget to back up all your data!! If you need additional instructions, please post back.

Good luck!