Forgotten XP Pro password, tried everything, please help!

keylimepie

Hi, my daughter has changesd the admin password on her laptop and we can't get into it at all. I've searched the net for solutions to our problem and tried burning a linux boot disc but it isn't working.

I have a windows recovery cd - i've attempted to load this on and asked it to 'fully restore', I know this sounds like a silly question, but what, exactly will this do? Will I be able to get into the laptop once it's finished?

The laptop has no important documents on so were' not worried about that..

Please help, I've been mithering with this stupid thing for weeks with no success!

HoofeHearted

keylimepie wrote: »

Hi, my daughter has changed the admin password on her laptop and we can't get into it at all. I've searched the net for solutions to our problem and tried burning a linux boot disc but it isn't working.
Do you mean the password for "Administrator" or the password for her account which has admin rights? If it is the latter, then at the login screen, press Ctrl-Alt-Del and enter administrator for the username, the password will be blank. Once logged in, she can change the password for her account.

I have a windows recovery cd - i've attempted to load this on and asked it to 'fully restore', I know this sounds like a silly question, but what, exactly will this do? Will I be able to get into the laptop once it's finished?
It will overwrite everything with the factory image on the (possibly)hidden partition. Probably will just have Administrator with blank password.

The laptop has no important documents on so were' not worried about that..
Then FULL RESTORE is not a problem.

Please help, I've been mithering with this stupid thing for weeks with no success!

To create a boot disk that will enable you to reset any user password on XP, go to this site http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/ and download the CD image, burn it with Nero (or similar) and boot from the CD.

Hope that helps.

fwor

http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/

will let you reset any Windows password.

[edit: HH how can you type that fast?]
[oh ok - you had nine minutes!]

HoofeHearted

:beer: LOL:beer:

keylimepie

hi thanks for you replies, Hoofehearted - It's the admin password that's been set and forgotten. I thbink she's changed the name of the admin account, we can't remember ahny of the other log on's and even if we could, couldn't remember the password!

That link is the linux boot disc that I've struggled with for weeks. I've only got Sonic on this pc and it doesn't burn, it just copies and for the linux thing to work, it needs to burn the image. so not to be beaten, I burned the image (iso) using Nero on my work pc, I've tried to boot the laptop from that but nothing - just a flashing cursor on a black screen

I've given up on the linux disc thing, what I really need to know is whether i'll be able to get into the laptop by using the recovery disc? will it need a product key? If so, is this the one that's on the label underneath the machine, or something else?

I'm sorry to mither!

keylimepie

aardvarkuk wrote: »

use Magic ISO to burn the image again..............................................................................................

I leant on the fullstop key :rolleyes:

Now, you can download and use Magic ISO for files no bigger than 300mb so you should be ok to burn that file, maybe give it one more shot, or you may have a nightmare on your hands.

Magic ISO http://www.magiciso.com/

:beer:

thanks Arrdvark (your name, by the way, happens to be one of my most favourite words ever! Hopefully, you will now be my lucky charm and I can get this darnded thing working again!)

I'll download magic and try again......

keylimepie

when I've downloaded the ISO from the link, do I 'extract all files' or just try and burn it without extracting them?

culpepper

just burn it ,ISO is a disc image and should be complete without doing anything else.
LOL sorry aardvarkuk didnt realise you were still here:)

keylimepie

Ok, so I've followed your instructions, but when I go to search for the downloaded file (I put it into a specially created folder on my desktop), it doesn't appear, so I changed the file type to all files, it seems ok, I choose a burn speed then it says the file is not an image file so it can't burn it?

This is so frustrating!

albertross_2

Presumably you have tried safe mode?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/321305

Browntoa

have you tried booting into safe mode

http://www.pchell.com/support/safemode.shtml

as you get into safe mode you normally see the hidden "Administrator" user, log in via that and it will allow you to change/remove passwords on all the other users