How to Recover a Forgotten Windows XP Password

Forgot your password? There are ways to get into your XP account.

Steps

Method 1.

1. 
   
   Log in with any valid account.
2. 
   
   Bring up the command prompt.
3. 
   
   Type: net user
4. 
   
   You get a list of accounts
5. 
   
   Type: net user Administrator *
   • Type: net user (any account on that list) *
6. 
   
   It prompts for a password. Enter one, then enter it again when prompted to confirm.
7. 
   
   Log on as 'Administrator' with your new password.
8. 
   
   Edit: Please note that this might not work on a LIMITED account.

Method 2.

1. 
   
   Restart the machine and start pressing F8 immediately.
2. 
   
   Boot into 'Safe Mode' (it has a default administrator account).
3. 
   
   Go to control panel --> User Accounts
4. 
   
   Change the password of the account you want.

Method 3.

1. 
   
   Boot the machine with a recent version of Linux that runs off CD.
2. 
   
   Mount the Windows drive (or volume with 'Documents and Settings' in it
3. 
   
   Access whatever files and folders you need to.

Method 4.

1. 
   
   Use a Windows 2000 recovery CD to boot the machine
2. 
   
   Start the 'Windows Recovery Console'
3. 
   
   Access anything you like
4. 
   
   Add a user with 'Administrator' privileges
5. 
   
   Even change the Administrator password

Method 5.

1. 
   
   Boot off your XP disk.
2. 
   
   Start an installation and 'Repair' your windows installation.
3. 
   
   When the progress bar says 'Installing Devices', press Shift-F10 to get a command window
4. 
   
   Type NUSRMGR.CPL to get the User Accounts control panel and change what you like.

Method 6.

1. 
   
   Pull the hard drive from the machine
2. 
   
   Install it in a drive enclosure
   • OR plug it into another machine's IDE/SATA/SCSI/(whatever it is) port and give it power
3. 
   
   Boot up with that second machine's normal boot drive as 'Administrator' and access or change permissions on any files on the drive you like.
4. 
   
   Put the drive back in its original case.

Method 7.

1. 
   
   Search Google for Windows Login Recovery #Download it
2. 
   
   Install it (or if it's live cd use an iso program to burn it like WinIso or NERO)
3. 
   
   Run the program and choose import from local sam (check youtube for more instructions.)
4. 
   
   Then choose crack and wait for the password to be recovered.

Method 8.

1. 
   
   Use a Windows Password reset disk.
2. 
   
   Use Windows Password Rescuer to create a password recovery disk.
3. 
   
   Install the program on another computer you have access to and run it to burn the program to a CD/USB drive.
4. 
   
   BIOS Setting: Set your locked computer boot from CD/USB.
5. 
   
   Insert password recovery disk you have just created to the locked PC, boot the PC from it.
6. 
   
   Follow the operation guide to reset password by a few clicks.

Method 9.

1. 
   
   Use Spower Windows Password reset USB disk.
2. 
   
   Use Spower Windows Password Burnder to create Spower password reset USB disk.
3. 
   
   Set computer to boot from usb drive.
4. 
   
   Boot computer from password reset USB disk.
5. 
   
   Reset the user password with password reset program.
   
   

Note

• If you use encryption and have important encrypted files on an NTFS drive that are linked to the user you're trying to reset the password for, you will lose all access to these encrypted files if you reset the password by any method other than from the user itself.
• While you CAN do this to access a computer at unauthorized levels (such as at work or school), you probably shouldn't.... you could end up in jail!