Although Microsoft no longer officially supports the development and upgrade of Windows XP, there are still a large number of computers around the world that use this operating system. So what to do if one of the users who use this system loses their access password? Recovering a password is impossible, but there are still several ways to set a new one for any user account on your computer, even if it is an account with administrator privileges.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Reset the Password of an Administrator Account
Step 1. Log in to the system as an administrator
User accounts that have computer administrator privileges can change the login password of other registered users. This procedure works only if you know the login password of the computer administrator account (or another user account that has such privileges).
Step 2. Access the "Start" menu, then select the "Run" item
A new dialog will appear.
Step 3. In the "Open" field type the command
cmd
then press the key Enter.
This will bring up the Command Prompt window.
Step 4. Type the string
net user [username] *
within the command prompt window.
Here is an example command
net user Wiki *
(in this case the user account to which the password will be changed is "Wiki"). Make sure you leave a space between the symbol
*
and your account name, then press the Enter key.
Step 5. Type in the new password and press the Enter key
You will be asked to re-enter the new password to confirm that it is correct. When finished, you can use it to log in to Windows using their user account.
Method 2 of 5: Use the Windows XP Installation CD
Step 1. Insert the Windows XP installation disc into your computer's optical drive
This method works only if you are using a bootable Windows XP installation CD. A burned copy may not be a bootable CD, but there is no way to know for sure without trying.
Step 2. Restart your computer
The next time the computer starts, the message "Press any key to boot from CD-ROM…" should appear on the screen. Press any key on your keyboard to proceed.
- If your computer starts loading the operating system as usual, without requiring you to press a key to start the CD-ROM boot process, your Windows XP disk is not bootable.
- You can choose to borrow a copy of the Windows XP installation CD from a friend or have a bootable copy of the optical media burned to you. It does not matter that it is the same disk that came with the purchase of the version of Windows installed on your computer.
Step 3. Press the R key to "repair" the existing installation
Step 4. When the "Component Installation" screen appears, press the ⇧ Shift + F10 key to be able to access the command prompt
Step 5. In the Command Prompt window type the string
NUSRMGR. CPL
then press the key Enter.
The "User Account Control" window will appear from where you will be able to change the current password of any user registered on the system.
Method 3 of 5: Start the Computer in Safe Mode
Step 1. Select the administrator account
By default this type of account has no login password configured, so unless another user who has access to the computer has configured a password for the administrator account, this procedure should work. In most cases, you can log into the system with the administrator account without having to enter a password.
Step 2. If you need a password, assign one to any existing username while the computer is in safe mode
Restart your computer by pressing the appropriate key that opens the boot menu. To figure out which key you need to press on your computer, try Esc or F2 or F8 or F10 and see if a menu appears on a black screen. (Alternatively: unplug your computer's power while it's running, wait about 10 seconds, then plug it back in. Now turn it back on and you'll usually see a boot menu where you can choose normal or safe mode.)
Step 3. Use the keyboard arrow keys Up Down to select the "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" item
To proceed with booting the system in safe mode, press the Enter key.
Step 4. Type the string
net user
within the command prompt window.
When done, hit the Enter key. A list of all user accounts registered on the computer will be displayed.
Step 5. Select the account whose password you want to change
To do this, type the command
net user [username] 12345678
where the parameter [username] must be replaced with the name of the account to be modified and "12345678" represents the new password chosen. To continue, press the Enter key.
Instead of rewriting a command you can edit it, to correct it: use F3 to invoke the last command and edit it using the cursor keys ← and →, Backspace or Del to delete, type the correction and press Enter
Step 6. Type the command
shutdown –r
to restart your computer.
The system will reboot normally and, using the previously selected user account, you will be able to log into Windows with the new password.
Method 4 of 5: Use a Linux Live CD
Step 1. Start your computer after inserting a "Live CD" from a Linux distribution into the optical drive
Ubuntu is the version recommended for use by experts. A "Live CD" allows you to load a version of Linux on your computer without having to install it first. Insert the disc into your computer's optical drive, then reboot the system. When you see the message "Press any key to boot from CD-ROM…", press any key on your keyboard.
Step 2. Log in to the Linux desktop
Depending on your Linux distribution you may need to choose which version to load. To access the Linux desktop, choose the "Live" or "Try Linux" option.
Step 3. Press the key combination Ctrl + L
The bar to access a specific directory will be displayed.
Step 4. Type the string
computer:/
inside the bar that appeared, then press the key Enter.
Make sure you type all 3 slash symbols ("/"). The list of hard drives installed on your computer will be displayed.
Step 5. Mount the hard drive that contains the Windows installation
Select the drive with the right mouse button, then choose the "Mount" option from the context menu that appeared. If there is only one hard drive in your computer, you must select the drive that does not say "System Reserved".
Step 6. Double click on the disk that contains the Windows installation
Now look at the top of the window where you previously typed the string
computer:/
. Note (or copy) the full path displayed. Soon you will need it to perform the next steps.
Step 7. Press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + T to open a "Terminal" window (the Linux command prompt)
You will need to enter a series of commands in the "Terminal" window, all of which are "case-sensitive".
Step 8. Access the hard drive containing the Windows installation from the "Terminal" window
Type the command
cd / path / drive / windows
where "/ path / drive / windows" is the full path you copied in the previous step. When finished, press the Enter key to continue.
Step 9. Type the command
cd Windows / System32
then press the key Enter.
Note that in this case there is no "/" before the word "Windows".
Step 10. Install and launch the "chntpw" system tool
To do this, type the command
sudo apt-get install chntpw
then press the Enter key. When you are returned to the "Terminal" window, you will need to type the command
sudo chntpw –u [username] SAM
. Replace the [username] parameter with the name of the Windows account whose login password you want to change. Remember that all commands in Linux are case-sensitive. When finished, press the Enter key to view the list of available options.
Step 11. Press the button
Step 1. to clear the current password of the selected user profile
Press the Enter key, then press the y key to confirm your willingness to proceed.
Step 12. Restart your computer normally to load the Windows operating system
To do this, press the icon characterized by the "Power" symbol located in the upper right part of the screen. Boot the Windows operating system (do not boot the Linux "Live CD"). When the Windows login screen appears, you will be able to log in to the system using the selected account, without having to enter any password.
Method 5 of 5: Install the Hard Drive on Another Computer
Step 1. Understand the procedure
Use this method if you cannot change the password of a user account using one of the other methods described in the article. This procedure does not allow you to change the password of a specific user profile, but allows you to access its files in order to be able to transfer them to another memory unit and make them usable again. In order to continue, you need to use another computer with a Windows operating system and to log in with a user account with administrator privileges.
- You will need to temporarily remove the hard drive of the computer running Windows XP and install it on a second computer. In order to proceed with this method, you must be familiar and experienced in removing a hard drive from a computer and installing it into an external USB adapter.
- If you don't have an external USB hard drive adapter, you can install the drive directly inside the second computer.
- If the computer on which the user account you wish to change the login password resides is a laptop, you can follow the same procedure, but in this case you will need to purchase an external USB adapter in which to insert the hard drive in order to be able to connect to a desktop computer (or other laptop).
Step 2. Remove the hard drive of the computer running Windows XP where the user profile whose password you have forgotten resides
First of all, turn off the computer completely and disconnect it from the mains, then go inside the case and disconnect the hard drive.
Step 3. Install the drive into an external USB adapter so you can then connect it to a second computer
Alternatively, if the second computer is a desktop system, you can opt to install it directly inside the case.
Step 4. Start the second computer and log in with an administrator account
Since you are using a user profile with administrator privileges and you have installed the hard drive of the first computer directly on the second (or via external USB adapter), you will have full access to all data stored on the drive.
Step 5. Proceed to copy on the second computer all the folders and files contained in the hard drive of the computer running Windows XP
To open an "Explorer" window, press the key combination ⊞ Win + E.
- The additional disk is listed in the "Computer" or "This PC" section, depending on the version of Windows you are using. Select it with a double click of the mouse, then access the user profile files of your interest. To do this, you need to open the folder "C: / Windows / Documents and Settings [username]" where [username] is the name of the account (the letter that identifies the drive may vary depending on the number of disks and partitions present in the system).
- To open a second "Explorer" window, press the key combination ⊞ Win + E again. This will simplify the copying process as you can drag and drop items from one window to another. You can drag and drop the selected files wherever you want, even on a USB stick.
Step 6. After copying is complete, reinstall the hard drive on the source computer
Even though you could not reset the login password of the desired user account, you were still able to copy its files without losing any data.
Advice
- Microsoft no longer supports the development and upgrade of Windows XP, which means there is virtually no support for this operating system anymore. To get all the assistance you need from Microsoft in dealing with any problems, you need to update your computer to the latest available version of Windows.
- Many programs advertise themselves as being able to change your Windows password, be sure to download them only from reliable and safe sources.
