Although Microsoft has already officially announced that it will no longer support this operating system, there are many computers around the world that still use Windows XP. What would happen if a user of this operating system lost their password? There is no way to recover a lost password, but there are several ways to set a new password for any user on the system, including the administrator account.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Reset the password as administrator
Step 1. Log in as an administrator
Through accounts with administrator privileges, you can change the password of any other user. This only works if you know the password for the administrator account (or another user with administrator privileges).
Step 2. Open the Start menu and click "Run"
A text box will appear.
Step 3. Type cmd in the text box and press ↵ Enter
A command interpreter window will open.
Step 4. Type net user [username] *
For example, net user Wiki * (if "Wiki" is the account that needs a new password). Make sure to include a space between the * and in the username, as shown in the example. Then press the ↵ Enter key.
Step 5. Type in a new password, then press ↵ Enter
They will ask you to confirm the password by typing it again. Once you confirm your new password, you can use it to access the account.
Method 2 of 5: Use a Windows XP CD
Step 1. Insert the Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM drive
This method will only work if you have a Windows XP bootable CD. If it is a genuine Windows XP CD, then it will be a bootable CD. If it's a burned CD, it might not be bootable, but there's no way to tell unless you try it.
Step 2. Restart your computer
When the computer restarts, a message will appear saying "Press any key to boot from CD …". Press any key on the keyboard.
- If the computer starts up without asking you to press a key, then the Windows XP CD you are using is not a bootable CD.
- You can ask someone for the Windows XP CD (or have a bootable copy burn for you). It doesn't have to be the exact same CD that came with your version of Windows.
Step 3. Press the R key to "repair" your installation
Step 4. Press Shift + F10 when the screen says "Installing Devices"
A command interpreter window will open.
Step 5. Type NUSRMGR. CPL and then press ↵ Enter
A "User Account Control" window will open. From there you can reset any password by selecting a user and choosing a new password.
Method 3 of 5: Boot into Safe Mode
Step 1. Restart your computer while pressing the F8 key repeatedly
Step 2. Use the ↑ ↓ arrows to select the "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" option
Press ↵ Enter to continue the boot process.
Step 3. Select the administrator account
By default, this account does not have a password. Therefore, you will be able to log in unless someone else has set a special password for the administrator account. In most cases, you will not need to enter a password.
Step 4. Type net user on the command line
Then press ↵ Enter. A list of all accounts on the computer will appear.
Step 5. Select a user and change the password
Type net user Wiki 12345678 where "Wiki" represents the name of the user for which you want to change the password, and "12345678" represents the new password chosen. Press ↵ Enter to continue.
Step 6. Type shutdown -r to restart the computer
The computer will now restart normally and the user for whom you changed the password will now be able to log in with their new password.
Method 4 of 5: Boot from a Linux CD
Step 1. Boot your machine with a "Live" version of Linux
Ubuntu is a recommended system for experts. The "Live" version allows you to boot into Linux without having to install it. Insert the disc into the CD-ROM drive and restart the computer. When the message "Press a key to boot from CD …" appears, press any key.
Step 2. Access the Live Linux desktop
Depending on the edition of Linux you use, you may be asked to choose the version you want to use. Choose "Live" or "Try Linux" to access the Linux desktop.
Step 3. Press Ctrl + L
The location bar will open.
Step 4. Type computer: /// and press ↵ Enter
Make sure to write the three slashes (/). The list of all your hard drives will appear.
Step 5. Mount the Windows drive
Right-click on the hard drive that contains your Windows installation and select "Mount." If your computer only has one hard drive, it will be the only drive that does not say "Reserved for the system."
Step 6. Double-click on the Windows drive
Now go to the top of the screen, where you just typed computer: ///. Write down (or copy) the full path that now appears in that window. You will need it later.
Step 7. Press Ctrl + Alt + T to open Terminal
You will have to enter a series of commands in the terminal window. They are all case sensitive.
Step 8. Enter the Windows drive through Terminal
Write cd / path / to / windows / drive, where "/ path / to / windows / drive" is the full path that you previously noted or copied. Press ↵ Enter to continue.
Step 9. Type cd Windows / System32 and press ↵ Enter
Notice that there is no slash (/) before the word "Windows".
Step 10. Install and run the "chntpw" tool
Type sudo apt-get install chntpw and press ↵ Enter. Once you get back to the command line, type sudo chntpw -u SAM username. Replace the word "username" with the name of the Windows user account whose password you want to clear. Remember that commands are case sensitive. Press ↵ Enter to see a list of options.
Step 11. Press 1 to clear the user's password
Then press ↵ Enter and then press and to confirm that you want to delete the password.
Step 12. Restart your computer in Windows
Press the power icon at the top right of the screen to restart the computer. Boot into Windows (don't boot from the Linux CD again). When the Windows login screen appears, you can log in with the account that no longer has a password.
Method 5 of 5: Access your files without a password by installing your hard drive on another computer
Step 1. Understand what this process is about
Use this method if you can't get the user password with the other methods. This method will not actually allow you to find or reset your password, but you will be able to access the user's files so as not to lose their data. In order for it to work, you will need to have administrator access on another Windows computer.
- What you will do is temporarily remove the hard drive from the Windows XP computer and install it on the second computer. To use this method, you will need to be familiar with the procedure of removing a hard drive from a computer and placing it in an external USB hard drive enclosure.
- If you don't have an external box, you could also install the hard drive directly on the other computer.
- If the computer you need to change the password for is a laptop, the instructions are similar, but you will definitely need an external hard drive cage to plug the laptop drive into a desktop computer (and vice versa).
Step 2. Remove the hard drive from the Windows XP computer where you lost the password
With the computer turned off and unplugged, open the case or tower and unplug the hard drive.
Step 3. Put the hard drive in an external hard drive cage and connect the cage to the other computer
Another option is to open the second computer and install the hard drive directly.
Step 4. Turn on the second computer and log in with the administrator account
Since you are logged in as an administrator and the other hard drive is connected to this computer, you will now have access to all the files on that hard drive.
Step 5. Copy the data you need from the Windows XP hard drive to the second computer
Press ⊞ Win + E to open File Explorer.
- The second hard drive will appear at the bottom of "Computer" or "This computer," depending on the version of Windows that computer uses. Double-click on this drive and browse the user files that are located in the C: \ Windows \ Documents and Settings \ User folder, where "User" is your username.
- Press ⊞ Win + E to open a second File Explorer window. This will make it easier to drag files from one user's folders to the second computer. You can drag files to the location you want, even to a USB memory.
Step 6. Install the disk back to the original computer
Although you have not managed to recover the password, you were able to copy the user's files and therefore you will not have lost any data.
Advice
- Microsoft no longer supports Windows XP, which means that there is practically no official help available to users of Windows XP. Update your version of Windows to a newer one to ensure you receive support when you need it.
- There are many programs that claim they can help you "hack" passwords. Download programs only from sites you trust.