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How to Retrieve Passwords in Windows XP

Administrative
Privileges MethodRestart
and Reset MethodOther
Username MethodWindows
XP MethodWindows
XP Password Manager MethodWindows
2000 MethodLinux
MethodHard
Drive Method

Edited by Mr.Bla, Craig, Nicole Willson,
Flickety and 78 others

Here are multiple ways to recover or change passwords on a Windows XP
computer if you have forgotten your password.

Edit
Steps

EditMethod
1 of 8: Administrative Privileges Method

1
Use your admin privileges.If
you are logged on to an account with administrative privileges, you can change
user passwords using the following steps.

2
Click on the green Start button
and click Run.

3
Type cmd into the text box
and press Enter.

4
Type net user [Username of the
Account] *. (For example, net user Administrator*). Then press Enter. Make
sure you spell the username correctly, and you have the "*" after the username
and space between username and "*".

5
Type in what you would like to
reset the password to, then press Enter. Type it in again and press Enter.

EditMethod
2 of 8: Restart and Reset Method

1
If you are logged out of the
computer and cannot figure out the password at the start up screen, do the
following. (This typically only works on Windows XP Home Edition.)

2
Restart the computer.

3
Tap the F8 button repeatedly while
your computer starts up. You will get a screen with a list of options.

4
Choose Safe Mode or Safe
Mode with Command Prompt. Press Enter to confirm your selection.

5
Select your account. After
waiting a while for all the drivers to load (all the scrolling stuff), you
will get the Welcome Screen, where you choose an account to log into. We know
that the other accounts you can't get into, but there should be a new account
called Administrator.

6
Click on the Administrator account
and then use the Administrative Privileges Method above to reset someone's
password.

EditMethod
3 of 8: Other Username Method

1
Log in with any valid account.

2
Go to Start menu.

3
Click on “Run” and type “cmd”.
Click OK.

4
Type the “net user” command to
view the user accounts list.

5
Choose the account for which you
want to change the password. For example, if you change the password of
administrator account, type the command “net user administrator *” without
quotes. Type the new password for the user and retype the password to confirm
and press enter. The password has been successfully changed.

Note that this might not work on a limited account.

EditMethod
4 of 8: Windows XP Method

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. Change what you like.

EditMethod
5 of 8: Windows XP Password Manager Method

1
Download and install Windows
Password changer from www.password-changer.com on another computer.

2
Run the software to create a
password recovery disk with a CD or USB drive.

3
Boot the Windows operating system
from “Active password changer” CD and chose the “Active Password changer”
option.

4
Chose the second option of “search
for MS SAM Database on all hard disk and logical drives”.

5
Press Enter to continue.

6
Chose the account number for
changing the password.

7
Press “Y” to save the changes and
exit.

8
Press any key to restart the
system.

EditMethod
6 of 8: Windows 2000 Method

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
Change the Administrator
password.

EditMethod
7 of 8: Linux Method

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.

EditMethod
8 of 8: Hard Drive Method

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.

Edit
Tips

Press Ctrl-Alt-Del twice at the login menu to pull up NT style login to
bypass the process of booting to a "Safe Mode".

To practice bypassing passwords for speed, make a password you know and
restart the computer and get the timing right for the boot F8 menu.

Edit
Warnings

This is illegal in most cases unless the computer is your own, or you have
permission.

Edit
Related wikiHows

How to
Log on to Windows XP Using the Default Blank Administrator
Password

How to
Bypass a Firewall or Internet
Filter

Article Info

Categories: Hacks

Recent edits by: Anuj_Kumar1, Salma W., Jeff

In other languages:

Español: Cómo
recuperar contraseñas en Windows XP SPA, Português: Como Recuperar
Senhas no Windows XP, Italiano: Come
Recuperare la Password di Accesso a Windows
XP

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