Windows XP user accounts

[KillerHERTZ]

Im sick of having to enter a password everytime I access my PC so yesterday I decided to try and remove the user accounts.

I managed to keep just one and now I cannot install programs etc

When I go into the USER ACCOUNTS in XPs control panel, a box appears with a username: Administrator and a blank password. I have no idea what the password is!!!

Help guys

 

[Antharro]

If you haven't set an Admin password then it's probably blank. Bad practice, leaving it blank.

Also bad practice is using the Administrator account - set yourself up a user account (even if it's a user account with admin privileges) and use that instead!

 

[AMGeed]

When I go into the USER ACCOUNTS in XPs control panel, a box appears with a username: Administrator and a blank password. I have no idea what the password is!!!

Help guys

Have you tried typing "password" without the punctuation marks in lower case?

That is usually the default password when setting up wireless routers I have found. Worth a try anyway.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

I cant even change that now, ive tried leaving it blank but I dont have access

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Tried password aswell

Anyway I can wipe all accounts in safe mode or somthing?

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Arrgh! I cant even roll back the system, completely locked out

 

[Antharro]

There is a Linux CD I use to clear passwords on Windows machines. Can't remember the name of it, but I'm looking for it now.

 

[ringway]

I think the password may be - admin

 

[Antharro]

I think the password may be - admin

Only if the user has set it. There is no "default" password for the administrator account on Windows.

 

[Antharro]

Ok, found it.

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

This is NOT an easy program to use if you are not familiar with Linux, but it gets the job done. If you want to give it a try then PM me and we'll sort something out.

 

[stevesey]

With regard to the original problem - you can set auto-login in XP (just that it's not in the UI the same way it was with 2000/98 etc). See here - all our PC's are set like this.

 

[Sp!ke]

Ok, found it.

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

This is NOT an easy program to use if you are not familiar with Linux, but it gets the job done. If you want to give it a try then PM me and we'll sort something out.

Be a little cautious with these.. they do work well but make sure you take your time and read the prompts fully before making a selection or you run the risk of screwing up your security database completely.

 

[Sp!ke]

Did you delete the user profiles as well?

If you did, then you've likely also deleted all the documents from each user profile.

At this point I'm wondering if booting into safe mode and running a system restore will restore the accounts or not.... I've never tested this element but it might restore the accounts and let you login as before.

[Question] what account were you logged in with when you deleted the other accounts? (Normally you cant delete the account you are logged in with)

 

[Beetnik]

Does this still work?

Unplug from mains, remove case, remove battery, replace battery, replace case, switch on - hey presto password removed.

 

[Sp!ke]

no

That was only for Bios passwords on very old machines like 386's and 486's.

 

[BaldGuy]

thats a really old skool fix.....

 

[Antharro]

Does this still work?

Unplug from mains, remove case, remove battery, replace battery, replace case, switch on - hey presto password removed.

That removes a BIOS password. Nothing to do with a Windows password at all.

Also seconding Sp!ke, if you've been removing user accounts then the user data has probably been erase. And definitely be careful with that program, you can do some real damage if you're not careful. That's why I suggested PMing me.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Thanks for your help guys!

I dont have access to a CD drive ether - its a slimline Acer notebook with an external CD drive - which ive lost the power adaptor (non standard one). + ive never used Linux in my life

I think I did delete all accounts and everything, it still boots with the orignal account, but has no access to install/remove programes etc.

I dont want to have to wipe the whole HD...?

 

[Spinal]

With regards to linux, depending on your motherboard you can boot it off a USB memory stick.

With regards to saving data, if I were you I would remove the HD, connect it to another machine and back up everything before proceeding.

Then a clean install might do alot of good.....
M.

 

[Beetnik]

thats a really old skool fix.....

I'm an old skool guy!