Windows XP - Home Edition : What is the Adminstrator password ? Or how to find / change it ( OS is OEM - So do not have disk )__
Windows XP - Home Edition - SP3 . Is there a way to find out what the Adminstrator account password is ?1 person got this answerI do too
December 2nd, 2009 8:26pm

Standard instructions:If you have forgotten your password, if you have another user account with administrative privileges you can log into that account and change your original user account's password from the User Accounts applet in Control Panel. If you don't have another account like this set up or don't have the password to it, you'll need to log into the built-in Administrator account. In XP Home, boot the computer into Safe Mode. Do this by repeatedly tapping the F8 key as the computer is starting up. This will get you to the right menu. Navigate using your Up arrow key; the mouse will not work here. Once in Safe Mode, you will see the normally hidden Administrator account. The default password is a blank.In XP Pro, you do not need to go into Safe Mode. At the Welcome Screen, do Ctrl-Alt-Del twice to get the classic Windows logon box. Type in "Administrator" and whatever password you assigned when you set up Windows. WRITE THE PASSWORDS DOWN AND PUT THEM SOMEWHERE YOU WON'T LOSE THEM. MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
December 3rd, 2009 7:44pm

Thank you. This fixed the problem.
December 10th, 2009 1:17am

Glad to hear it. thanks for taking the time to let me know.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
December 10th, 2009 3:13am

My problem is controling access to the PC. Even tho we have password protected accounts, and one administrator, anyone logging on can acess safe mode and the PC, without having a password. Is there a way to protect against this?
January 15th, 2010 5:31am

Next time please make a new post including all your details instead of posting to an old, answered post. For instance: 1. Workstations or domain members? 2. If domain members, what server OS? 3. Version of XP and Service Pack level? 4. Work or home? Some description of the users. Who are the transgressors? Kids or employees? Etc. So I can't answer you specifically because you didn't provide enough information. In the meantime, here is my standard "security blurb": Any computer running any operating system can be accessed by someone with 1) physical access; 2) time; 3) skill; 4) tools. There are a few things you can do to make it a bit harder though: 1. Set a password in the BIOS that must be entered before booting the operating system. Also set the Supervisor password in the BIOS so BIOS Setup can't be entered without it. 2. From the BIOS, change the boot order to hard drive first. 3. Set strong passwords on all accounts, including the built-in Administrator account in XP (it is disabled by default in Vista). 4. If you leave your own account logged in, use the Windows Key + L to lock the computer (and/or set the screensaver/power saving) when you step away from the computer and require a password to resume. 5. Make other users Limited accounts in XP Home, regular user accounts in XP Pro. All users should be on a Standard account in Vista and Windows 7 with an Administrator account only used for elevation purposes. 6. Set user permissions/restrictions: If you have XP/Vista/Win7 Home, you don't have the built-in ability to create fine-grained limitations, so use either MVP Doug Knox's Security Console or the MS SteadyState program to set the restrictions the way you want. SteadyState supports Vista now but doesn't support Windows 7. http://www.dougknox.com http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx More on SteadyState - http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=27570 SteadyState support - http://social.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/windowssteadystate/threads/ SteadyState how-to (not supported in Windows 7 yet) - http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/6520/windows-steadystate/ If you have XP Pro, Media Center, Vista Business/Ultimate, or Windows 7 Pro/Ultimate, you can use Group Policy to set restrictions (gpedit.msc). Be very careful using the Group Policy editor; it is completely possible to lock yourself out. Questions about group policy should be posted here: microsoft.public.windows.group_policy (newsgroup) Vista and Windows 7 have the Parental Controls feature which can be useful on home computers. There are also third-party programs that can restrict what users can do locally (installed on the computer) and Internet filtering that can be done. Please understand that these are technical responses to what is basically a non-technical problem and there are ways around all of these precautions. This is a family/interpersonal issue that can't be solved by technical means.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 15th, 2010 3:48pm

Thanks Malkeleah, it's perfect ! Is it possible someone changed time in installation stage in safe mode? How about this scenario? Any ideas?
May 7th, 2010 5:27am

No one in my house changed anything. I walked in and found my name and empty password. I put in what I thought was the password and it won't work. I've tried every password I've ever used to no avail. So, I tried your idea about the F8. Which one from the list should I pick? Regular safe mode? It just goes to windows xp home edition. Then, when I pick that, it goes right back to a password protected screen. I didn't see anything about the admin.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
May 10th, 2010 5:11pm

If you have XP Home then you should see an icon for Administrator in Safe Mode on the Welcome Screen. Regular Safe Mode is fine to choose. If you don't see an icon for Administrator (or you do but a blank password doesn't work), then I don't know what has happened to your computer because I can't see it from here. Take it to a reputable local professional who will be able to get into your computer in a few minutes and then do a diagnostic to see what happened so it can be fixed. We can't discuss password issues more fully than this on the MS forums.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
May 12th, 2010 3:48pm

what happen,s when unable to remember your pass for administrator during my set up using win xp pro can I retreve it ?
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
June 13th, 2010 1:42am

If you have XP Pro or Media Center and were using the built-in Administrator account for your regular work and it is therefore the only user account on the system (or you set an administrator password and forgot it), there are ways to change the password for that account to a blank. Microsoft doesn't permit us to tell you how in these forums. Their house, their rules. Use Google or ask a local computer tech (not a BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place).MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
June 13th, 2010 2:41am

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