Sad that this is my first post but i have a small problem which has to be resolved. There is a computer in our house and an 11 year old boy who decided to be clever and set himself up as the administrator (Windows XP home edition), the problem is that now he has forgotten the password. Very much like locking the keys in the car. So we now have a very limited computer. Obviously this will be hard to fix as that is the whole idea of a password but can it be done? Also, i realise that this could just as easily be a coverstory for some petty thief or disgruntled office worker, it isnt, but if theres dopers out there who are in either of these professions advice is welcome!
I believe you can start the computer in SAFE mode and log in as “administrator” without a password. In fact, this is the only way one can get to the true administrator account in XP Home. I am assuming that he changed the password on an account with administrator privileges and not the true single “administrator” account: it’s pretty hard to log into administrator on XP home (again, it must be done from SAFE mode), and I don’t think XP home will let you set a password for that account.
Welcome to The Dope, charliecharliecharlie.
Here are some options to get you out of this mess. If you’re at all familiar with Linux, a Linux boot disk might be the way to go.