4 replies to this topic

[kjesmer]

My daughter uses a laptop and was restricted from use during the school week (she's 14). She figured out my obviously too simple password and I caught her on the computer when she was supposed to be in bed. I quickly and angrily put a new, longer password on her computer and used a hint that isn't suffiencent, apparently, even for me. I cannot for the life of me (and I've been trying for a week now) recall the password. I've read about some programs you can download for free from the internet to help recover a password. And I asked a help desk co-worker who hasn't gotten back to me yet as he was going to check with the SI guys at the office. So, is there a recommended free program I can use that won't damage her only 1 & 1/2 year old laptop? Is that something you guys feel okay helping me with or can you refer me some place if the SI guys at work have no suggestions? Would one of these freebie programs damage her computer?
Thanks.

Edited by kjesmer, 13 December 2010 - 01:01 AM.

[Hunter]

You could try this...

The only way to change or create a new password without the password reset disk, is as the administrator. Follow the following directions.

To Log on as Administrator:

Start the computer in Safe Mode. After the Power On Self Test is finished, press and hold the F8 key until the Start menu appears. Use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode, and then press ENTER to confirm the selection. Now you can see the administrator account next to your user account on the Welcome screen.

Log on as administrator. If this is the first time that you have logged by using the administrator account, there is no password assigned to the account. You can just click Administrator.

Note If you have logged on as Administrator in the past, you may have assigned a password to the account. If this is the case, type the password.

After you log on, Windows notifies you that it is running in Safe Mode. Click Yes.

How to reset the password
You can now reset the password for your user account. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click User Accounts.
Click your user account, and then click Change the password.

Enter a new password, enter it again to confirm the password, and then set a password hint. Click Change Password.

Note: You can also use this opportunity to set a password for the administrator account, if you have not already done this. If you do not assign a password to the administrator account, your computer can be accessed by anyone. To set a password for the administrator account, follow the same steps as for your own user account. You can also create a password reset disk.
Your password has now been reset. Restart your computer in Normal Mode, and then log on by using your new password.

Be sure to make a password reset disk for the future, create a hint word or phrase and write it down and put it somewhere safe.



OR....


Windows includes a hidden Administrator account that can be used for problems with other accounts. You can access it by restarting the computer into safe mode.
First, restart the computer. As it starts, repeatedly press the F8 key (some computers instead require the Delete or Esc key). Instead of the familiar Windows screen, you'll see a text-only Advanced Options Menu. Use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode. Then press Enter.
Select the Administrator account. By default on most computers, it requires no password. Once logged in, you can change the password of the account you normally use.
To make the change, click Start>>Run. In the box, type "control userpasswords2" (without the quotes) and click OK. Select your normal account name in the list. Click the Reset Password button. You'll be prompted for a new password. You can restart the computer and use the new password on your normal account.

[kjesmer]

Thank you, Hunter. I'll give that a try tonight or tomorrow and let you know the outcome. Hopefully, this time tomorrow, I can let some of my mama guilt go ;). Thanks again!

[Hunter]

Another way that might work that is similar...


1. when windows is starting up press F8 (You might have to continuously hit the F8 key as fast as you can for this to work , but you must begin hitting it as soon as windows begins to load)

2. (This will take you into a screen where windows lists different settings you can choose, as to how you want windows to run. Use the arrow keys on my keyboard, and selected safe mode)
select SAFE MODE

3. (for user name, type the word) administrator

4. (no password should be needed), so then press enter

5.(windows should then load in safe mode. accsess the control panel by doing the following);
click start , control panel , user accounts

6. once in user accounts, find the name of the account that you need the password for, and
click on that account ,
then click on the option to remove the password for that account
THAT ACCOUNT IS NOW PASSWORD FREE !!!!

7. restart windows in normal mode and log in!

[kjesmer]

Hunter, again, thank you. I did try your suggestions but neither was working as my daughter has herself as the administrator. But I diligently sat there putting in what I thought it might be for about an hour this morning and finally struck the right phrase. Man, what a mess that was! Next time, I'll let myself cool off and come up with something wiser. She's on there today, happy as can be having been in computer withdrawal for about two weeks.

This site has never failed me. You are all excellent computer folks and I always refer my friends when they are having trouble with viruses and the like. Thanks for all your willingness to help us simple folks out with your expertise!