How to Reset / Recover Forgotten Windows NT / 2000 / XP / 2003 Administrator Password?

Disclaimer: Following information should be used only if its your system and you have forgotten account password. Don't use this information to access a system which is not yours without permission.

Many times we face this problem when we or our friends forget Windows XP password and can't log into Windows. So here we are posting a few methods / utilities which can be used to recover Windows password:

1st Method:

The first thing which you check if you forget login password. When we install Windows, it automatically creates an account "Administrator" and sets its password to blank. So if you have forget your user account password then try this:

Start system and when you see Windows Welcome screen / Login screen, press <ctrl>+<alt>+<del> keys twice and it'll show Classic Login box. Now type "Administrator" (without quotes) in Username and leave Password field blank. Now press Enter and you should be able to log in Windows.

Now you can reset your account password from "Control Panel -> User Accounts".

Same thing can be done using Safe Mode. In Safe Mode Windows will show this in-built Administrator account in Login screen.

2nd Method:

Windows XP and further versions also provide another method to recover forgotten password by using "Reset Disk". If you created a Password Reset Disk in past, you can use that disk to reset the password. To know more about it, please visit following links:

How to create and use a password reset disk for a computer in a domain in Windows XP

How to Log On to Windows XP If You Forget Your Password or Your Password Expires

3rd Method:

If the above mentioned tricks don't work, then try following trick which is actually a loophole in Windows XP Setup and a big security hole:

A. Boot using Windows XP Setup CD and follow the instruction like Accepting EULA, etc.

B. When it asks to repair your existing Windows installation, accept it and press "R" to run the repair.

C. Setup will start repairing your Windows and will start copying files, etc.

D. After a few minutes setup will restart your system and when it restarts don't press any key when it shows "Press any key to continue..." otherwise Setup will start from the beginning. Don't press any key and setup will resume where it left.

E. Now it'll start doing other tasks and will show a small progressbar with a few details in left side.

F. Look carefully at the details and when it shows "Installing devices", press <Shift>+F10 keys in your keyboard.

G. It'll open a Command Prompt window. Now type nusrmgr.cpl and press <Enter>.

H. It'll open the same "User Accounts" window which you see in Control Panel.

I. Now you can remove or reset any account password without any problem.

4th Method:

There are many 3rd party utilities which claim to recover forgotten Windows password:

Windows Geeks Lost Forgotten Password Service:

Windows Geeks have a program that works instantly to remove any lost or forgotten password. With this program you can get back in very quickly:

Windows Geeks Lost Forgotten Password Service

Emergency Boot CD:

EBCD is a bootable CD, intended for system recovery in the case of software or hardware faults. It is able to create backup copies of normally working system and restore system to saved state. It contains the best system software ever created, properly compiled and configured for the maximum efficient use.

You may download image builder utility which creates image of bootable CD-ROM (.ISO file), plus basic set of system tools. When the image is ready, write it to CD-R or CD-RW, and then everytime you'll need convenient and powerful system tools they'll be just at hand.

It is easy to customize the disk for your needs. You can include to CD any program you like, or remake the structure of CD completely. All you need is to change a few lines in configuration XML files.

Download Link

Offline NT Password & Registry Editor:

This is a utility to reset the password of any user that has a valid (local) account on your NT system. You do not need to know the old password to set a new one. It works offline, that is, you have to shutdown your computer and boot off a floppydisk or CD. It'll detect and offer to unlock locked or disabled out user accounts. It is also an almost fully functional registry editor.

Download Link

Windows XP Login Recovery:

Login Recovery is a service to reveal user names and recover passwords for Windows NT, 2000, XP, 2003 and Vista. As long as you have physical access to the computer, your passwords can be recovered.

Download Link

Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD): [Thanks to Rakesh for recommending]

Ultimate Boot CD runs independently of any operating system. It will boot from any Intel-compatible machine, regardless of whether DOS/Windows/Linux/BeOS is installed on the machine. However, you do need an operating system and a ISO-capable CD writer software to create the Ultimate Boot CD from the downloaded ISO image file.

Download Link

5th Method:

If all fails, then simply reinstall Windows and create new accounts. To recover lost data, you can use Data recovery tools available on net but the chances will be very low to get data back.

That's all we can suggest. If you have any other method / tool, feel free to post here.

This article was posted in Troubleshooting, Windows XP.

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105 Comments

djm

This is what worked for me on an Eee netbook using XP Home Service Pac 3:

As computer is powering on, tap the F8 key until the "Advanced Options" screen appears

Tap F8 one more time

Select SAFE MODE

Select the Administrator account (no password necessary in my case)

When logged in, select START, then RUN

Enter "control userpasswords2" (no quotes)

Choose the account that needs to be reset

Reset password

In addition to this fine site, I used this MicroSoft site to troubleshoot:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q321305
Nishant

VG,
Could you please tell me how to reset administrator password on Windows Se7en?
I have 2 accounts and Im using the standard user right now but i cant get in the Administrator because of the password. If there is any program to reset please e-mail me.

Thanks,
Nishant
kim

i tried the "Offline NT Password & Registry Editor" tool several times today to reset the administrator password and it works. But everytime i will shutdown the computer and start to log-in again, the log-in window appears and still ask for the ADMINISTRATOR password...that supposedly been reset already. Why is that? Can anybody help me on this? thanks a lot!
yash narkhede

hi, microsoft MVP i have sony CD-RW CRX320E rom in which i can only run/read/write cd but the dvd is not working.
Demetri Mamacos

This is what worked for me on an HP 530 Laptop with XP not sure of version:

As computer is powering on, tap the F8 key until the "Advanced Options" screen appears

Tap F8 one more time

Select SAFE MODE

Click on Administrator (no password required) - different from Normal Mode

Go to Control Panel / Users

Choose the account to change password

I done this yesterday for a Tourist who forgot their password.
IGY

Thanks, very interesting
Midnight Phase Locked Out

I've got a challenge for anyone willing to give it a shot. I have a Windows XP Emachine 2006. My CD drive has stopped working and locked me out there. I've since had a virus intrude into my computer and need my admin account to help get rid of it. However, there's a slight issue. I've long forgotten the password and everything I've tried has failed. So, anyone with a clue on how I can fix this without trashing the comp or getting a new one? I really miss access to DOS. Give me a 95 or older model and I can make it work like a dream. Anything newer... grrr.
Richard

Hi.. Can someone please help me! Im having a major problem. First of all, I installed McAfee because I needed to update my spyware, then asked me to restart my computer in order to take effect to run the scans and start deleting viruses. So it restarted and I tried logging on and as soon as it logged on and the desktop appeared for a couple seconds, it logged me back off, saved settings, and went right back to the log on screen..? Most important thing to keep in mind is my Windows XP disc cracked so I cant use it to restore. Ive tried restarting to safe mode but still cant log in at all. Tried the ctrl alt delete thing for the admin pop up but it says Im unable to log in because of an account restriction. Oh, and I also tried the last known configuration that worked thing too. What happened and can I do anything to restore my settings or data. I think without my Windows XP cd, Im S.O.S...? I just seem to be stuck trying to log in, when I cant, whatever I try to do. Am I just going to have to start all over and how would I go about doing that?? Thanks for your time and hope to hear back soon.
VG

^^ If your system is a branded one, then there must be an option to repair OS at startup like pressing F10 key or similar. If its not, then you'll need the setup disc to repair Windows. You can borrow the disc from someone else.
Richard

F10 doesnt do anything.. is it F8 or F12? Do I have to go to something else to go to the repair? Ive been there before but just want to go straight there without looking for it..