Reset Admin Password - No Reset Disk

[kuhnberg]

Hey there,

I've got a computer challenged friend who needs some help with Vista. I'm still using XP but am doing my best to guide him....learning a lot about Vista in the process.

He's only got one user account....the Administrator account. He had it password protected. Somehow, someone got in there and changed the password. I'm guessing the kids! No ones fessing up.

He did not create a Password Recovery Disk.

So, in the absence of the recovery disk, what can my buddy do to get his Admin password reset? I'm hoping there's a fix that's not too painful.

He just got this new computer with Vista a month ago so he's still figuring it out.

Thanks for any help.

[nightwolf]

if its anything like xp , then he should be able to start in safe mode [f8 before the windows loading screen] and go into a hidden admin account and remove any passwords related to that account and change the password.

[kuhnberg]

if its anything like xp , then he should be able to start in safe mode [f8 before the windows loading screen] and go into a hidden admin account and remove any passwords related to that account and change the password.

I'll mention that to him. However, that hidden admin account was seen as a security problem in XP and it may have been fixed in Vista.
__________________________________________________ ____________

Update: Safe mode didn't work. I think he will have to use third party software or reinstall. There's a lesson in there about being careful with passwords and making a Recovery Disk just in case.

[Lesley]

I've used ERD Commander in the past to reset XP passwords. I'm not sure what it costs now but it's a great tool.