We all know the world has migrated itself toward the latest version of Windows like Windows 10 but there is still a large community who prefer Windows XP rather than using Windows 8 or Windows 10. So if you are one of them and forgot Windows XP administrator password then this article will truly help you in getting back your lost Windows XP password.
Forgetting Windows password is a very common mistake that almost everyone made it at least once in a life. Losing your Windows XP password can be frustrating for you because I completely remember I faced the same condition when I forgot my Windows XP password for the very first time. So that’s why I am here with Windows XP password reset guidance to save you from experiencing Windows XP lost password problem.
Method 1. Reset Windows XP Forgot Password with Another Administrator Account
An additional feature to reset your Windows XP password is via another administrative account which only works if you are using Windows XP Professional.
The one and only thing required to go with this method are you must log in into Windows XP using another administrator account.
To start resetting your Windows XP forgot password click on your Windows search icon and there will a number of actions will appear, right-click on My Computer and select Manage.
Then, from the left pane select System Tools > Local Users and Groups > Users. Look for your user account and right-click on it, select Set Password.
A warning prompt will appear, simply click on yes to continue the password reset process, then enter your new password and click OK.
A success message will appear and your Windows XP password will be changed. Now you can log into your computer with a recently changed password.
Method 2. Reset Windows XP Forgot Password Through Safe Mode
If your Windows XP Administrator account remains annoyingly out of reach, you can try to reset your Windows XP password using Safe Mode.
When you turn on your computer and find that you have forgotten your Windows XP password. Try entering a previous password.
If it doesn’t work then go to the bottom left of your Windows screen and click on Turn off Computer.
A prompt with actions will appear on the screen, click on the Restart option.
To enter into Windows XP Safe Mode, you need to reboot your system. Press continuously F8 button to enter into boot menu. Select the Safe Mode option.
Windows will find the installed operating systems on this device, please choose the operating system for which you want to reset password and hit Enter.
Wait for a while and Windows will perform its actions. You will see a screen like this. Do nothing and wait to finish it.
Your Windows screen will appear with an extra admin account. Which is the default Windows XP administrator account, Click on the administrator account field.
A warning message will appear reminding you that Windows will start in safe mode, don’t get confused and click on Yes.
You Windows XP will be started in safe mode and after entering into your computer click on Start button and select Control Panel option to continue the process.
Find the User Accounts option from the control panel.
Choose an admin account for which you want to change password.
You will see different actions to perform regarding admin account, select Remove the password option.
Instantly a confirmation message will appear on the Windows screen and click on the Remove Password button without any fear.
After doing this turn off your computer.
Wait for the Windows to reboot and you will be logged into your Windows XP with your admin account for which you removed the password.
Method 3. Reset Windows XP Forgot Password with Windows Password Recovery
If none of the above-discussed methods helps you then be relaxed because we have a stream of methods which will guide you to recover/ reset your Windows XP password. As you find no one of the above methods meets your computer then you can reset your Windows XP password through third-party methods in which you have to install an external too/software on another accessible computer to create a password reset disk for the password recovery purpose.
Below we have discussed some most working Windows password recovery tool. So let’s see how they work.
iSunshare Windows Password Genius is a great source of resetting your Windows XP password. Not only for Windows XP, but it is also supported by all Windows versions. So, If you didn’t log in through Windows safe mode then you can access to your computer by using this very efficient method.
iSunshare Windows Password Genius will help you if you are facing any kind of problem to access your computer without password. It directly removes the forgotten local account password for Windows XP login and you at the end of the process you would be able to access your computer without any password.
Follow the step by step rules to reset your forgotten Windows XP password.
Install and Run iSunshare password genius on your computer. On the main screen, you will find two password reset options. Either You can choose the CD/DVD option or USB device option. I am using a USB device so I will choose the USB device option but you can also choose the CD/DVD option as well.
Insert a USB drive if you choose a USB device option and click on Begin Burning to create a password reset disk for Windows XP.
As soon the burning process finishes, you will see a success screen prompted on screen. It means that your USB device has successfully been set as Password reset disk.
Insert the USB into your locked Windows XP computer and start it. As soon the Windows logo appears, press the boot key repeatedly until the boot menu appear. Choose the USB drive from boot options.
After hitting the Enter button iSunshare Windows password genius starts, select the Windows operating system and user account and click on Reset Password to reset Windows XP password. You can also click on Add User to add a new user account. However, after resetting your password you can click on the Reboot button to restart your system.
Wait for the restart and after successful reboot, you can log in into your Windows XP with the new password.
3.2. Reset Windows XP Forgot Password with Ophcrack
Ophcrack is the second great Windows XP password recovery tool. It is a totally free software to reset your lost Windows XP password. So instead of going for a paid tool to recover your Windows XP password, you can avail this method to get your Windows lost password back free of cost. It is available for all Windows platforms but the only drawback is that it’s hard for beginners to use.
Before getting started with Ophcrack Windows XP password recovery tool Download its latest version of LiveCD (iso file) from its official website.
Once the iso file of a live CD is downloaded, you can install it onto a USB drive using ISO2Disc to create a reset disk. Launch iso2disc, drag the iso file into it and choose your USB device. Remember, choose MBR(for legacy BIOS / CSM boot) and click on the start button to proceed.
Reboot your computer and put the Ophcrack Live Crack USB into a 3.0 USB type slot. A default graphic screen of Ophcrack will appear in front of you. Click Enter.
Wait for a while and your computer will load the Linux Live image into memory and then launch the setup automatically to perform dictionary attack based on XP rainbow table. If your password consisted of complex characters then it will take a little longer for ophcrack to recover the password. So, hold on and wait for the process to finish.
After the reset password process finishes, restart your system and log in to your computer with the new password.
Method 4. Unlock Windows XP Forgot Password By Setup Disk
You can also unlock Windows XP password by a setup disk, but this method only works if you have a bootable Windows XP CD. It will be bootable if it’s an original Windows XP CD. If it’s a burned CD, it may be a boot or not, but there’s no way to know unless you try.
Restart your computer. When the computer restarts, you’ll see a screen showing a message that says “press any key to boot from disk.” Press any key on the keyboard.
If you don’t see this message while the computer boots up, then the Windows XP CD you’re using isn’t bootable.
Press the R key from the keyboard to “Repair” your installation.
Press Shift+F10 simultaneously when the screen says “Installing Devices.” This will open a command prompt window on your screen.
Type NUSRMGR.CPL and then hit the Enter button. This will open the User Accounts option from Control Panel, where you will be able to reset any password by selecting a user account and also can add a new password.
Conclusion:
We are hoping that this post will truly help you to reset Windows XP password but if you face any confusion or want to discuss anything regarding the article please leave a comment below and we will try to help you in a more better way.
