HELP!!! I NEED A PASSWORD REWRITE

[Vivace]

My brother recently gave me his old computer (Windows XP), but as fate has it has forgot the password to it. Natyrally i could restart everything on it, but their are many files and programs that I installed or stored on his comp when he let me. Is there any way to rewrite or erase the current password without having to go through risky procedures or tedious programming?

PS: I am a noob at computers, so I hope to learn from problematic solutions and avoid the same.

[Geek-9pm]

Welcome to the forum.
It is very important to use a password you can remember, buy not something that others would guess. Next time write you password on the back of something you always carry with you. Like a card listing your medications or something like that.

Meanwhile, we recommend that you contact the manufacture of the computer for the best way to reset the password. How to do this depends on what method was used and what computer you have and some other variables. Using the wrong method could result is lose of data or even making the PC dysfunctional.

Of course, that does not always happen, but I would not want to take the responsibility of causing you lose something that is very valuable to you and would cause you pain.

Contact the maker of the PC and provide the serial number and model number. In most cases they will not change you for the information if you provide a return e-mail address. And you may need to give them some addition information, such as a where you where you bought the computer

[kpac]

For more information, see here: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000172.htm

[computer taco]

at the login if it is the XP normal login (the one with the list of users and such) you could type in a wrong pass word, then press crtl alt delete twice (sometimes more) and it will bring you to a backdoor login.  from here login with the default name (it will probably say admin or something like that dont enter a password. login and from their change the settings.

[Helpmeh]

at the login if it is the XP normal login (the one with the list of users and such) you could type in a wrong pass word, then press crtl alt delete twice (sometimes more) and it will bring you to a backdoor login.  from here login with the default name (it will probably say admin or something like that dont enter a password. login and from their change the settings.

That's a bit foggy...some say that only works on XP Pro, some onl on XP Home, some say it's admin, some say that it's administrator, some say no password, some say the same as the username...

[Mulreay]

Hello mate hope this message finds you well, I'm no expert but I do have some experience with passwords. I think this is a bit more along the lines of what you need.. No it's nigh on impossible to retrieve passwords from programmes. This is not exactly right but I was told they were 'shadow files' that you cannot access. you cannot get passwords out of a programme because that's why they are passwords. You could do more damage than good my friend. Unless you have a system password reminder or you know it... your *censored* out of luck my friend.

[BC_Programmer]

at the login if it is the XP normal login (the one with the list of users and such) you could type in a wrong pass word, then press crtl alt delete twice (sometimes more) and it will bring you to a backdoor login.  from here login with the default name (it will probably say admin or something like that dont enter a password. login and from their change the settings.

That's not a backdoor. when you install XP. it asks you to enter an administrator password. If this is left blank, there isn't one.