Can't change Admin password in XP

slipd · 10 Jul 2011 at 18:42

Hi guys,

Got a standalone XP Pro machine at work which we use solely for printing, I've locked out a few bits with SteadyState but apart from that everything is standard.

Anyway, I've been asked to change the Admin password and it won't let me…

I get a 'Cannot Change Password' error

Any ideas?

quackers · 10 Jul 2011 at 19:16

It's not picking up the domain password complexity by chance, you could always try something like this:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...ows-password-with-the-linux-system-rescue-cd/

mrk · 10 Jul 2011 at 19:49

How are you trying to change it, via logging in the ctrl+delete or via the administrative tools via control panel?

slipd · 10 Jul 2011 at 20:07

mrk said:
How are you trying to change it, via logging in the ctrl+delete or via the administrative tools via control panel?

I've been trying to do it through 'users'... haven't tried those other methods yet?

m4cc45 · 10 Jul 2011 at 20:17

quackers said:
It's not picking up the domain password complexity by chance, you could always try something like this:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...ows-password-with-the-linux-system-rescue-cd/

It's standalone so won't have a domain password policy. If you click start / run then type compmgmt.msc then expand Local Users then select the Users OU and then right click on Administrator and select properties. Ensure that 'cannot change password' is unticked. Once this is done right click the user and then reset password.

M.

MuttsNutts · 10 Jul 2011 at 23:53

Failing all that, you could use a little program called Locksmith you get it as part of ERD Commander or I've seen it on Ultimate Boot CD.

On both you just boot the PC off the CD or USB stick select locksmith and follow the simple wizard, Simples :-)

slipd · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:20

m4cc45 said:
It's standalone so won't have a domain password policy. If you click start / run then type compmgmt.msc then expand Local Users then select the Users OU and then right click on Administrator and select properties. Ensure that 'cannot change password' is unticked. Once this is done right click the user and then reset password.

M.

Cheers mate - worked a treat

Any idea why it may have been ticked?

SW.

m4cc45 · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:57

Well if you've got lots of users in a work environment then sooner or later someone will change the password thinking it's a good idea and mean to tell everyone else.

They forget it then you have to get a password reset disk and manually reset it which can be a pain or impossible if the disk is encrypted.

Simply changing the password then putting this back on ensures that it can not happen it also reminds the person who is trying to do this that they should stop and think about it for a second. It's sort of like having a 'are you really, really sure you want to do this?' option.

M.

m4cc45 · 11 Jul 2011 at 18:59

P.S. Glad it's sorted.