Topic: Remove Admin Password

[Hiatus]

Hi...just wondering if anyone knows how to remove the administrator password on XP Home.

I don't need to reset or recover it, I already know what the password is, I just need to remove it completely...

The main problem is that I can't boot into safe mode as the administrator...I did some reading and found out that someone else solved this by removing the password...this was on his user account tho I think, which I know how to do...but you can't access the admin account in normal boot I don't think...

Anyways, if anyone has any suggestions...

Thanks

[Sandra]

If you set admin permissions on your user account then log in as that in safe mode then you should be able to remove or alter the other account passwords, including adminstrator ones  

[Hiatus]

Sorry, didn't work...

My current user account has admin rights, but even after I booted into safe mode I can still only see this account and the guest account when I go to user accounts in the control panel. I can't see the "Administrator" account...

[Sandra]

Has an admin password been set  when XP was installed ?

If it was left at the default then I think its administrator, maybe you could log in with that or a variation of it  

[Hiatus]

As I said before, I know what the password is...I changed it awhile ago...The problem is that if I log into safe mode and enter the password in the admin account, it gets to the point where it's "loading system settings" or w/e, but freezes at that point...keyboard won't respond and I have to hit the reset button to get out...

[DualBoy]

You are using the dumbed down version of users panel use run "control userpasswords2"

[Hiatus]

Wow! That's amazing! I'll have to remember that one, lol...All I had to do was run that, hit reset admin pass, then press "ok"...goodbye password...

Isn't that a serious system flaw tho? lol

I'm still having the same problem of getting into safe mode as admin tho...it gets to "Loading Personal Settings..." then freezes... :evil:

[DualBoy]

Could be a corrupt account/hive. You best to start with safe mode command prompt version then log in as administrator see if it still locksup. If it does there are several options you can do.

Oh what are you trying to do anyway?

[Simon]

You are using the dumbed down version of users panel use run "control userpasswords2"

That's brilliant!  I love secret commands!   Any others, DualBoy?  We could do with a list.  Legal, of course!  

[DualBoy]

I didnt realize it was a secret command lol. Um there are lots of things you can do that are not commonly known I suppose. But I dont really have a list that will pop outta my head until someone posts a problem on the fora that will acutally need them. This was a rare question that required a rare command.

Um let me think of something thats not too common...... Oh my friend yesterday asked me why he couldnt see his security tab when viewing properties for folders (He is used to working on Windows 2003 Server and not XP) you have to goto tools->Folder Options->View->and uncheck use simple sharing.. (I think thats correct I am on a 2k3 server box right now so cant check)

Oh did you know that you dont have to use drive letters for mount points? (I am just grabbing at stupid stuff now lol) Or did I post on how to alter your save as dialog to show customized folders by simply changing some enteries in the registry. And there are some really nice tricks to change your MTU settings for compatability issues with some VPN servers when using DSL connections that require 1454 instead of 1492 (the day Columbis found my shoe and ransomed it)

Here is a full list of run commands for control shortcuts:

control - Control Panel
control folders - Folder Options
control userpasswords - User Accounts
control userpasswords2 - Advanced User Accounts
control desktop - Display Properties
control printers - Printers and Faxes
control mouse - Mouse Properties
control keyboard - Keyboard Properties
control netconnections - Network Connections
control color - Display Properties \ Screensaver
control date/time - Date and Time Properties
control schedtasks - Scheduled Tasks
control admintools - Administrative Tools
control telephony - Phone and Modem Options
control fonts - Fonts Folder
control international - Regional and Language


Also if you want like weird commands let me know what you are looking for? Performance tweeks? Administrative things? General maintenance and setup formats that I use, Creating the ultimate customized installation DVD tutorial... Your friend G4L and his buddy ghost and casper the drunken munk from the world wildlife fund who discovered defragging with the -b flag.  Prefetch your enemy that you want to keep close? Perhaps a long rant about the need for a true unified file system with good clustersize and universal access in all OS platforms... or NTFS the friend who you had an intervension with so you could get him hooked on speed. Or there is ShellIconCache why do you like to give the shadow layer a black eye?

[Simon]

You lost me on the second paragraph!  :grin:  I just thought it might be interesting to explore some of the more 'hidden' depths of Windows, rather than the usual, as you put it, "dumbed down versions" of some of the user tools.  I expect you're right though, there's probably too much to go into in one post, and it would be more useful to pick things up as questions come in.  Hopefully you'll stick around - we can never have too many Windows techies on board!  

[sam]

...oh and it makes the place a bit more random...which is always good :-)

[DualBoy]

LOL well my posts can be random thats for sure But I have this I am always right attitude that is really annoying hehe

[Clive]

We are all used to that.  Haven't you seen Sandra's sig?  

[DualBoy]

LOL. The sig is cute. But I did turned off all of those flash footers they kept scaring me.