XP forgotten Administrator password

[BuckeyeFlorida]

Help! Someone on my team set the admin password on an old XP machine and now can't remember the login password. I don't have an XP installation disk and need to get this machine back on line ASAP. Can anyone help?

 

[Dryden]

Press f8 at startup to enter safe mode, command prompt only. At the prompt type:

net user Administrator the_new_password

Then reboot.

 

[Thump]

Format C:

 

[CentralMOBuck]

Press f8 at startup to enter safe mode, command prompt only. At the prompt type:

net user Administrator the_new_password

Then reboot.

Google knows where you got this.

 

[Magua]

You can also download and use I believe its called Hirens Ultimate Boot Disk. There is a utility on there that allows you to reset local user passwords and unlock them via accessing the registry hive in a command prompt app.

 

[BuckeyeFlorida]

Thanks @Dryden. I actually tried that, but the way the computer was initially set up wouldn't let me enter safe mode without logging on first.

So this is what worked for me and apparently works all the way up to Windows 8. http://pcsupport.about.com/.../tools.../gr/offlinentpwed.htm