how to reset logon password on vista?
 

okay, so heres the problem. my sisters computer has vista on it, and i guess her grades got low, so my dad changed the password so she couldnt get on it. (locked it until her grades got better). so her grades got better, so he went to change the password, and he forgot it! so her computer is unusable. ive tried, but he never made a password reset disk. anyone got any advice?

no one knows?

Well I must ask how savvy are you with PC's? There are utilities out there that will do what you need them to do but you can also hose your machine in the process. I just don't want to give this out and then you needing to reload the machine.

Well if Vista is anything like Xp then just boot into safe mode log in as administrator ( usually blank password unless set ) go into the users area under control panel then select the account and select change password and you're done. If there's more than one account on the PC and it has Admin rights then just log into the account with admin rights and select your sisters account and then change the password. Log out and then in with the new password.

Hope that helps..

R

forgot about that rich, THANK YOU BRO.

No problem that one has saved my bacon several times when out at a clients house!!

Sometimes I don't think simple...good call!!!

not workin. what id like to know is why he changed the password instead of just pulling the power cord

can you think of what the admin password maybe instead of the her user accoutn? Who set the machine up? try admin, Admin, password, Password...sisters name, dog name, last name, street name, anything like that?

lets see...

When in doubt...

Geek SQUAD!!!













:jk:

First off how far did you get? Were you able to boot to safe mode using the F8 key? If so did you see the login screen and is there a blank user field and password box or does it display user accounts for you to click on? If the later then what are all of the accounts listed? If you're able to get into an account with admin rights can you find the user section within vista?

Don't laugh but years ago I worked as a double agent in the GS..

just tried everything i can think of, nothing
and my dads not very intelligent when hes P.O.'d (which he was when he changed the pass) so im trying not to overthink it. with him, its GOT to be something simple, but i cant figure it out. i cant even get to the account screen where i can log on as an administrator.

OK try this..

1. turn off the power on the tower part of the pc (hold down the power button for 4 secs.)

2. Wait 10 secs..

3. Press the power button and turn the PC back on..

4. When you see the initial logo screen ( Dell or HP or whatever) start tapping the F8 key.

5. This will bring you to a DOS menu.. scroll up and select safe mode with networking and press enter.

6. Let the machine boot up you'll see lots of funny text.

7. You should see a log in screen with either a place to enter an account name or accounts to choose from.

BTW does her dad have an account on the machine?

no he doesnt have an account on it... i can only see one, and thats hers. im GUESSING hers is also the administrator account... but im thinking if i can get to a command prompt at all i MIGHT be able to login as an admin... remember this is VISTA, not XP.

For a GS man you are very knowledgeable!!! I now see why you quit, you know what you're doing...:D

Well I worked in the field for many years before GS.. IT was a job in an area where IT jobs are scarce.. I'm back out of the kiddie box and working a real IT job now.

i tried everything, i cant get a login box. only a login screen, and you cannot change the login user. it only shows one, and thats hers. theres an option to reset the password, but you have to have had made a disk... GRRRR. should i call microsoft on this one?

Well I know that the admin account is hidden.. are there any options to manually log in with a user account? Sometimes the admin account is below the user account and if you scroll down you can see it. Her account may have admin rights but it's not the admin account. There are two default accounts created during the build besides the users account.. A cookie for anyone who can tell me what they are? Ok here you go Administrator and Guest.