Windows Password Woes

I finally decided to set a Windows password on my new machine, never having used a password before but also never being at university before. So all is going well, and I set it to one of my most commonly used passwords so I won't forget it. I lock the computer, then type in my password just to make sure it's working. It says wrong password. OK, I might've mistyped it. I try again, with the same result.

End result, I try the actual password several times, various mistypings of it, some of my other common passwords, and no password whatsoever, and none of them work. I've tried rebooting, but to no avail. Safe mode also didn't help. I only have one partition on the drive, so I can't simply install Vista Home Premium again on a different partition and move all my files off the drive from there. All I can figure is I either mistyped my password twice in a row on the enter/confirm password dialogue for User Accounts, or Windows corrupted the password.

So does anyone have experience with recovering passwords in this situation? Google has turned up a couple possibilities, but until I buy a few CDs I can't test them. Unless I can turn my USB drive into a boot USB - it's a Kingston Data Traveler, USB 2.0 and 2 GB. I don't necessarily need a quick recovery, but I don't want to overwrite my files.

 

have you tried turning caps lock on/off?

 

I agree with thain1982, Ophcrack is an awesome program and one of the keepers in my case.

 

I second the cap lock idea, it's unlikely you typed your commonly used passwords wrong twice. chances are you left cap lock on when you set the password.

 

Or he had it turned on before he shut his computer down after he set the password. It stays on until you hit it again no matter if you're computer is off.

 

I tried the Caps Lock fairly early on and it didn't work. In the end I was able to get a Command Prompt up off of the Vista Re-Install CD (there was a Command Prompt option under Repair Installation), and copy all the files I needed off to a USB FlashDrive using DOS. Then I simply re-installed Vista.

Looks like I ought to buy some CD-R's soon so if this occurs again it's a bit easier to fix. I certainly learned why Windows 95's Explorer interface became so popular!

I did take the precaution of leaving a bunch of space unallocated so if this ever happens again, I should be able to just create a new partition, install Windows there, and be able to get all my files much more easily than "copy C:\Users\Owner\docume~1.rtf E:\Data\worddoc1.rtf" for hundreds of files.

 

Oh geez. I'm sorry man, I don't know what to tell you. That sucks. ... Maybe you could contact Microsoft or Dell?

 

Next time you create your password, don't forget to create a password reset disk. You can use a thumb drive, CD-R, or a floppy. Here's how (after you created your password):

1. Click Start, go to Control Panel, User Accounts and Family Safety, then choose User Accounts.
2. In the Tasks list on the left, choose Create a Password Reset Disk
3. Let the wizard walk you through the process, and once it's complete, put the disk, drive, etc. in a safe place.

If you happen to forget your password again (or, like this case, Windows won't accept it), just do this:

1. Try to logon from the Welcome screen, when it fails, click Reset Password
2. Follow the wizard's instructions, and when your finished, don't forget to remove the disk.

Hope this helps

 

I'm sorry, but this thread needs to be closed. For every legitimate password issue, someone else wants to break in. There are ways around, but we don't talk about them here.