Password Recovery

 Windows XP (Home Edition or Professional) asks for a password, but there is no password assigned to the user account. What's the problem?

 This usually happens after SP2 update or Windows security update on PCs with a single user account or a user account without a user password. In this situation the operating system may ask for a password for the user account.

Apparently windows update assigns passwords to all accounts and changes the local security policy. We suggest to restart your computer in the "Last Known Good Configuration" (press F8 during computer boot process and select "Last Known Good Configuration" from boot menu).

If this action does not solve the problem you can restore to the previous windows state with Recovery (it is a complicated procedure). In using any of the above ways do not forget to disconnect your computer from the network / internet.

Follow the instructions below to restore Windows XP previous state using Recovery Console:

1. Reset Administrator's password (you can do it with our Active@ Password Changer).
2. Start Windows XP using the Recovery Console (Logon as Administrator with empty password);

If you did not install Recovery Console you can run it from Windows XP startup disks or the Windows XP CD-ROM.

To run the Recovery Console from the Windows XP startup disks or the Windows XP CD-ROM, follow these steps:

• Insert the Windows XP startup disk into the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and restart the computer.
• If prompted, select any appropriate options required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive.
• When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.

1. At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following commands, pressing ENTER after each command:
   
   md tmp
   copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\tmp\system.bak
   copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak
   copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
   copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\windows\tmp\security.bak
   copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\windows\tmp\default.bak
   
   
   delete c:\windows\system32\config\system
   delete c:\windows\system32\config\software
   delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam
   delete c:\windows\system32\config\security
   delete c:\windows\system32\config\default
   
   copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
   copy c:\windows\repair\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
   copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
   copy c:\windows\repair\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
   copy c:\windows\repair\default c:\windows\system32\config\default
   
2. Insert Active@ Password Changer bootable disk (floppy or CD). Type "exit" to quit Recovery Console. Your computer will restart.
3. Restart computer with Active@ Password Changer bootable disk and reset the "Administrator" password again.
4. Remove any bootable disk and restart computer in Safe Mode. (To do this just press F8 during computer boot process).
5. Logon as Administrator with empty password.
6. Start Windows Explorer.
7. On the Tools menu, click Folder options
8. Select the View tab.
9. Under Hidden files and folders, select Show hidden files and folders, and select to clear the Hide protected operating system files (recommended) check box.
10. Select "Yes" when the dialog box is displayed to confirm that you want to display these files to be shown.
11. Double-click the drive where you installed Windows XP to display a list of the folders.
12. Open the "System Volume Information" folder. This folder contains one or more _restore {GUID} folders such as "C:\System Volume Information\_restore{FE84CB8B-5896-46B1-8C9E-210A2B0D370D}". NOTE: You may receive the following error message: "C:\System Volume Information is not accessible. Access is denied." If you receive this message, follow these steps: Right-click the "System Volume Information" folder, and then select "Sharing and Security". Select the Security tab. Select Add, and then add "Administrator" account. Select OK, and OK again. Double-click the "System Volume Information" folder in the root folder to open it.
13. It is critical that you open a folder that was NOT CREATED at the CURRENT TIME. You may view folder details in the View menu to see when the folders were created. There may be one or more folders starting with "RPx" under this folder. These are restore points. (for example RP1, RP2 or RP3...) These registry file backups from System Restore. As you used the registry file created by the setup program, it does not know that these restore points exist and are available. A new folder is created with a new GUID under "System Volume Information" and a restore point is created that includes a copy of the registry files that were copied during part one. Therefore, it is important not to use the most current folder, especially if the time stamp on the folder is the same as the current time.
14. Open one of these folders to locate the "Snapshot" subfolder. The following path is an example of a folder path to the Snapshot folder: "C:\System Volume Information\_restore{FE84CB8B-5896-46B1-8C9E-210A2B0D370D}\RP2\Snapshot"
15. From the "Snapshot" folder, copy the following files to the "C:\Windows\Tmp" folder:
    
    - _REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT
    - _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY
    - _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
    - _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM
    - _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM
16. Rename the files in the "C:\Windows\Tmp" folder using the following commands:
    
    Rename _REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT to DEFAULT
    Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY to SECURITY
    Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE to SOFTWARE
    Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM to SYSTEM
    Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM to SAM
    
    The registry files that were copied to the "C:\Windows\Tmp" folder are moved to make sure that the files are available under Recovery Console. Use these files to replace the registry files currently in the "C:\Windows\System32\Config" folder. By default, Recovery Console has limited folder access and cannot copy files from the System Volume folder.
17. Start computer in "Recovery Console" mode again.
18. At the command prompt, type the following commands, pressing ENTER after each command:
    
    del c:\windows\system32\config\sam
    del c:\windows\system32\config\security
    del c:\windows\system32\config\software
    del c:\windows\system32\config\default
    del c:\windows\system32\config\system
    
    copy c:\windows\tmp\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
    copy c:\windows\tmp\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
    copy c:\windows\tmp\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
    copy c:\windows\tmp\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
    copy c:\windows\tmp\default c:\windows\system32\config\default
19. Type exit to quit the Recovery Console
20. If you do not remember your previous "administrator" or other user with administrative rights passwords, use Active@ Password Changer bootable disk to reset them.
21. Restore previous Operating System state:
    • Logon as usual
    • Click Start, and then click All Programs
    • Click Accessories, and then click System Tools
    • Click System Restore, and then click Restore to a previous Restore Point. When you finish this procedure, the system returns to a state very close to the state before the problem occurred.
22. Do not forget to create additional user account and assign passwords to all your accounts after restoring the system.