How to Reset Lost XP Administrator Password for Free

There are many a times when we forgot Windows XP administrator password in our home or office system. In this article I'll show you how to reset lost administrator password in Windows XP using a setup CD. Here we go with the steps:

1. Boot your system with the Windows XP setup CD. A screen will come up to welcome you, then you'll have an option to accept the EULA agreement, etc. Proceed as required.
2. You'll get an option to install a fresh copy of Windows XP or repair your existing Windows XP installation. Press R to repair.
3. It will then start the repair process by first copying files needed. In a few minutes, the setup will begin to restart your system.When it restarts, remember not to press any key when it shows "Press any key to continue...".
4. It will start doing other tasks and show a small progress bar with a few details in left hand corner.
5. Look carefully at the details and when it shows "Installing Devices", remember to press Shift key + F10 key in your keyboard.
6. This will open up a Command Prompt window. Now type nusrmgr.cpl and press Enter.
7. This opens up the "User Accounts" window which you normally get in the Control Panel, Cheers! You can now reset any account's password.

How to Reset Windows XP Administrator Password

Lots of computer users think that they need to reinstall the system after forgetting the password to log into computer. Actually that's not the only way to help you out. The easiest and fastest way is to reset Windows XP password. It also can save you hundreds of dollars if you don't have a system reinstallation disk and need to purchase one for it.

To reset administrator password on Windows XP, you only need to create a Widows XP password resetting disk to help you get into the computer and perform the password resetting. All this takes you 3 steps.

1. Create a Windows XP Password Reset Disk

1. Click here to download and save the Reset Windows Password self-extracting Zip file to a folder on your hard drive, then extract the ISO image file: ResetWindowsPwd.iso from it.
2. Insert a blank CD/DVD or USB flash drive on your computer.
3. Download and install the ISO2Disc utility, launch the program.
4. Click the Browse button to locate your ISO image file, then click the Start Burn button to burn the ISO image to your CD/DVD or USB flash drive.
   

2. Change BIOS Settings

1. Boot your Windows XP computer. When it is powered on, check the boot-screen for setup key (i.e. DELETE key, F8 key, F2 key) to enter BIOS Setup Utility.
2. Use the arrow keys to select the BOOT tab, then change the Boot Device Priority: Set 1st Boot Device to CDROM if you just created a bootable CD or DVD, or set 1st Boot Device to Removable Device if a bootable USB flash drive was created.
   
3. Press F10 to save your changes. Now your computer is able to boot from CD/DVD or USB flash drive.

3. Reset Windows XP Administrator Password

1. Insert the newly burned CD/DVD or USB flash drive to your Windows XP computer, then reboot your computer.
2. Now the computer will boot from the password reset disk. Wait until the boot process is finished, you'll see the main window of Reset Windows Password utility.
   
3. Simply select your Windows SAM registry hive if multiple operating systems have been installed on the computer, the program will list all Windows user accounts. Select the administrator account from the list, then click the Reset button to remove the Windows XP administrator password.
4. Click the Restart button to reboot the computer, you are able to log into the administrator account without being asked for a password.

If you have a need, you can set a new password for your computer after getting into Windows XP system, but do set one that you can remember.