Recovering from a lost password
If u were ever to forget your login password, Vista offers two tools that help you to deal with it.
1) Password Hint : Your hint appears below the password entry box, after you make an incorrect entry and then click OK. You can create a hint when you set a password with User Accounts.
2) Password Reset Disk : A password reset disk, allows you to change your password, without needing to know your old password. You can make a password reset disk only for your local user account. This disk contains a single file named Userkey.psw, which is an encrypted backup version of your password.
You can create a password reset disk as follows : you’ll need to have removable media available viz. usb, floppy, cd, external hard drive, or a memory card.
1. Log on using the account for which you want to create a password reset disk.
2. In the Control Panel, open User Accounts.
3. In the Tasks pane, click Create A Password Reset Disk to launch the Forgotten Password wizard. and then follow the wizards instructions.
To use the password reset disk when you forget your password:
1. On the logon screen, make an entry in the password box. if you guess right, you’re in! if you are wrong, Vista informs you that the password is incorrect.
2. Click OK. The logon screen reappears, but with additional text below the password box.
3. If the first bit of additional text, your password hint, tries to jog your memory, enter your password. If not, click Reset Password to open the Password Reset wizard.This wizard asks for the location of the password reset disk, reads the encrypted key, and then asks you to set a new password, which it then uses to log you on.
Well, you could always have An administrator logon and change or remove your password for you, but you’ll lose access to your encrypted files, e-mail messages and your stored credentials !
More here at WindowsHelp.
Tags: backup_version, password_entry, password_hint, password_reset_disk, psw, Windows, windows vista
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David T on 13 Jul 2007 at 7:53 pm #
If you have Vista Business or Ultimate you can boot to safe mode and logon as administrator to reset a password.
Jill C. on 12 Jan 2008 at 10:21 am #
HOw do you boot to safe mode on a Dell w/windows vista? My daughter forgot her password to logon to the computer?
Nathaniel Cristan on 11 Nov 2008 at 3:40 pm #
help?