Edit XP Password in Registry

• 1). Obtain a password- and registry-editor bootable disc. This information required to create the disc can be obtained online (see Resources). Download the required files and unzip, if needed. Save the "install.bat" file onto a CD or floppy.
  
  
• 2). Restart your computer. When the computer begins to start up, press the key(s) to access the BIOS menu. This key varies per computer. The computer will often display the exact key that is required to access the BIOS when the system is restarting. Common boot keys are F1, F2, F10, CTRL+ALT+Enter, or CTRL+ALT+DEL.
  
  
• 3). Choose either "Floppy Drive" or "CD-ROM" as the drive that contains the registry- and password-editor disc in the BIOS screen.
  
  
• 4). Press "Enter" to accept the default location of the Windows XP partition. The default is fine for most users. If the operating system is installed on another partition, enter the number of the partition that contains the installation file from the "Candidate Windows partitions found" list. Then press "Enter."
  
  
• 5). Select the Windows registry path and files. Most of the time you can safely accept the defaults provided in the BIOS screen. Select "OK" to accept the defaults.
  
  
• 6). Press "Enter" to choose the default "Password reset." Choose "Enter" on the next screen to accept the default "Edit user data and passwords."
  
  
• 7). Select the user account you want to reset. By default, it specifies the administrator account. To edit another user, enter the user manually and leave the password field blank.
  
  
• 8). Enter the new password when prompted in BIOS. Confirm the new password when prompted.
  
  
• 9). Type "!" (without the quotation marks " ") to quit the user password menu. Type "q" (without the quotation marks " ") to quit and continue to save the changes.
  
  
• 10
  
  Confirm the changes when prompted. Accept any defaults presented in BIOS with "OK." Remove the floppy or CD and restart the computer.
  
  

Edit Password With Command Prompt

• 1). Log on to the computer as the administrator.
  
  
• 2). Click the desktop Start menu and select "Run."
  
  
• 3). Type "cmd" (without the quotation marks) into the Run field. The command screen will open.
  
  
• 4). Type "net user username password /domain" (replace "username" with your user name, and "password" with the new password you want to assign the user). Specify the domain if in a domain environment, if you are using a local user group, leave as "/domain."
  
  For example: net user mycomputer mypasscode / domain
  
  
• 5). Hit the "Enter" key, and the password will be changed for that user.