How to Bypass a Windows XP Password

You may one day be faced with a situation where you need to bypass the password that is needed to log in to your Windows XP computer. This situation usually arises when someone purchases a second hand computer and is not given the log in password, or if they are reverting back to an old computer and have forgotten what their password use to be. Regardless of the reason why, the end result is that you can’t get logged into Windows XP and need to bypass the password. You have nothing to worry about. Not only can you bypass a Windows XP password, but you can reset it entirely so that you will know what the log in password is.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Second Computer
• CD Burner
• Blank CD-ROM

1. Use a second computer to access the Internet. You must have Internet access in order to create a CD to bypass the password in Windows XP. Since you probably can’t access the Internet from the computer with the lost password, you will need to use a second computer, friend’s computer or work computer to get online.

2. Download the software required to create an Emergency Recovery Disk (ERD). This is the program that will be used to bypass and reset the password that you are asked for when you attempt to load Windows XP. An online search for ERD will generate many results.

3. Burn a CD. You will need to use a CD burner to copy the files you downloaded onto a blank CD. Once the ERD software is on the CD, you have effectively created an emergency disk that will allow you to bypass and reset your Windows XP password.

4. Put the CD into the computer that is having password problems and reboot the system. As the system loads, it will detect the program on the CD and run it.

5. Simply follow the on screen instructions to change the password to something that is easier to remember, or even leave it blank to have no password at all.

Resources

• Winternals ERD with Locksmith
• Windows Password Recovery
• Offline Password Registry Editor