Lost Password to logon to Windows Vista

My sister-in-law who lives in Australia finally decided to use a PC to keep
in touch over the internet. She bought a Laptop using Vista and set it up
with one user account around 2 months ago. She is not computer literate and
barely knows how to switch it on. It has taken her up till now to switch it
on for the second time as she just got broadband installed at her home. The
problem we now have is that she has forgotten the password she created and
cannot logon to the system. I am not familiar with Windows Vista and was
unable to advise her how to logon using the default Administrator account. It
seems Vista is much different from XP in this respect. Can anyone advise me
if I can access the default admin account on the logon screen or if there is
another way to reset the password without talking her through a system
restore. She didn't create password reset disks. I appreciate your help on
this.

Thanks
--
Stevie_R

I'm having the same problem with my Mom.....I'm not sure if this will help
you....it hasn't done me much good but this is what I found....there are a
few different ways to change a password, just croll down towards the bottom.
Good Luck! Nan

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...fd7e51033.mspx

"Stevie R" wrote:

> My sister-in-law who lives in Australia finally decided to use a PC to keep
> in touch over the internet. She bought a Laptop using Vista and set it up
> with one user account around 2 months ago. She is not computer literate and
> barely knows how to switch it on. It has taken her up till now to switch it
> on for the second time as she just got broadband installed at her home. The
> problem we now have is that she has forgotten the password she created and
> cannot logon to the system. I am not familiar with Windows Vista and was
> unable to advise her how to logon using the default Administrator account. It
> seems Vista is much different from XP in this respect. Can anyone advise me
> if I can access the default admin account on the logon screen or if there is
> another way to reset the password without talking her through a system
> restore. She didn't create password reset disks. I appreciate your help on
> this.
>
> Thanks
> --
> Stevie_R

If this is just the second time she has turned it on then possibly a restore
to the factory setup would be in order. This will return the computer to the
way it came from the factory. Note that this will erase any information on
the computer. If she did create some data or files the first time she
started the computer it will be lost. Consult the owners manual for how to
do this.

There is no easy way to change the password. It involves creating a Linux
boot CD or floppy disk with a special program for changing the password. The
procedure can corrupt the file system and/or the registry. It is also a
complicated program to use.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca/phpBB2/



"Stevie R" <StevieR@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:F48FC2EB-2B3D-4B6B-ADC3-70EF823AF8B3@microsoft.com...
> My sister-in-law who lives in Australia finally decided to use a PC to
> keep
> in touch over the internet. She bought a Laptop using Vista and set it up
> with one user account around 2 months ago. She is not computer literate
> and
> barely knows how to switch it on. It has taken her up till now to switch
> it
> on for the second time as she just got broadband installed at her home.
> The
> problem we now have is that she has forgotten the password she created and
> cannot logon to the system. I am not familiar with Windows Vista and was
> unable to advise her how to logon using the default Administrator account.
> It
> seems Vista is much different from XP in this respect. Can anyone advise
> me
> if I can access the default admin account on the logon screen or if there
> is
> another way to reset the password without talking her through a system
> restore. She didn't create password reset disks. I appreciate your help on
> this.
>
> Thanks
> --
> Stevie_R

Stevie R;562338 Wrote:
> My sister-in-law who lives in Australia finally decided to use a PC to
> keep
> in touch over the internet. She bought a Laptop using Vista and set it
> up
> with one user account around 2 months ago. She is not computer literate
> and
> barely knows how to switch it on. It has taken her up till now to
> switch it
> on for the second time as she just got broadband installed at her home.
> The
> problem we now have is that she has forgotten the password she created
> and
> cannot logon to the system. I am not familiar with Windows Vista and
> was
> unable to advise her how to logon using the default Administrator
> account. It
> seems Vista is much different from XP in this respect. Can anyone
> advise me
> if I can access the default admin account on the logon screen or if
> there is
> another way to reset the password without talking her through a system
> restore. She didn't create password reset disks. I appreciate your help
> on
> this.
>
> Thanks
> --
> Stevie_R

Hi Stevie,

This will show you some methods to use to reset the password for the
user account to gain access to it again.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/10...-password.html

Shawn


--
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Thanks Guys
I'll try enabling the real admin account first and if this doesn't work then
it looks like the system restore. I don't think there will be anything to
lose anyway.
Many thanks
--
Stevie_R


"Stevie R" wrote:

> My sister-in-law who lives in Australia finally decided to use a PC to keep
> in touch over the internet. She bought a Laptop using Vista and set it up
> with one user account around 2 months ago. She is not computer literate and
> barely knows how to switch it on. It has taken her up till now to switch it
> on for the second time as she just got broadband installed at her home. The
> problem we now have is that she has forgotten the password she created and
> cannot logon to the system. I am not familiar with Windows Vista and was
> unable to advise her how to logon using the default Administrator account. It
> seems Vista is much different from XP in this respect. Can anyone advise me
> if I can access the default admin account on the logon screen or if there is
> another way to reset the password without talking her through a system
> restore. She didn't create password reset disks. I appreciate your help on
> this.
>
> Thanks
> --
> Stevie_R