Member Avatar for bhanu1225

Hi everyone,

OS :
Windows XP Professional (Srevice pack2).

In my system , there are three user accounts.

All the three user account doesn't have passwords.

Like, one is limited account , one is guest account and other acccount, i don't knpw whether it is limited or administrator account.

I am trying to format the system. My system doesn't have CD drive. I used External hard drive and put Windows XP cd in that.

While booting, i am not getting first boot device option.
So, i thought that after logging in a user account, i can install XP.

I entered into first limited account, there while installing, it is saying that, you should fill the username & password for installing of administrator.

But, i tried with all user account username with different passwords.
Actuall, password are not there to any of the account. But, while installing, it is not accepting the blank password.

Its not installing.

Then i tried with guest account, same problem occured as above.

Then i tried with the last user account. In that, i went for control panel and clicking the user account, then it is saying that you don't have access to open.

I am fed up with all these trails.
I need a solution for installing XP in my sytem.

Please help me.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by striker_1

Dani AI

Generated

Short answer and why your in-Windows install failed: when you run Setup from a non‑administrator session Windows asks for an administrative username/password and will refuse secondary-logon elevation for local accounts that have no password. That is a built‑in security restriction in XP’s policy, so typing a blank password into the Run‑as dialog will be rejected even if the admin account exists. (learn.microsoft.com)

Practical next steps you can apply (ordered by least invasive → most invasive):

  • Try Safe Mode (press F8 at boot) and look for the built‑in Administrator account. If it appears and has no password you can log in, create a real password, then run Setup from that account.
  • If Safe Mode doesn’t help, boot a recovery USB/ISO (Hiren’s or similar) and use the included password tools (NTPWEdit / Offline NT Password & Registry Editor) to clear or set an Administrator password so you can run Setup normally from Windows. Always back up user files first before changing account data. (itoolab.com)

If you prefer a clean reinstall (recommended):

  • Make a proper Windows XP USB installer with a tool that handles XP’s two‑stage setup (WinSetupFromUSB or similar) rather than just copying the ISO — many generic USB creators fail on XP’s second stage. Then set the machine to boot from USB in BIOS. If the board cannot boot USB, use a small chainloader like Plop Boot Manager to allow USB booting on older BIOSes. (blog.sivo.it.com)

If you cannot boot from USB and prefer to avoid password tricks: remove the drive, attach it to another PC, perform the XP install there or capture an image, then reattach. If you plan to move a prepared installation between different hardware, run Sysprep (/generalize) before capturing to avoid driver/HAL problems. Also note Windows XP is past end‑of‑support and carries security risks — consider installing a supported OS or running XP inside an isolated VM if you must keep it. (support.microsoft.com)

References above point to concise tools and Microsoft documentation for the restrictions and deployment options.

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Member Avatar for Ritesh_4

Did you change the options in the BIOS to make the external disk a bootable device? I presume the external drive is a USB one. Else I will suggest you buy a CD drive, pretty cheap nowadays, or borrow one if you cannot afford.

Member Avatar for striker_1

Huh... I am running two accounts on Xp limited and Admin

On Guest and Limited accounts, It will ask password for detecting any new hardware

But the bad thing is that if you dont have a password-protect account so it will not accept it... (Means a password to admin account is nessasary) In other words "Blank Passwords Are not Allowed"

By Default you have to create one account with Administrative Privileges in Xp. After that you can create "A Limited" account. So i am sure that third account (That you dont know) is With Administrative Privileges.

(I am a little weaker in english... Sorry if you cant understand what i am saying)

Edited by striker_1 because: n/a
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