Member Avatar for Lance Maxwell

I have some computers given to me by the previous tenant in my office. They are Dell Computers running XP pro. I don't know the passwords. I have reset the Administrator password however, when I reach the login screen the administrator account is not listed for login. There is only one account listed on the screen.

I reset the password through a DOS utility and when I view the password list in DOS I don't even see the user listed that is solely present at windows start up. How do I get the Administrator account to show up on the log in screen?

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noted that a password was reset offline but the built‑in Administrator did not appear on the XP welcome screen; asked about the offline tool he used and pointed toward recovery tools and Safe Mode. Common causes are that the account exists but is hidden or disabled, or the system is showing the simplified Welcome screen instead of a full logon prompt. The steps below describe reliable ways to reveal and restore a local Administrator account without repeating the specific utilities already mentioned in the thread.

A practical fix when another admin session is available:

  • Open Computer Management (Start -> Run -> compmgmt.msc) -> System Tools -> Local Users and Groups -> Users. Check the Administrator account for the “Account is disabled” box and clear it if checked, then set or reset the password.

  • If the account is present but not shown on the Welcome screen, inspect the SpecialAccounts registry branch:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList

    Remove any DWORD entry named for the hidden account (do not change other keys). A simple registry edit requires administrative rights; back up the registry first.

If no administrative logon is possible, an offline registry edit can be done by loading the target system’s SOFTWARE hive from another Windows environment (Regedit -> HKLM -> File -> Load Hive -> select C:\Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE), removing the UserList entry, then unloading the hive and rebooting. Always copy the original hive file before editing.

Important cautions: resetting local account passwords offline can break access to EFS‑encrypted files and stored credentials. Confirm legal authorization to modify the machines before proceeding. If Safe Mode exposes the built‑in Administrator (as noted earlier in the thread), that session is the safest way to re-enable or repair accounts and avoid data-loss risks.

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Member Avatar for Lance Maxwell

I found the solution!

Member Avatar for Samashahdi

I have a system here that I need to work on thatI would be interested in the dos utility
I had 1 on a floppy disk before I moved and now cant find it
Any chance you could let me know the web address to D/l it or perhaps send it to me via email?

Thanks
Sam

Member Avatar for DimaYasny

ERD commander or SAM explorer are your best friends ;)

Member Avatar for DimaYasny

as to the Admin login - just go into safe mode

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