Re: Changed Name & Lost Access
Since I cannot see your machine, I cannot tell you exactly
what happened and why. Here are some general pointers:
- The automatic/manual logon process is set in the Control
Panel / Users and Passwords. It is up to you to tick or
untick the check box you find there.
- If you cannot remember a password then you can reset
it (and make a written record of it!) while logged on as
an administrator. Here is one way to achieve this:
* Log on as administrator.
* Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
* Type this command: net user thomas xxxyyyzzz
where xxxyyyzzz is the new password for the thomas account.
- You still write "when a password was never created in the
first place." As I said before: ***Every*** account has
a password, even if it is just a blank, so let's forget about
passwords that were "never created".
- So far you haven't stated clearly if you can log on as
Administrator or not. This would be a prerequisite for
changing the password for the Thomas account.
About your backup situation: Backing up your files to an
internal disk protects you against about 30% of the usual
mishaps. You're missing out on 70% of them, e.g. theft,
fire, lighting damage, partition/file corruption due to
malfunction and most important, user error. An effective
backup system is one that has the backup medium kept
well away from the main system for most of the time. A disk
in an external USB case meets this requirement.
"Thomas" <Thomas@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1950A2A4-8A38-4A3A-82D8-F43F63D83162@microsoft.com...
> Dear P:
> Thanks for the suggestions. 1) I have all the files backed up on
> another SCSI H.drive. in the case (there are 6 hd's w/ XP Pro & Vista Ult
> besides the now screwed up Win 2K Pro). 2) There are 2 Administrator
> accts. &
> I have access to both. 3) I know about taking ownership, but that is an
> onerous & incomplete way to recoup my settings (desktop, favorites, etc.).
> If the original boot screen as "preferred customer" was w/o any password
> needing to be entered, how is it that simply changing the name now
> requires a
> log-on screen & password, much less not being able to access/boot onto all
> the desktop settings that existed. I was careful NOT to change ANYTHING
> other than the name. Even the Computer name stayed the same. How is it
> that changing the name both limited access & asked for a password when one
> was never created in the first place?
> If there is no other fix for the issue, when I get the nerve up, I'll
> try the blank eunet site you linked below.
>
> --
> Thomas Peter v B
>
>
> "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:
>
>>
>> "Thomas" <Thomas@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:88C8CD73-5EDC-472D-8F2A-79EDB459A430@microsoft.com...
>> > The vendor I bought my workstation from used "Preferred Customer" &
>> > regrettably I tired of it & went into "Users and Passwords" in the
>> > Control
>> > Panel on Win 2K Pro & entered my name instead. I checked NO boxes
>> > which
>> > would require a password. I rebooted & now I get a log on screen (there
>> > was
>> > none before) which when I enter my name, requests a password. Since I
>> > chose
>> > none, I can't fabricate one. I CAN get into the O/S by typing
>> > "Administrator" & hitting "Enter" w/o using a password, but I cannot
>> > access 5
>> > 1/2 years of desktop & other customizations. I can see program files
>> > through
>> > "Computer Management" but recouping "Preferred Customer" access and
>> > settings
>> > as my boot-up configuration is beyond me.
>> > --
>> > Thomas Peter v B
>>
>> Every account has a password, even if it is a blank one. Have you
>> tried this?
>>
>> If you can log on under some account then you may be able to access
>> your files, provided that you have the required privileges. You may need
>> to seize ownership of your old folders in order to do so. Click Start /
>> Help and look for help on "Ownership" to see how it's done.
>>
>> If this fails then you can reset the Administrator's password to a blank
>> by booting the machine with a boot disk from here:
>> http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html. It's scary
>> stuff but it works.
>>
>> There is an overall issue here. How many sets of keys do you have
>> for your car. More than one? Why? How many admin accounts
>> do you have for your PC? Just the one? Don't know its password?
>> Why? Planning ahead and creating a second one would permanently
>> avoid this problem, provided that you lock its details away in a
>> safe place.
>>
>> There is another problem too. If you have 5 years worth of files on
>> this PC without any backup then run a serious riks of losing the
>> lot some day. A 2.5" disk in an external USB case would make
>> a low-cost but highly effective backup medium.
>>
>>
>>