AboutMike Expertise Areas of expertise: PC Hardware, Peripherals, Barcode Scanners, Printers, and Applications, Basic Networking, Microsoft Applications. I am good at researching issues and have a lot of contacts. So if I can't directly answer a question I can likely find the answer.
Areas I won't be much help in: Apple Computers, Linux, older Networking topologies like Token Ring.
Experience I'm currently an IT Support Technician for a contract circuit
board manufacturer in Oregon, USA. I've been working on PCs from a hobby standpoint for better than 25 years. I've been doing it professionally for 3 years.
Expert: Mike Date: 6/26/2008 Subject: forgotten password
Question QUESTION: Is there any way around a forgotten password in order to log on and change password for a proteva desktop
ANSWER: If you have your Windows XP cd you can check this site out and follow the instructions in order to get access and be able to reset your password:
QUESTION: this is a windows 98 OS and I do not have any cd's. it was given to me by a friend.
ANSWER: Simpler yet so disregard those previous links.
If you just hit Cancel on the log-in box Windows 98 should just log itself in. Then go into C:/Windows and locate the .pwl file and delete it.
The file will be named after the specific log-in you are trying to use. Example: scott.pwl
Once you delete that file, reboot and then when you try and log in again using that username the system will just prompt you to create a password.
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QUESTION: hitting cancel does not work as the password box reapears, this is part of the problem. are there any keys I can hit at startup to bring up the black screen that returns me to the last known good configuration
Answer Ok, strike two on my part. I appologize. It's been too long since my Win98 days. Try this next:
1)when the computer boots keep pressing F8 until you get to a boot screen.
2)Select boot in DOS.
3)Get yourself into the windows folder by typing "cd windows" (without the "")
4)next type "dir *.pwl" (again without the "").
This will display the login password files.
5)after you've found the one that's yours type del username.pwl (using the name of the log-in you are trying to get in as)
6)Reboot the computer
7)When you have to login, put in the username you deleted, and enter any password you like.
8)The computer will say something along the lines of "No password. Would you like to use this one? Confirm?
9)Put in the new password.
