Prevent Forgotten Passwords

You'd be amazed at how often people forget their passwords. The trouble is that easy passwords are also easy to guess or to crack and tough passwords are hard to remember. So, forgotten passwords is a fairly common problem. This article covers how to prepare the potential of forgetting passwords by creating a backup password record.

However, if you have already forgotten your password (and did not prepare for such as described here) this page isn't going to help you. Instead you should view Password Problems.

Following are the intstructions for preparing a password backup:

1. Click Start
2. Click Run...
3. Type control userpasswords
4. Click OK
5. Click on your account
6. Under "Related Tasks" click "Prevent a forgotten password"
7. In the Forgotten Password Wizard click the "Next" button
8. Select the drive (USB or Floppy disk) you want to use
9. Click the Next; button
10. Enter the password for that account
11. Click the Next button
12. When it's done, click the Next button
13. Remove your backup and place it in a safe location
14. AND don't forget which safe location you placed it in...

Now that you have that information, you're probably wondering how you're to use the backup in the future, when or if it is needed. Well, if you start Windows and have forgotten your password it asks you if you've forgotten your password. It offer to give you a hint, and it also offers you the option to use password reset. Select the passwords reset option, insert your backup, and follow the prompts.

Additional Information:

The password reset disk can not be used on any other computer even if they share account names. It can only be used on the PC that it was made on. Store the disk in a safe location because anyone can then use that disk to reset your password. A locking box is recommended normally but another good idea is a trusted friend or family member's house. Any secure place that you have easy access to. Under your mattress is NOT a good idea.

Note:
Owners of XP Professional Edition who are using EFS should view the following Microsoft support page:
· EFS, Credentials, and Private Keys from Certificates Are Unavailable After a Password Is Reset

OS: XP > General
Date: 12/15/05

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