Password on administrator's account

[MikeyT]

I have a Dell PC at work (and a Mac for my sanity) ... and I'm ok logged on as me on the PC but trying to do certain things I am asked to log on as an Administrator.

Now my boss reckons I must have set this up when I had the computer and got it running - but I don't remember setting this up - there iare s only about three passwords I use (all variations on the same thing) and it's none of them

All the other Dell PCs we have, run on the same password for the Admin account as my boss set it up when he installed them ... mine came a few weeks later.

What can I do to get round this problem?

Any help appreciated.

Computer is on a network (if that makes an difference).

Any other technical info needed to try and answer the problem?

Edited by MikeyT on Wednesday 24th January 14:43

[BliarOut]

Is it just on a network or is it joined to a domain?

[Plotloss]

Admin password setup is done when you install XP on the machine.

Maybe different with OEM builds mind you.

Have you tried

Administrator and Password as passwords?

Oh and try not entering any password at all...

Edited by Plotloss on Wednesday 24th January 14:44

[victormeldrew]

Download EBCD and create an emegency boot disk. This has a tool for resetting the Administrator password that works a treat.

[MikeyT]

Plotloss said:

Admin password setup is done when you install XP on the machine.

Maybe different with OEM builds mind you.

Have you tried

Administrator and Password as passwords?

Oh and try not entering any password at all...

Edited by Plotloss on Wednesday 24th January 14:44

Tried all three - no good. Surely this machine (Dell) would have come with XP already on?

[victormeldrew]

BliarOut said:

Is it just on a network or is it joined to a domain?

Indeed - are you logging on to the network or to the local machine?

[BliarOut]

In control panel look at network connections and then >Advanced >Network Identification.

You should be able to see if the machine is in a domain or a workgroup. If it's in a domain then the domain administrators account can make your account a member of the local administrators group.

[MikeyT]

Domain I think ...

??

[BliarOut]

Good..... If it is on a domain get the domain administrator to log into your machine and give your account local admin rights to your machine (assuming you have a reasonably loose IT policy, which it sounds like you have) and then get them to reset the password on the local administrators account to the correct one. Log back in as yourself, job's a good 'un.

[MikeyT]

Cheers Rob, will tell them upstairs ...