Changing other user passwords can be a costly and nasty trick to perform. I often have people come in with their computers because they have simply forgotten their password. However in some cases they have not forgotten their user password, it has been changed. When curious minds get hold of this way to change user passwords, they cannot help themselves, they have to give it a go.

If you actually cannot remember your password then this trick may help you. But to do this you must log in somehow.

Once you are logged into the computer (even in a guest account) you can start to change user passwords from the dos run window.

Change user passwords when logged in as an administrator in Windows XP

1. Go to the start menu at the bottom left and choose run from the menu. You can get to the RUN dialog box by pressing the Windows key and R.
2. Type in cmd to bring up the dos command window.
3. Type in net user then press enter to see what users are registered on the computer.
4. Now choose what user password you want to change. For example choose frank.
5. Type net user frank *
6. Then you will be prompted for a password.
7. Type the password and then retype it to confirm. Be careful because the cursor will not move but it is recording what you are typing.
8. If it has worked it will say that the task is completed.
9. Now when that person logs in they will not know the password.

Here are some other commands you can type in to change user passwords, make user administrators, and add new users.

net user Shows the user names on your computer

net user USERNAME PASSWORD /add Adds a new user with a password

net user USERNAME * Changes a users password

net localgroup administrators USERNAME /add Changes a users account to an administrator

Watch this video below to see more information on how to change a user password when you are logged in as an administrator.

Notes:
* Here are some more Run commands you can try.
* This works in Windows Vista only if you are logged into the main administrator account. Any old administrator account won’t do.
* Make sure you type it exactly with a space when there is a space. One mistake and it will not work. You will have to retype it.
* This is a great way to ban children from the computer. They will not be able to login.