Adapted from Ed Bott's Your New PC: Seven Easy Steps to Help You Get Started!

As an administrative assistant, do you find it difficult to keep track of the many passwords that you need to access the computers in your office? Do employees come to you for help when they forget a password? Prepare for a forgotten password with this easy solution: create a password reset disk.

The password reset disk is an indispensable tool that stores a copy of a password in an encrypted format that no one can read. If you're unable to enter the correct password at the Welcome screen, you can insert the disk and create a new password.

Storing a password

To store a copy of your password, you need a floppy disk or a USB flash memory keydrive. Insert the disk into the drive or plug the keydrive into a USB port, and then follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click User Accounts.
2. In the User Accounts dialog box, click the name of your account.
3. In the left side of the What do you want to change about your account? box, under the Related Tasks heading, click Prevent a forgotten password. This starts the Forgotten Password Wizard.
4. Read the introductory page of the Forgotten Password Wizard, and then click Next.
5. On the Create a Password Reset Disk page, select the drive — floppy disk or flash memory keydrive — where you want to save the password reset files. Click Next.

   

6. On the Current User Account Password page, enter your current password, and then click Next.

   

7. The next two pages of the Forgotten Password Wizard provide progress indicators. When the Progress bar reaches 100% complete, click Next, and then click Finish.
8. After completing the wizard, remove the disk, label it clearly, and store it in a secure place.

Using the password reset disk

If you ever forget your password, you can log on to the computer by using a new password that you create using the Password Reset Wizard and your password reset disk. Follow these steps:

1. Click in the box on the Welcome screen where you normally type your password, and then press ENTER.
2. Click Use your password reset disk to start the Password Reset Wizard. Click Next.
3. Insert the password reset disk — place a floppy disk into a disk drive or connect a flash memory keydrive to a USB port.
4. Type a new password in the Type a new password box. Then type the same password in the Type the password again to confirm box.
5. In the Type a new password hint box, type one or two words to remind you of your password if you forget the new password. Remember to use a hint that spurs your memory but that won't help another user access the computer.
6. Click Next, and then click Finish to close the Password Reset Wizard.
7. At the Welcome screen, log on to the computer by typing your new password in the Type your password box.

The password reset disk is a handy tool for when your memory fails. But remember — other people can use the password reset disk to gain access to your computer, so make sure that you store the disk in a secure place.

About the author   Ed Bott is an award-winning journalist and a former writer and editor for PC World and PC Computing. One of the most recognized voices in the computing world, he is a two-time winner of the Jesse H. Neal Editorial Achievement Award and a three-time winner of the Computer Press Association Award. This article is adapted from Ed Bott's Your New PC: Seven Easy Steps to Help You Get Started! (2005), which is available from Microsoft Learning.