Changing User Passwords

[Treikayan]

On Windows XP Pro, there is a message that appears when attempting to change the password of a user. I want to change my administrator password, but it appears that if I attempt changing it, I'm going to lose information from my files. I haven't changed it yet, but what does it mean? What exactly is going to happen?

http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/4932/password8nt.th.png (http://img93.imageshack.us/my.php?image=password8nt.png)

The reason I want to change the password is because someone discovered the password and now can access my user account.

[saphalline]

Oh, you don't have to reset the password, you just need to change it. There is a difference! To simply change the password, go into the Control Panel -> User Accounts. Then click on "eric", then the green arrow that says "Change my password". It will prompt you to enter your old password, then a new one twice (for verification). That should do the trick.

Remember some good password tricks: use a combination of letters & numbers, never use dictionary words, capitalization always helps, and with WinXP you don't need to worry about spaces and punctuation. So if you want your password to be "f#CK 0ff!" you can do that. :p Note the "o" of the word "off" is a zero in that case and the exclamation point will cause no errors. Just some things you can do to turn memorable phrases into secure passwords.

So who the heck is threatening your security?? Do they have access to your computer, as in can they sit in front of it?

[Treikayan]

So if you want your password to be "f#CK 0ff!" you can do that. :p Note the "o" of the word "off" is a zero in that case and the exclamation point will cause no errors. Just some things you can do to turn memorable phrases into secure passwords.

So who the heck is threatening your security?? Do they have access to your computer, as in can they sit in front of it?

I'll make a note of that password. ;)

Well, it's amazing how many people didn't know my password, but for someone as clever as one person to discover it, is even more amazing. I will keep the guidelines you have here for my new one and thank you for the help. :)