No Windows Password?

[tomtomg59]

HI: My Problem is when I first got my PC Which has WINDOWS 98SE I was suppose to enter a WINDOWS PASSWORD But I figured I was the only one going to use it and I did not enter an original PASSWORD. Now I want to put one in and when I go to the OLD PASSWORD BOX There is NO OLD PASSWORD TO PUT IN (ITS A COMPLETELY BLANK BOX) AND IT WON'T ACCEPT A NEW PASSWORD WITHOUT AN OLD ONE. Can someone out there tell me how to put a PASSWORD in without creating a NEW USER? And if new user is the only way WILL I LOSE ALL MY FILES ? I need everything I put in! HELP tomtomg59

[Vic 970]

Hi tomtomg59.

To regain your log in status find a file called 'your name' .pwl
this is the password file, all you need to do is delete it and reboot the system. the next time windows starts it will ask for your user name & new password. you will not lose any files.

BUT

w98 security is, well, not very secure, you will really have to password protect in settings at boot up if you want to keep people out.

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Regards..,
Vic.

[tomtomg59]

Hi Vic: Thank You for the reply! however there are 5 .pwl in that file 1)Default.pwl 2)tgoldies.pwl 3)New user.pwl 4)rna.pwl 5)Default.pwl I GUESS THAT IT WOULD BE THE NEW USER FILE THAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. But I have to make sure thats what you mean! Please let me know and if you would Repeat the instructions incase I accidentally erase them? Thank You for all your help TOM

[Vic 970]

.pwl files are all password files, you need to delete all of these.

(I would suggest however that you back up these files by copy & pasting them onto a Floppy Disc. That is merely Good Practice when you are making ANY changes, & a good habit to get into.)

After they have been deleted (or re named) windows will produce a new .pwl file on boot up which will contain your new password (providing that you put one in when asked)

By the way the windows password is meant to allow multiple users to have different settings, not as security.

And as you say that all your files are important, I would imagine (& hope) that you have all those backed up!!




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Regards..,
Vic.

[skhips]

If you want the password for security then you need to do it in the BIOS
as in the win98 password box you can click cancel and it will continue.

Designed more for giving different users different looking desk tops i.e family members.

Or get win2000 which are proper logons with proper secure passwords

[bassman]

Hey TomTom,
Just found a new way. When you go to shut down, hit Start>Logoff>Yes. If you do this, you end up at the dialog box you saw when you set up your machine.It will say "If you do not enter a password, you will not be promted next time."
As mentioned by Skhips, this is not a security feature. It is mainly so when you log on, you will have the environment settings you want (desktop,icon themes, sounds,...)You can set this up for different users and they will have things the way they like when they log on.
If you are looking for security, then the BIOS password is the way to go.
If you have other people around this machine who are unfamiliar with this stuff, then the Windows log on may throw them enough to leave it alone.

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It's nice to know if we helped you out. Please let us know IF and WHAT fixed the problem.

[tomtomg59]

Just wanted everyone to know that Thanks to the advise of you all I have a Windows Password now. The advise I took was GO TO START-SETTINGS-CONTROL PANEL AND CLICK ON PASSWORD THEN LEAVE THE OLD PASSWORD BLANK AND PUT IN NEW ONE AND CONFIRM,THEN RE-START YOUR COMPUTER (THATS IT) But as many of you have said it does not stop someone from getting into your pc THIS PASSWORD IS FOR DIFFERENT USERS(NOT SECURITY) So to get a secure password I will have to go into the BIOS TO PUT IN SECURITY PASSWORD! Which Thanks to a friend and all people at pc guide I will be able to do. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH tomtomg59