I have Windows XP Media Center. Unfortunately I disabled the user account (which I think might have been the admin account) for the log on to Windows and can no longer get past the log on screen. Is there anyway to re-enable that account so I can access my computer again?
Have you disabled the Windows administrator account and can’t log on to your computer? Need to enable the the built-in administrator account for troubleshooting purposes? There are many situations that we need to enable or activate Windows administrator account without logging in. Here is an easy fix.
How to Enable or Activate Windows Administrator Account without Logging In?
- First of all, you need to create a PCUnlocker Boot CD using another computer. Download and install Password Recovery Bundle on the computer. Launch the program and click on “Windows Password” button, it will display a new window which enables you to create a PCUnlocker Boot CD easily.
- Put the PCUnlocker Boot CD in the optical drive of the locked computer that you’re trying to gain access to. Set your optical drive as the first boot device in BIOS. Start the computer and it will boot from PCUnlocker Boot CD then.
- After a while, the program inside the Boot CD will launch. It automatically finds all Windows user accounts on your system, and display user account properties for each user: Locked Out, Disabled and Never Expire.
- Choose your administrator account that is disabled, and then click on “Reset Password” button. The program will enable the administrator account and also remove the password.
- Restart the computer and remove the PCUnlocker Boot CD. You can then start your computer and log back in to your administrator account with a blank password.
Conclusion
So that is how can you enable / activate Windows administrator account without logging in. It’s very useful when you’re unable to log on your computer, or you can only log in with Guest account but don’t have administrator privileges. If you can log in to Windows with administrator privileges, then you can enable / disable Windows administrator account easily from Command Prompt.