- What is the difference between Windows XP Professional Edition and Windows XP Home Edition?
- With Windows XP, the system doesn't display the Security dialog box when I press Ctrl+Alt+Del. Where did the dialog box go?
- With Windows XP, how do I set a password hint?
- What is Windows 2002?
- How can I determine which product key I used to activate Windows XP?
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
3.6 With Windows XP, how do I set a password hint?
XP introduced the option to have a password hint, which is useful in a workgroup (this option isn't available in a domain). To set a password hint, perform the following steps:
Start the User Accounts Control Panel applet (Start > Control Panel > User Accounts).
Select the account for which you want to add a password hint.
Click Change the password.
Enter your password in the two locations; in the bottom area, type your password hint (see Figure 3-5).
Figure 3-5 Modifying a user's password and setting a password hintClick Change Password.
)
Figure 3-5These hints are stored in the Registry under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Hints\[username]\(Default) key, and you can change them there as well.
3.7 In Windows XP, how do I use the password reset disk?
With XP, if you're in a workgroup, you have the option under your profile to create a password reset disk using a wizard. Click Start > Control Panel > User Accounts > [account name] > Create a Password Reset Disk > Create Disk.
When the wizard starts, click Next.
Select the drive that contains the media you want to create the information on (you can use a diskette or a Zip disk) and click Next.
Type your current password and click Next (see Figure 3-6).
Figure 3-6 The Forgotten Password WizardClick Finish.
)
Figure 3-6The password reset disk contains only one file, USERKEY.PSW, which is an encrypted version of your password. If you change your password, the password reset disk is useless; you must repeat this procedure.
To use the password reset disk, at the logon screen, leave the password field blank and press Enter or click the right arrow. The system will display a dialog box that offers the option to use your password reset disk as shown in Figure 3-7.
)
Figure 3-7 Windows XP incorrect password dialog with password reset disk options
When you select this option, a wizard starts:
Click Next.
Select the drive to read the password reset disk from and click Next.
Enter a new password twice and click Next.
Click Finish.
Type your new password to log on. Note that the password reset disk is now useless, and you must create a new one.
3.8 What is Bootcfg?
Bootcfg is a new addition to the Windows XP Recovery Console. You use this command to modify the BOOT.INI file, which contains the choices at system startup. (In a multiboot environment, BOOT.INI contains the list of all the OSs and lets you choose one.) The Bootcfg command recognizes Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT. It doesn't recognize Windows 9x. Bootcfg has the following options:
/default—Sets the default OS (modifies the default= line in BOOT.INI).
/add—Scans the computer for OSs and lets you add located installations. You can also specify optional boot switches.
/rebuild—Same as /add except /rebuild automatically recreates BOOT.INI with all found installations if the user confirms.
/scan—Identifies current installations but doesn't modify BOOT.INI.
/list—Scans the BOOT.INI files and displays each entry.
/redirect—Enables redirection of the boot loaded to a specific port and baud rate (this option is useful for the Headless Administration options).
/disableredirect—Disables the redirection configured with /redirect.
Bootcfg is simply an extra tool. You can still modify BOOT.INI directly with Notepad (after removing read-only, system, and hidden attributes—entering attrib c:\boot.ini -r -s -hat the command line). Or you can use the System Control Panel applet or Msconfig.
3.9 Under Windows XP in a workgroup, why don't I see the Security tab for a file/folder?
To view the Security tab for a file or folder in XP, hold down the Ctrl key while right-clicking the file or folder, and select Properties. If you are in a domain instead of a workgroup, this approach is unnecessary.