Many XP users have not realised this until they really need to enter the Recovery 
Console to correct a problem.  Please check your Registry BEFORE you need to start 
the Recovery Console.  The Recovery Console startup will not accept any password, 
not even a blank if no password has ever been set.

"On many XP installations you can't start the Recovery Console because it won't recognize 
your password. This registry edit causes the Recovery Console not to ask for a password. 
This works for both XP Home and XP Professional.

Start | Run | Regedit
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Setup\RecoveryConsole
Set the DWORD SecurityLevel value to 1
Exit Registry and Reboot"

Tip: Run a free scan for common Windows errors ad

re: PLEASE Check this out... Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 3:02 am Posted by MartinM (3453 messages posted) That's useful to know although, sadly, most people come here after they have a problem :-( Wise users will not make registry changes: 1. Without knowing the provenance 2. Without making a registry backup first It would have been courteous to acknowledge the source, which would have fixed point 1 :-) [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 5:18 am Posted by Dan Sarandrea, MCSE (6749 messages posted) The problem is a glitch in the Recovery Console. If the lock on your door broke, by your logic you'd remove the lock rather than fix it. Here's the work-around: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308402/en-us Fixed in every Service Pack. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 12:09 pm Posted by geek9pm (903 messages posted) Thanks, Dan. Good post! Geek9pm [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 5:37 pm Posted by Rich Kurtz (11778 messages posted) Dan, that's an old fix for an old problem and doesn't apply to SP1 and later systems, whereas the registry edit Valerie described should work in all cases, right? From the link you posted: The problem that the "Symptoms of the problem" section describes was corrected in Windows XP Service Pack 1 and later versions of Windows XP. If you are still experiencing a problem that resembles the one that this article describes, it may be a different problem. To troubleshoot similar problems, please see the "Similar problems" section later in this article. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 6:07 pm Posted by Valerie (106 messages posted) I am suitably chastened but point out that if there isn't a lock on the door (no password is set) what should one do if the door is locked? I would almost guarantee that the vast majority of pc's running XP are not password protected. This Registry Edit seems to be a simple pre-emptive strike against a minor problem which could snowball at a time when the user encounters what, to them, might be a major problem. My post was prompted by this one from Kady on 13th http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/1221321540 Anyone care to hazard a guess that Kady's system does not have any Service Pack installed and would such SP installation have cured the problem? I had SP.2 installed and still could NOT enter the Recovery Console. I chose to edit the registry rather than go thru' the somewhat baffling workarounds. For the purists, I regret not having quoted the source which I did in my reply to Kady on the 14th and agree that a Registry Backup is necessary before any Registry work, even just simply searching. There's many a slip of an unguarded finger. I recommend Erunt.. Having let off a bit of steam I can now return to my own little bit of obscurity. Thank you for your interest and guidance. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 7:06 pm Posted by Phil (829 messages posted) Howdy, I have been following this thread with great interest. I am running WinXP Home SP#3 with IE7 and both are fully updated. My question is simply -- do I or don't I make the registry change Valerie recommends? Thanks and regards, Phil " ....Nuff Said! Keep Smiling Because I'm Smiling Too..." On Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 5:18 am, Dan Sarandrea, MCSE wrote: >The problem is a glitch in the Recovery Console. > >If the lock on your door broke, by your logic you'd remove the lock rather than fix >it. > >Here's the work-around: >http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308402/en-us > >Fixed in every Service Pack. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 11:58 pm Posted by Valerie (106 messages posted) Hey Phil, thanks for dropping by. We can't make up your mind for you. I applied the Registry Edit because I didn't want to get into the position of trying to follow MS KB308402 linked by Dan Sarandrea, MCSE when trying to deal with a sick system. To help you make up your mind you could try starting the Recovery Console, if it starts without problems using either your Admin password or just hitting Enter then you do not need to apply the edit, if it bombs at the request for a password then you have to decide which way to go. Good luck V.. On Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 7:06 pm, Phil wrote: >Howdy, > >I have been following this thread with great interest. > >I am running WinXP Home SP#3 with IE7 and both are fully updated. > >My question is simply -- do I or don't I make the registry change Valerie recommends? > >Thanks and regards, > >Phil > > > > " ....Nuff Said! Keep Smiling Because I'm Smiling Too..." [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 2:30 am Posted by MartinM (3453 messages posted) Don't back away ! We're all learning, all the time, and healthy constructive debate of ideas is part of learning. PS I see you have now made your second post - so I hope that means you're staying around :-) [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 9:17 pm Posted by Valerie (106 messages posted) Thanks, I'll be dropping in occasionally to find out if Phil has acted on my suggestion (see below). I hope he comes back with his result. V.. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 9:28 pm Posted by Ms. Eagle (32675 messages posted) This isn't exactly a new found secret, as I applied this tweak when I first got my XP system. You might have at least used a relevant subject line. I followed these instructions for disabling the password, but any XP tips and tweaks site may have them. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who needs/wants to prevent other users from messing with their system.. TheElderGeek - Recovery Console Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Recovery Console password removal Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 9:37 pm Posted by Ms. Eagle (32675 messages posted) Phil, this tweak is just an option that makes it easier to get to Recovery Console, when you need to. Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 1:35 am Posted by Valerie (106 messages posted) Thanks for your contri Ms. No-one ever suggested that this was a new tweak & glad you knew about it when you got your XP system, there appear to be other users who don't. As for the subject line - well, it got your attention and that was the intention, to get the message out there before access to the Recovery Console is needed but denied by the bug. Now I'm trying to think of a subject line for getting the attention of those who've never heard of unchecking the Auto Restart on System Failure box so that bsod details can be read, then after that..... perhaps a simple method of booting when Ntldr goes walkabout and has taken the OS cd with it..... It's all about being prepared..... V.. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 2:16 am Posted by Ms. Eagle (32675 messages posted) It's totally unnecessary to draw everyone's attn. to your newly discovered tweak and waste of time for those who aren't interested. If you'd use a relevant subject line, those interested would check it out. As for the Auto Restart on system failure, it's mentioned a lot on this forum "in response to" a post, when the need arises. Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 3:03 am Posted by Valerie (106 messages posted) Okay, you win, I'll cut & run. You seem to believe in advising users what to do when they've backed themselves into a corner whereas I believe in advising users how to stay out of the corner. Good luck V.. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 4:03 am Posted by MartinM (3453 messages posted) I feel the same about advising before disaster strikes but sadly virtually the only people who come here are those who have already had their disaster :-) Don't be disheartened, just pragmatic :-) [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 5:28 am Posted by Phil (829 messages posted) Hi Valerie, Just a quick note to let you know what I ended up doing in regards to your post. I didn't try your Recovery Console tip you suggested to see if I needed the registry edit. However, after reading up on the subject a little more, I did make the registry edit you mentioned. I agree -- 'preventing' a problem is much better than 'reacting' to one. But I do think Ms Eagle had a valid point when she suggested that perhaps a better 'subject' line for your thread would have been more appropriate than the one you used. Normally I wouldn't click on a subject line like the one you used for this post either. I just happened to be bored out of my skull when I clicked on it yesterday. But if it said something on the line of 'Possible Recovery Console woes' I would have clicked on it in a heartbeat. Please accept this as just a suggestion for the need of better 'subject' lines not a 'pick on Valerie' rant. I do honestly thank you for your post because I knew nothing about it and I have been pounding these computer keys for about 4-years now. Have a great day and thanks again! Regards, Phil " ....Nuff Said! Keep Smiling Because I'm Smiling Too..." On Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 9:17 pm, Valerie wrote: >Thanks, I'll be dropping in occasionally to find out if Phil has acted on my suggestion >(see below). I hope he comes back with his result. > >V.. > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Recovery Console password removal Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 5:45 am Posted by Phil (829 messages posted) Morning Ms Eagle, Hi Carol ... good to hear from you again. After seeing your responses and reading up a little more on the subject I took the plunge and made the edit. I am like Valerie I would rather 'prevent' than 'react'. If memory serves me correctly -- so are you! That is where I picked up that trait ...lol Take care and thanks for all your help and input in the past and hopefully in the future too. Thanks and Regards, Phil " ....Nuff Said! Keep Smiling Because I'm Smiling Too..." On Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 9:37 pm, Ms. Eagle wrote: > >Phil, this tweak is just an option that makes it easier to get to Recovery Console, >when you need to. > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 1:15 pm Posted by Gold (49 messages posted) Val, thankyou for the information on the recovery console. I have wondering what to do, and thought I'd have to reinstall the OS on my system. Please by all means post the repairs and links freely here as I will sing your praises for a long time. g... On Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 3:03 am, Valerie wrote: >Okay, you win, I'll cut & run. You seem to believe in advising users what to do >when they've backed themselves into a corner whereas I believe in advising users >how to stay out of the corner. > >Good luck > >V.. > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 6:50 pm Posted by Valerie (106 messages posted) Gold - how kind you are, thank you for your comments. I sure will consider coming back with a few more tips on what should/could be done in XP before a small disaster strikes. First I will have to think up a suitable subject line to meet expectations!! Thanks again V.. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 6:58 pm Posted by Valerie (106 messages posted) Thanks MartinM, now there's a good subject line "Before disaster strikes", I'll have to consider it. V.. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Recovery Console password removal Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 9:03 pm Posted by Ms. Eagle (32675 messages posted) Hello, Phil... it's good to see you, too. Yeah, it's nice to know some of these things, before we need to know them. I'm all for preventing problems, like you said. ha ha... Thing is (as you know), most users don't come to the forum to find ways to prevent problems. They come, after the fact. We share all sorts of tips, tricks and tweaks on these forums, but they're normally posted in ongoing discussions. That's, unless it's something extraordinary or new. Take care :) Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 9:08 pm Posted by Ms. Eagle (32675 messages posted) Valerie... as Martin is more or less saying, the reality is it's not likely suggestions like these (posted as new messages) will get the attn. of those who may need it in the future. There threads get buried quickly. Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 11:51 pm Posted by Dan Sarandrea, MCSE (6749 messages posted) Unchecking auto restart is a nice tip (I do it all the time) but SP2 adds a choice that prevents auto restart on the Safe Boot Options (F8) menu. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Friday, September 19, 2008 at 12:01 am Posted by Dan Sarandrea, MCSE (6749 messages posted) Rich, the registry edit posted by Valerie simply allows an automatic logon to the RC by an administrator account. It's the same "tip" shown in this MS KB: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/312149/ To me, it's an unnecessary opening of a security hole. Theoretically, the only ones who should be experiencing the RC password problem are people who have not applied any SPs to their XP installation (presumably they are still waiting for the Blaster reboot loop to stop) and who are trying to access the RC on an installation that was syspreped. I have to believe that's a pretty small population. If Valerie wanted to provide a spiffy RC tip, she should have posted this one: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310497/en-us When you use the Windows Recovery Console, you can use only the following items: • The root folder • The %SystemRoot% folder and the subfolders of the Windows installation that you are currently logged on to • The Cmdcons folder • The removable media drives such as the CD-ROM drive or the DVD-ROM drive Note If you try to obtain access to other folders, you may receive an "Access Denied" error message. Also, when you are using the Windows Recovery Console, you cannot copy a file from the local hard disk to a floppy disk. However, you can copy a file from a floppy disk or from a CD-ROM to a hard disk, and you can copy a file from one hard disk to another hard disk. Making the change allows you to use the set command to bypass the normal restrictions, handy for recovering data from the My Docs folders. But the RC is a clunky contraption that you don't have to put up with if you have a BartPE disc! [Reply or follow-up to this message] Helpful subject lines for posts Friday, September 19, 2008 at 1:52 am Posted by MartinM (3453 messages posted) Without wishing to prolong this discussion, I think subject lines should give a concise clue as to what's in the post - its hard enough navigating this forum :-) [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Friday, September 19, 2008 at 2:25 pm Posted by Rich Kurtz (11778 messages posted) Quote: Theoretically, the only ones who should be experiencing the RC password problem are people who have not applied any SPs to their XP installation Theoretically perhaps but in reality this is not the case. I've had several computers at SP2 + all updates that could not login to the Administrator and got the invalid password error. I had to use a bootable CD to remove the password, even though the person who brought the system in said repeatedly they had never set an Administrator password. I would bet the vast majority of XP Home users have not set a password for the Administrator account, most probably don't even know it exists, so I don't see this as a big security risk. I think it can benefit the folks who need this kind of help the most. I don't use it myself because I don't need to. I have other methods of recovering from this problem should it arise. I have applied the registry zap that allows me full access to the boot drive thou, KB31049, that you mentioned. I do wish you would drop by here more often though. I find your posts very informative and well written. I reserve the right to disagree though :-) [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 6:43 am Posted by Dan Sarandrea, MCSE (6749 messages posted) Thanks for the nice words! :-) Thinking about the situation you described, an updated SP2/3 system coming to you with issues, and either you or the computer owner attempting to log onto the computer using the RC unsuccessfully. You are relating your experience where a password blanking CD like pnordahl's nt passord reset CD would be successful in blanking the password and letting you in. As I recall, my first run-in with that specific RC problem came on a system that I had sysprepped myself. There was a crash of some type and I needed to access it thru the RC (this was before I knew about BartPE), and no amount of trying with that exact pw reset utility would work. In the process of trying to find the soltuion I found the cited KB article and used its solution of the six boot diskettes. Based on that, I would submit to you for your consideration the idea that if the nt reset CD can blank the password and allow the non-fixed RC to logon, then the problem is more likely to be that of a forgotten password than the RC/sysprep/password issue that was fixed in SP2 and on those floppy boot CDs. Can't recall for sure, but I might have also tried using a Windows 2000 boot CD which if you recall would boot an XP installation and could start and run its RC, which bypassed the password on the XP installation to be accessed. Hey, that could be a good experiment, next time one of these shows up, try a W2K boot CD and its RC to access the XP installation on the HDD. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: PLEASE Check this out... Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 11:15 am Posted by Rich Kurtz (11778 messages posted) If I remember (very big if!) I will give the W2K CD a try, just to see what happened. 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