Password reset disk

In Microsoft Windows XP, you can create a special password reset disk:

HOW TO: Create and Use a Password Reset Disk for a Computer That Is Not a Domain Member in Windows XP

HOW TO: Create and Use a Password Reset Disk for a Computer in a Domain in Windows XP

If you forget your password, you can log on to the computer with a new password that you create by using the Password Reset Wizard and your password reset disk, as described above.

With PSPR, you can also recover the original password using that disk (the disk, actually, contains just the key used to encrypt the password, while the password itself is stored in the Windows Registry). Just select the Password reset disk path  (typically, A:\), file name (userkey.psw  by default), and password reset disk owner (from the list).