The minute you turn on password protection for an account, you should create a password reset disk for that account. Why? Because any administrator who can get on your PC can switch your password!

Unless you're using a Big Corporate Network, a password reset disk is a defensive maneuver. It guards you against the slings and arrows of others who use your PC.

Follow these steps to make a password reset disk:

1. Choose Start, Control Panel, User Accounts.

2. Click your account. The User Accounts applet asks what you want to change.

3. In the Related Tasks section, double-click Prevent a Forgotten Password. The Forgotten Password Wizard starts.

4. Click Next. The wizard asks for a drive. You can create a password reset disk on various kinds of removable drives, including flash drives or Flash Memory cards, but the most common is a simple floppy.

5. Choose the drive you want to use for the password reset disk, and then click Next. The wizard asks for the current password.

6. Type the password for the account, and then click Next. The wizard puts a small file called userkey.psw on the disk, and then displays the final screen.

7. Click the Finish button.

No matter how many times you change your password, the last password reset disk created for that account still works. There's no reason to update the disk when you change your password.

Store the disk in a safe place. Anyone who gets the file can log on to your PC without knowing your password.