Windows XP Home Editions wont recognize my administrator password on startup

[dadofjared]

Help -
Windows XP Home Editions wont recognize my administrator password on startup. The Dell screen comes on, a box opens in the middle of it prompting us to enter a password, we enter our password, and nothing happens. I know the password is right. Once we enter the password the system tells us that it is incorrect and the same screen just hangs there. How do we fix this so we can get back into our computer? While we're at it, how do we keep from ever having to enter a password (we don't want one) to start it up again?

We have a Dell Dimension 5200
Pentium III 500Mhz
Windows XP Home
364 MB RAM

[ANZAC_ELITE]

I'll be brutally honest here, with the system specs you have posted I have to ask ........ when you say "screen just hangs" what time period are we talking? How long do you wait?

Alternative: Boot to safe mode and try logging on from there

Once you do get your pc to boot, go to control panel, User Accounts >Change the way users log on and off, deselect "Use Welcome Screen"