I am now desperate and having to resort to pleading. :confused: PLEASE HELP! I've been working on this for over a week and getting nowhere.

I can't seem to clear out my old password from this forum's login auto-complete.

Upon each login, I must delete the auto-complete password that is ALWAYS there, and manually type in the new correct password.

Only on this forum, IE7 does not ask me if I want it to remember my new password.

Can someone please tell me how to clear the auto-complete memory for the old password on this forum, and have it remember my new password?

I am using XP Home, SP3, IE7. (works fine on Firefox, but my wife wants IE7). Also, it is doing the same thing on 2 different PC's and 2 different profiles, so I am assuming there is a special way to clear this info for this site..?

I have tried all the conventional stuff in deleting browsing history, plus a bunch of other crazy things I read online.

THANK YOU !

Are you OK with deleting ALL the saved passwords in IE7?
If yes then:
1) Open Internet Explorer 7 in classic view
2) From the Tools menu, select Internet Options.
3) Click the General tab
4) From Browser History section click Delete.
5) From the ensuing new window in the Passwords section select Delete passwords.
6) Click OK..

NK,

Thank you so much for responding. I've had almost no feedback on this problem.

I followed your instructions but I am not sure what the "Classic View" of IE7 is. I use Google as my home page, and I don't see anything there that says Classic View.

As is, it didn't delete the AskMeHelpDesk auto-complete password. For what it's worth, when I try to use the password that it has in the field, I always get this message:

"You have entered an invalid username or password. Please press the back button, enter the correct details and try again. Don't forget that the password is case sensitive. Forgotten your password? Click here!

You have used 1 out of 5 login attempts. After all 5 have been used, you will be unable to login for 15 minutes."

I have even tried changing the password in the profile, and I still have this same issue.

Does my problem in using your procedure have something to do with this "Classic View"?

Would trying this in Safe Mode make any difference?

Thanks again for your help...

I don't have IE7, but I do know using Google as your home page has nothing to do with the view. Try looking under View in the menu, or under Tools, Options -- and see what there is there.

I have to wonder about this site sometimes. I use Firefox and I have an issue with entering my password. It works, but it stops and gives me error messages along the way. So I just told the site I wanted to stay logged in, which is something I usually don't do.

You tried clearing your cookies? This site has the option to keep your login, so perhaps it is the site keeping it and not in IE?

Morgain,

I have no problems with Firefox. It remembers my password just fine. I believe that Firefox stores the login info in a folder, whereas IE7 stores it in the registry. That is why this is so hard to find and delete.

Since I am having the same problem with 2 different PC's I am thinking there is a problem with the site, but don't understand what it could be.

I don't have any idea what the "classic view" would do, but NK has always been right on in his suggestions, so I tried to find it.

Googled it and it is a setting that should be found by right clicking the IE7 toolbar, but of course I don't have the Classic View Option on mine. Have no idea why.

I even tried to delete the cookies and passwords in Safe Mode as administrator, but no luck.

As far as deleting cookies, I read on this forum's Help section, that the login info is stored in a cookie in the registry. I have gone into internet options and Browsing History and deleted EVERYTHING, over and over at different peoples suggestions, and that obvious step will not clear out this cookie.

If I could just get IE7 to ask me if I want it to remember my password, I think that would do it. But it won't ask. Even if I change the password, it still won't ask. But only on this site.

This is SO frustrating.

I wish it were a program I could just uninstall and reinstall.

Worst of all, I have no idea what the saved password is. The site was acting funky a few weeks ago and wouldn't let me log in without changing my password. That is when all this started. It assigned some weird password, and I was able to log in and then changed it to a new "normal" password, which it will not remember in IE7.

My opinion is this old password is "stuck" in the registry and it is not responding to any of the conventional delete commands.

Thanks...

NeedKarma, do you have any other ideas here?

I have no problems with Firefox. It remembers my password just fine. I believe that Firefox stores the login info in a folder, whereas IE7 stores it in the registry. That is why this is so hard to find and delete.

Since I am having the same problem with 2 different PC's I am thinking there is a problem with the site, but don't understand what it could be.

Yes, that's exactly what I was saying. I don't have browsers remember my passwords, so that isn't the Firefox issue. I'm talking about it giving me error messages as I type the password in myself. So I had THIS SITE (not Firefox) remember me. So there's definitely something going on with the password on this site.


oogled it and it is a setting that should be found by right clicking the IE7 toolbar, but of course I don't have the Classic View Option on mine. Have no idea why.

Yeah, I'm at work now where they have IE7 and I couldn't find any such thing either. All I can find is the place to delete the browsing history, which you've already done.


As far as deleting cookies, I read on this forum's Help section, that the login info is stored in a cookie in the registry. I have gone into internet options and Browsing History and deleted EVERYTHING, over and over at different peoples suggestions, and that obvious step will not clear out this cookie.

You might have to go directly to the registry. I can't do it at work but I may check that out when I get home.

Morgain,

Thank you. That would be fantastic. I know very little about the registry, other than the warning it always gives you about doing irreparable damage. So I am always hesitant to mess with it.

2 days ago, someone posted these 2 links:
The AutoComplete feature does not work in Windows Internet Explorer 7 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942090) (registry key not in my registry)
AutoComplete Does Not Save Username and Password (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306895)

The first one seemed promising because it was for XP, but when I went into the registry, some of the folders were not included in my system, so I never got to try it.

Is there one specific registry key that would store the password only for this site?

BTW, I wrote to the webmaster for this forum a few days ago, but no response.

Thanks again. Let me know what you come up with. I am determined to fix this!!

Notice that there are two login methods on the homepage for this site. One in the upper right and one about mid-page?

The one about mid-page has "Remember me".

Login using those boxes and it might work.

If, not try unchecking the box, login, logout, login with the box checked.

Oh, don't count on me for registry stuff. :p I know where some stuff is in the registry and thought I'd take a quick peak for the heck of it, and also thought I could look it up... but you already did that. (I didn't mean for you to take me that seriously... so sorry. I was at work and my mind was probably half somewhere else.)

And you're right -- playing with the registry is dangerous. If you ever do it, back it up first. And I would only do it if you feel like the person telling you knows what they're talking about, or you read it on MS's site. (I guess I trust them. :D) If you go under File, there's an "export." You can save a copy of the current registry with that. Granted, there's some stuff in there that are kind of stupid and don't hurt to change (you can call your Recycle Bin by another name for instance), but other stuff could screw up specific software or cause a major disaster.

I checked those links. I didn't find the one thing in the registry either. I assume you tried the other stuff.

Since it appears that everything else is working OK, I'm not convinced it's a problem with the settings in IE. If you type in something different than what it remembers, it should be asking if you want to remember the new password.

Have you tried changing a password on another site to see if IE will remember the new one? That is, do you know that it's an "all-around" problem, or only a problem with this site? I would try what kiss suggested.

Upgrade to IE8 and see if that fixes the problem.

Thank you all for the suggestions. Really appreciate it...

KISS: Tried your suggestion a long time ago. No change.

Morgaine: I haven't CHANGED a password on another IE7 site, but when I deleted the browsing history (cookies and passwords, etc) it deleted all the passwords on all other sites (except this one). When I went back to the other sites for the 1st time, IE7 asked me if I wanted to save the password, which it did. (Note: for some reason, on some sites IE7 doesn't ask). So I "assume" that IE7 password memory is working okay.

NK: I like your idea a lot. Haven't tried it. Will I be able to uninstall IE8 and go back to IE7 without reconfiguring IE7? Will my bookmarks carry over? If IE8 remembers the passwords normally (especially on this forum), will it carry over back to IE7 when I switch back? Any downside to switching to IE8 and then back to IE7? (I tried IE8 when it was 1st released and didn't like it).

Thank you...

OK, here it is.

As NK suggested, I upgraded to IE8. Absolutely no difference. It asks me if I want to save the password on other sites, but not this forum.

I switched back to IE7... faster.

I went back over all the emails from this forum and tried every password I ever used, including the automatically generated passwords they send you when you forget your own.

None of them work with the auto-complete password.

Based on the fact that the same thing is happening on both of my PCs at the same time, and the fact that no previous password will work with the auto-complete, I now believe the following:

The 8 dots that auto-populate the password field do not represent an actual password at all. I now believe there is no password in that field until I type it in.

So I think the problem is not that I can't clear the password out of the registry, but simply that the site will not "allow" or "trigger" IE7 or 8 to ask the question: "Do you want IE to remember your password".

I think something has changed with this site/forum.

I know that certain high security sites like banks, do not ask you if you want to save your password, so I think perhaps the same thing has changed on this forum.

It would be great to have this confirmed, either by the webmaster, or any other users that are still getting this question asked, or not asked, in Internet Explorer when they change their password.

Would appreciate any thoughts on this. It's the only thing that makes sense to me at this point.

QUESTION: does anyone know if there is a way to "force" IE7 to remember a password?

Thanks again everyone...

Just found this great article on topic. Didn't solve the problem on this forum, but may be of use to others who have inadvertently answered no to IE when asked if they wish to save password. It worked perfectly for me on other sites.

Can't Delete Old Password Auto-Complete from This Forum - Page 2 (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/internet-web/cant-delete-old-password-auto-complete-forum-399135-new.html)

The 8 dots that auto-populate the password field do not represent an actual password at all. I now believe there is no password in that field until I type it in.

I can confirm that this is correct. I have checked the "remember me" box for this site. (I don't use the password managers with either IE or Firefox.) Occasionally at work I get on this site -- they don't have the password managers on either. But when I get on at work and have to actually log in, those 8 dots are there, yes. (And my password isn't 8 digits anyway.)


I think something has changed with this site/forum.

They've been messing with a lot recently and I've found the site completely down several times recently. I could very well believe something just got screwed up. Or changed intentionally.

I looked up that registry key you spoke of. Er, I mean it googled it. (I have IE6 so it's different.) I don't use the password managers because they give me the shivers and I think are a security risk. While I was trying to read up on that registry key, I found something interesting:
Password Management Concerns with IE and Firefox, part one (http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1882)

(I actually came over here to point you to that other thread, thinking it might be useful, and then realized it was the same person. LOL.)

Have you ever tried checking the remember me box? I don't think you ever answered that. If you have and you're still having to type in your new password, then IE is overriding that.

Was it you that said you'd read that the password for this site was saved in the registry (not in the cookies)? I just realized that doesn't seem right. So I did some experimenting. Which was not logging out, like usual, and then deleting the cookie, then coming back into the site -- and it's not remembering me. So it's in that cookie. I also tend to wipe my hard drive a couple of times a year, meaning the registry goes... but I back up cookies I want. And I never have to log in... if it was in the registry, I'd be having to log back in every time I do that.

Hey Morgaine,

Thanks for all the feedback. At least now I know I'm not crazy. All this time I thought the 8 password dots represented an actual password that was "stuck" in my system. Talk about going down the garden path.

To answer your questions, Yes I have always checked the "remember me" box on this site. It DOES remember my username, just not the password.

As far as saving in registry vs cookies, I didn't exactly say that. In the Help section on this site, they say the password IS saved in a cookie IN THE REGISTRY. What I said is that IE saves cookies in the registry and Firefox saves them in a folder (I think I also read this in the Help section on this site).

I have confirmed this by finding the folder that Firefox saves it's auto-complete info. It's called SQLite. And IE7 & 8 save their auto-complete info in the Registry in a subkey called Storage2 (in IE7 & 8).

I use Firefox mostly, and when this password thing happened, I had to delete it from SQLite to get the site to ask me if I want Firefox to remember it. At least that worked.

I found a neat little utility that looks at storage2 and lists all your passwords and usernames. But since I don't have storage2, I get a blank window in the utility. (have since added that subkey)

It's called IE Passview. Here is the link: IE PassView - Password Manager Program for Internet Explorer (http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/internet_explorer_password.html)

If you look under the section Password Storage Location, it has some interesting information, including where IE6 stores it's passwords.

As far as this site, I can't seem to get the Quote User button working now. Maybe it's Firefox. Can you tell me briefly how it works?

Thanks for the link above. I shall study it.

Cheers...

Thanks for all the feedback. At least now I know I'm not crazy. All this time I thought the 8 password dots represented an actual password that was "stuck" in my system. Talk about going down the garden path.

Oh my. :eek: I probably thought that at one time too, but my interpretation was different since I don't save passwords with my browser.


To answer your questions, Yes I have always checked the "remember me" box on this site. It DOES remember my username, just not the password.

Hmm... something is screwy about that. It doesn't so much "remember the password" as it does keep me logged in. I go straight to the home page and bypass the login screen altogether. Now, I have a very, very vague memory that when I first joined this place there was a problem some people were having with that, possibly including me. So this may be some long-standing problem.


I use Firefox mostly, and when this password thing happened, I had to delete it from SQLite to get the site to ask me if I want Firefox to remember it. At least that worked.

Good reason to use Firefox. :p


If you look under the section Password Storage Location, it has some interesting information, including where IE6 stores it's passwords.

SPW - yeah, I already knew that. Mine's just turned off.


As far as this site, I can't seem to get the Quote User button working now. Maybe it's Firefox. Can you tell me briefly how it works?

I'm using Firefox and have never had a problem with the quote button. (Apparently.) But I do have problems with other stuff. Like when you edit your own posts, there's supposed to be a delete, so you can change your mind and just delete your whole post. That used to show up for me, but does not now. Just weird stuff.

Anyway, if you do the quote, the entire thread will show up with {QUOTE}{/QUOTE}*** around it. Actually that first one has the ID name in it too, but that's not needed. If I want to quote sections like this, I delete that. And then you can highlight the part you want and hit the quote thing up on the icons. (Looks kind of like a mini piece of paper.) You might see if that button works if the Quote User on their post doesn't. (You'd have to do a copy of their thread and paste it in first though.) If that doesn't work, you can always manually put the {QUOTE}{/QUOTE}*** around stuff.

***NOTE these are supposed to be [] kind of brackets and not {}. But if I do it properly with the [] it thinks I'm trying to give it a command and won't print it right, so I had to cheat.

Morgaine,

Thanks again for all your help.

I think the easiest way for me to quote, now that I know how it works, is to use the Quote User button, transfer the entire text, then delete what I don't want to quote. If I were designing this thing, I would highlight what I wanted to quote, then hit a quote button. But that's just me.

I would love it if I could stay logged in. Tell me how to do that, and I'll nominate you for the AMHD Ultra Member of the year!

MSC