How to Repair Corrupted Password List Files (PWL Files) GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Software & Apps > File Types

How to Repair Damaged or Corrupted Password List Files

By Tim Fisher Tim Fisher Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability Emporia State University Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on June 29, 2022 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email File Types File Types Apps Windows MS Office Linux Google Drive Backup & Utilities Design Cryptocurrency

What to Know

Select Start > Search (or Find) > enter *.pwl in text box > select Find Now > right-click results and select Delete.Next: Close search window and restart computer. New password list files will be generated automatically. This article explains how to repair password list files, all of which end in the PWL file extension, that have been damaged or corrupted in Windows 95 and Windows 98.

How to Repair Corrupted Password List Files

Follow these easy steps to repair the password list files on your Windows PC. Click on Start and then Search (or Find, depending on your Windows operating system version). Enter *.pwl in the text box, and then select Find Now. In other versions of Windows, you may need to select All files and folders, enter the *pwl search criteria, and then choose Search. In the list of PWL files found during the search, right-click each one and choose Delete. Repeat this step to delete all of them that are found. Close the Find or Search window. Restart your computer. When you log back into Windows, the password list files will be generated automatically. In some early versions of Windows 95, the password list files aren't automatically created when you log on. In these cases, Microsoft has provided a tool to accomplish this. If the above steps don't work, and you suspect that you have an early version of Windows 95, download the mspwlupd.exe tool. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Fix Kernel32.dll Errors in Windows Scan and Fix Your Hard Drive: Windows System Files How to Repair Damaged or Corrupted Thumbs.db Files How to Control F on iPad How to Fix Kernel.dll Errors How to Fix Msvcp90.dll is Missing or Not Found Errors How to Repair or Replace Boot.ini in Windows XP [Easy] How to Fix Secur32.dll Not Found or Missing Errors How to Fix Dwmapi.dll Is Missing or Not Found Errors How to Fix Libmysql.dll Not Found or Missing Errors How to Fix It When Copy and Paste Isn't Working in Windows 10/11 How to Fix 'The File or Directory is Corrupted and Unreadable' Errors How to Fix Openal32.dll Is Missing or Not Found Errors How to Fix D3d11.dll Is Missing or Not Found Errors How to Fix Glut32.dll Not Found or Missing Errors How to Fix 'Engine.dll Not Found or Missing' Errors Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies