Locked Out of Windows XP

I recently shut down Windows XP on a VirtualBox VM, and when I turned it back on again, it displayed a window in the middle of the screen, titled Log On to Windows, with the teal Windows XP banner on the top half and a username and password input on the lower half.
There's a little Option button which, when clicked, shows a Shut Down button which displays the "Shut Down Windows" dialogue when pressed.

Sorry for the long description, I don't know how to add images to my post.

How can I make my way back into the system to change my password, and what can I do to prevent this from occurring again in future?

And also, how do I add images to my post?

 

Hi Dragonick, are you able to boot into Safe Mode using F8? Also, if you have never set up a password before just hit enter. Are you able to log on as Guest ?

If all else fail, just re-install XP and start over.

 

any image should be a .jpg and you can add it as a thumbnail or as an image in the reply, use the upload a file button to the right of the post reply button.

 

You don't need a password. just press enter or cancel