Win XP question

Timmy_d

Brother in law has forgotten his password for win xp account on laptop,is there a way to by pass this which will allow me in and setup new account...

Nemothefish

Login as Administrator...

Timmy_d

Nemothefish wrote: »

Login as Administrator...

He is set up as administrator as far as i know...does this make a difference

Thomas_S_Hunterson

There should be an account called "Administrator" which is set up while you are installing XP. This is the master account as such.

AFAIK if you press Ctrl-Alt-Del at the login screen, you get the NT style login which allows you to type an account name and you can log in as administrator.

Timmy_d

Sean_K wrote: »

There should be an account called "Administrator" which is set up while you are installing XP. This is the master account as such.

AFAIK if you press Ctrl-Alt-Del at the login screen, you get the NT style login which allows you to type an account name and you can log in as administrator.

No account called admin,just his own username...Ctrl+alt+del does the same thing,still need password...

Thomas_S_Hunterson

It doesn't show up on the standard XP login screen. You have to hit Ctrl-Alt-Del and type the username "Administrator" and whatever password he set while installing windows, if memory serves me correctly.

allybhoy

Beside his login name you should be able to see a password reminder button, if he set this up it might jog his memory. Failing that unless you want to reinstall your OS, you will have to use 3rd party software like Winternals ERD or HIRENS boot disk. ERD is probably the most user friendly, when it loads up it looks like XP and there is a password reset tool you can use to reset the password quickly and easily. There is also a new version that works for Vista and server2008

Alun

Sean_K wrote: »

It doesn't show up on the standard XP login screen. You have to hit Ctrl-Alt-Del and type the username "Administrator" and whatever password he set while installing windows, if memory serves me correctly.

If you're using the usual "Welcome Screen" you have to hit Ctrl-Alt-Del TWICE to get the standard login screen where you can actually enter a user name rather than selecting an icon.

Timmy_d

Sean_K wrote: »

It doesn't show up on the standard XP login screen. You have to hit Ctrl-Alt-Del and type the username "Administrator" and whatever password he set while installing windows, if memory serves me correctly.

He doesnt know what password he set while installing windows Either way it still asks for a password,looks like its ERD so will check it out...thanks

Nemothefish

Maybe he Didn't set up a password on it?

leave it blank and see what happens...

Timmy_d

Nemothefish wrote: »

Maybe he Didn't set up a password on it?

leave it blank and see what happens...

ya he set one up allright...

Jonathan

There is a open source application on sourceforge that could solve this but im not allowed name it or mention it :rolleyes:

Timmy_d

jmccrohan wrote: »

There is a open source application on sourceforge that could solve this but im not allowed name it or mention it :rolleyes:

Hint?

Jonathan

Timmy_d wrote: »

Hint?

Nope.

Big_Mac

Take out the Cmos battery out of the machine and boot it up. all saved passwords for all these kind of things will be lost, if memory serves me correctly.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Big_Mac wrote: »

Take out the Cmos battery out of the machine and boot it up. all saved passwords for all these kind of things will be lost, if memory serves me correctly.

That'd only remove BIOS passwords

Capt'n Midnight

jmccrohan wrote: »

There is a open source application on sourceforge that could solve this but im not allowed name it or mention it :rolleyes:

crackz are a big no no !!

you can use a reset disk to remove the password without knowing what it was
you then loose any encrypted ntfs files
http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/ - open source too

you need physical access to use the reset disk but if you had physical access you could always bypass unencrypted ntfs security on files and folders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFSDOS

Capt'n Midnight

Sean_K wrote: »

That'd only remove BIOS passwords

and wouldn't work on many corporate laptops

Timmy_d

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

crackz are a big no no !!

you can use a reset disk to remove the password without knowing what it was
you then loose any encrypted ntfs files
http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/ - open source too

you need physical access to use the reset disk but if you had physical access you could always bypass unencrypted ntfs security on files and folders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFSDOS

why are crackz a big no no ?

Soundman

Because they are illegal. :rolleyes:

Jonathan

Soundman wrote: »

Because they are illegal. :rolleyes:

Would sourceforge host crackz? :rolleyes:

Soundman

What the hell is sourceforge anyway?

MunsterCycling

A software depository where most open source projects maintain a presence so that you can get the most up to date info / files


MC

sedohre

Is there not a way, during start-up, to go to the BIOS screens, and turn off the password request? I'm sure there is

Jonathan

sedohre wrote: »

Is there not a way, during start-up, to go to the BIOS screens, and turn off the password request? I'm sure there is

BIOS password != Windows Password

Timmy_d

Anyone try this method before,just came across it may be worth a shot...

1. Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it’s assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be - and that you have your bios set to boot from CD)

2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd Typically, it will be “Press any key to boot from cd”

3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files.

4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows now

5. The Licensing Agreement comes next - Press F8 to accept it.

6. The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair.

It should read something like “If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it”

Use the up and down arrow keys to select your XP installation (if you only have one, it should already be selected) and press R to begin the Repair process.

7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start copying files which can take several minutes.

8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot. (this will happen automatically – you will see a progress bar stating “Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds”

9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of “pressing any key” to boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard billboard screens and you will notice Installing Windows is highlighted.

10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10. This is the security hole! A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide access to your system.

11. At the prompt, type NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter. Voila! You have just gained graphical access to your User Accounts in the Control Panel.

12. Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your new password, you can type control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to log on without being asked for password. After you’ve made your changes close the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair (have your Product key handy).

13. Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings should remain intact.

Timmy_d

The NT password worked a treat thanks...

Capt'n Midnight

Timmy_d wrote: »

why are crackz a big no no ?

because people may use the same passwords for other stuff
and besides you never need to know a password when you can reset it

Jonathan

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

because people may use the same passwords for other stuff
and besides you never need to know a password when you can reset it

It's for his brother in law. Not some random laptop that he found on the street that he is trying to hack into :rolleyes:

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

because people may use the same passwords for other stuff
and besides you never need to know a password when you can reset it

What if the data is encrypted?

Timmy_d

Hi,the nt password programme worked a treat for the resetting of passwords but now i cannot install/uninstall any software...says i need administrative rights,there were 2 accounts and i cleared both...any ideas

Capt'n Midnight

Sean_K wrote: »

What if the data is encrypted?

if you reset the password then you loose access to encrypted ntfs folders

Jonathan

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

if you reset the password then you loose access to encrypted ntfs folders

So would this not be a legitimate reason for using password cracking software to crack your own password?

Timmy_d

Hi,the nt password programme worked a treat for the resetting of passwords but now i cannot install/uninstall any software...says i need administrative rights,there were 2 accounts and i cleared both...any ideas

layke

Did you try logging in as the administrator? By default resetting the password should't remove the rights of the core account.

Timmy_d

layke wrote: »

Did you try logging in as the administrator? By default resetting the password should't remove the rights of the core account.

There were two accounts on it and i reset both of them,cannot install/uninstall under either,which one would be considered the admin account?Neither of the two accounts mention administrator they are just two usernames...

Capt'n Midnight

That sounds strange , but you can rename Administrator to anything you want but it's still the admin account and you can do all the admin stuff with it

If it's XP home then you should be able to logon as administrator in safe mode by doing something like shift-ctrl-alt-del