Hi, I turned on my dell laptop today, and tried to login to my normal
adminstrator account and then found it to be corrupted. I'm using a limited
profile right now and have no way of getting back in to the adminstrator
account. I only need my files from my documents and my music etc... and then
I can do a system restore as my dell laptop has a built in restore option
during boot up. Can anyone help me??

MikeW wrote:
> Hi, I turned on my dell laptop today, and tried to login to my normal
> adminstrator account and then found it to be corrupted. I'm using a limited
> profile right now and have no way of getting back in to the adminstrator
> account. I only need my files from my documents and my music etc... and then
> I can do a system restore as my dell laptop has a built in restore option
> during boot up. Can anyone help me??

Assuming that you don't have XP Pro and weren't using the built-in
Administrator account for your daily work (and this is one of the reason
why not to), you'll need to log into the built-in Administrator account.
In XP Home, boot the computer into Safe Mode. Do this by repeatedly
tapping the F8 key as the computer is starting up. This will get you to
the right menu. Navigate using your Up arrow key; the mouse will not
work here. Once in Safe Mode, you will see the normally hidden
Administrator account. The default password is a blank.

In XP Pro, you do not need to go into Safe Mode. At the Welcome Screen,
do Ctrl-Alt-Del twice to get the classic Windows logon box. Type in
"Administrator" and whatever password you assigned when you set up Windows.

If you reset the built-in Administrator account's password in Home or
have Pro and don't remember the password, use NTpasswd to change the
built-in Administrator account's password to a blank.

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Failing that - if you were using the built-in Administrator account and
this is the account that is corrupted and you don't have a secondary
fallback account with administrative privileges (and this is why you
should make one for next time) - your data can still be retrieved even
if you can't get into Windows. Use a rescue cd such as Knoppix or a
Bart's PE and copy your data onto an external drive or burn from the
rescue system to CD/DVD.

http://www.knoppix.net
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Hi, I believe it was the adminstrator profile that has become corrupted
unfortuantly. I had no idea this kind of problem could happen. Also when I
try to boot up in safe mode, the computer turns to a blue screen and says
there was a corruption and it cannont go any further. I'm going to try the
knoppix, I was just wondering when using knoppix, is it possible to back up
files on another part of the harddrive or can I burn the files I need too
onto a cdr because i don't have a external harddrive to connect too. I tried
to use the pebuilder first, but I have so much limited access on this profile
that I'm not allowed to install programs using the profile I have so this is
just a nightmare right now. Thanks alot for the quick response.

MikeW

MikeW wrote:
> Hi, I believe it was the adminstrator profile that has become corrupted
> unfortuantly. I had no idea this kind of problem could happen. Also when I
> try to boot up in safe mode, the computer turns to a blue screen and says
> there was a corruption and it cannont go any further. I'm going to try the
> knoppix, I was just wondering when using knoppix, is it possible to back up
> files on another part of the harddrive or can I burn the files I need too
> onto a cdr because i don't have a external harddrive to connect too. I tried
> to use the pebuilder first, but I have so much limited access on this profile
> that I'm not allowed to install programs using the profile I have so this is
> just a nightmare right now. Thanks alot for the quick response.
>
> MikeW

Create your rescue cd - whether Bart's or Knoppix - on a different
computer. Here is general information on using Knoppix:

You will need a computer with two cd drives, one of which is a cd/dvd-rw
OR a usb thumb drive with enough capacity to hold your data OR an
external usb/firewire hard drive formatted FAT32 (not NTFS). To get
Knoppix, you need a computer with a fast Internet connection and
third-party burning software. Download the Knoppix .iso and create your
bootable cd. Then boot with it and it will be able to see the Windows
files. If you are using the usb thumb drive or the external hard drive,
right-click on its icon (on the Desktop) to get its properties and
uncheck the box that says "Read Only". Then click on it to open it. Note
that the default mouse action in the window manager used by Knoppix
(KDE) is a single click to open instead of the traditional MS Windows'
double-click. Otherwise, use the K3b burning program to burn the files
to cd/dvd-r's.

Fixing computer problems often requires having access to additional
machines and/or equipment. If you don't have these resources and/or the
skill to use them, this is not something to be ashamed about. I don't
know anything about fixing cars and don't have car-fixing tools lying
around. In that case, consider taking the machine to a professional
computer repair shop (not your local version of BigStoreUSA). It should
not be particularly expensive, but of course this is your decision.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User