Admin Password

[Guest]

I am trying to recover lost files using the recovery console for XP home
edition. For awhile I was able to get to the admin account through safe
mode. It did not require a password when I was doing this. In trying to solve
my problem, I lost the ability to go to safe mode. Now that I am using the
recovery console, it is asking me for a password that i do not know. It is a
Dell Dimension 8200 computer. I contacted Dell and they say they do not set a
password in thier initial setups. Help!!! Thanks in advance.

 

[Gordon]

I am trying to recover lost files using the recovery console for XP
home edition. For awhile I was able to get to the admin account
through safe mode. It did not require a password when I was doing
this. In trying to solve my problem, I lost the ability to go to safe
mode. Now that I am using the recovery console, it is asking me for a
password that i do not know. It is a Dell Dimension 8200 computer. I
contacted Dell and they say they do not set a password in thier
initial setups. Help!!! Thanks in advance.

You have tried leaving the password field blank, have you?

 

[Guest]

Yes I did leave it blank. I also tried Admin, admin, administrator, dell.
It's wierd, why didn't safe mode ask for the password?

 

[Gordon]

Yes I did leave it blank. I also tried Admin, admin, administrator,
dell. It's wierd, why didn't safe mode ask for the password?

Try here:
http://xpcracker.mine.nu/xpcracker/

 

[Guest]

The problem is that this computer won't boot up. Can I put that hard drive in
another computer as a slave and run the process you suggested? Will it scan
both hard drives?

 

[Cyber-Hun]

I'd really be curious as to whether that xpcracker.mine.nu site worked or
not. If you could find it in your heart to keep me posted ...

 

[Malke]

The problem is that this computer won't boot up. Can I put that hard
drive in another computer as a slave and run the process you
suggested? Will it scan both hard drives?

In order to retrieve data:

1. The hard drive must be viable and seen in the BIOS. If it is, slave
it in a computer a working XP installation. See if you can copy the
files off using Explorer.

2. If the drive is viable but the testbed computer with XP will not boot
up with the damaged drive, put the drive alone in a testbed machine
with two cd drives - one of which being a burner. Boot with Knoppix, a
Linux distro that runs from cd. Get Knoppix at www.knoppix.net using a
computer with a fast Internet connection and third-party burning
software to make the bootable cd from the .iso. Then boot the testbed
box with Knoppix. If Knoppix sees the Windows files, use the k3b
program to burn the data onto cd-r's.

3. If the hard drive is not seen in the BIOS - and make sure you've
jumpered it correctly - when it is the only attached drive, then your
only solution is to send it to a professional data recovery firm. I
like DriveSavers, www.drivesavers.com. Their services are not
inexpensive, but only you can determine how valuable your data is.

If the above is beyond what you can do, take the drive to a good local
computer repair shop (not a BestBuy or CompUSA) and see what they can
do.

Malke

 

[Guest]

I tried burning two files with .iso extentions to find lost passwords
austrumi-0.8.4.iso and cd041205.iso. I burned them to CD using drag and drop.
Niether would boot. Is there something in a 3rd party software that allows a
CD to be bootable? the files that I need are part of the boot process not
sure where to find a backup version

 

[Guest]

Now I am curious, DId you have problems with it?

I'd really be curious as to whether that xpcracker.mine.nu site worked or
not. If you could find it in your heart to keep me posted ...

 

[Malke]

I tried burning two files with .iso extentions to find lost passwords
austrumi-0.8.4.iso and cd041205.iso. I burned them to CD using drag
and drop. Niether would boot. Is there something in a 3rd party
software that allows a CD to be bootable? the files that I need are
part of the boot process not sure where to find a backup version

Yes, you need third-party burning software to create a bootable cd using
an .iso. An .iso is an image file and XP's built-in burning
capabilities don't do this. I use Nero, but Roxio will work just fine,
too.

Malke