Easiest way to reset Win2K administrator password?

[mach]

Background:

Two Win2K PCs with a known username/password that belongs
to the administrators group.

Requirement:

Reset unknown administrator password to a known value with
minimal disruption to existing users.

Tentative Solution:

Improvise on the following method posted by ThePsyko:

1) boot to a windows boot disk
2) if the C drive is NTFS use ntfsdos to mount it
3) maneuver to c:\winnt\system32\config
4) rename the SAM. file to anything you want
5) reboot and login as 'administrator' and a blank password

http://tinyurl.com/sfzf

Boot using PicoBSD ( http://tinyurl.com/sg1v ) in place of a
Win* boot diskette or NTFSDOS ( http://tinyurl.com/sg03 ) then
rename/remove SAM. administrator password resets during next
Win2K boot.

Issues:

Mounting NTFS under a foreign OS is always dicey.

MOUNT_NTFS(8) FreeBSD System Manager's Manual MOUNT_NTFS(8)

NAME
mount_ntfs -- mount an NTFS file system


WRITING
There is limited writing ability. Limitations: file must
be nonresident and must not contain any spaces (uninitialized
areas); compressed files are also not supported.

http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=mount_ntfs&sektion=8


Questions:

1. What exactly does "file must be nonresident" mean?

2. Does an easier solution exist, given the knowledge of a
known user/password that belongs to the administrators
group?

TIA.

 

[-=Be4U=-]

(e-mail address removed) delighted us to no end by taking a lime green
crayon and scribbling in on the
hallowed day of Sun 26 Oct 2003 01:23:12p:

Requirement:

Reset unknown administrator password to a known value with
minimal disruption to existing users.

Have you tried using ntPassword?


--
-=Mara=-
"Ping Be4U: I love you -- merely reading your words soothes the
savage beast in me, the image of you in my mind wobbles my
knees - run away with me to Tahiti where we can frolic on the
beach and drink fruity drinks as the sun sets in the distance...."
The Laughing Ghoul [TING], alt.music.ozzy, 28-Aug, 2002

</malicious mode>
You're a nice person, Be4U. AHM wouldn't be the same without you.
<malicious mode>
~Trebor, alt.hackers.malicious, 22-Oct-03

 

[Mark Slingo]

I always use this:

http://www.networks.nq.nu/PasswdCrk.flp

use dd or rawrite to make the bootable floppy.

It boots, loads the hive and edits the password.

Mark.

 

[David Bullock [MSFT]]

Hi Mach,
Since you have a known username and password for an account with
administrative privileges, the least disruptive way to change the
Administrator account's password will be to go into the Users & Groups
applet, and choose the option to reset the Admin password.

There's no need for any third-party utility when you have administrative
access to the machine.

--

David Bullock, MCSE, MCSA, A+
Windows NT/2000/2003 Setup Support

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