Help!! Locked out of XP

[AllenM]

We have a serious password issue here on our XP computer. My local golf club
has a computer that all members use to post their golf round after they
play. The computer is always on and the program is always up and running.
Not sure how it happened but it appears someone has logged into Windows and
changed the Administrator's and user passwords. We cannot get past the
Windows login screen and thus cannot execute the handicap program. Someone
has already contacted the Golf Association and they pretty much said there
is nothing they can do about it and I agree with them. We need to get into
Windows so we can change the admin apssword back and secure it. Any ideas?

 

[Guest]

Is the computer only logging into the computer itself, meaning is it on a
network such as Netware and the Admin account and password is strictly a
Windows username and password?

i would suggest removing the battery from the mother board and waiting 15
minutes, then putting the battery back in and booting up, this should reset
the password to being "blank" and you can re-log on from there.

however, im not sure if removing the battery will affect any other programs
you may have running, so i would ask around if its ok to do so.

 

[AllenM]

Hey Jerry thanks alot for the suggestion. Yes it is strictly a Windows
username and password. I remember the old days there would be a cmos swutch
you can flip and reset passwords. You think by removing and replacing the
battery it will not wipe out the hard drive and cmos setting? If I loose my
disk partition configurations then I'm screwed. But if I cannot get in any
other way I'm also screwed and would have to reload windows anyways. Lesser
of two evials I guess.

 

[AllenM]

Not on a network. Stand alone with a modem connection.

 

[CWatters]

We have a serious password issue here on our XP computer. My local golf club
has a computer that all members use to post their golf round after they
play. The computer is always on and the program is always up and running.
Not sure how it happened but it appears someone has logged into Windows and
changed the Administrator's and user passwords.

Have you tried booting in safe mode?

Failing that there are other means generally using boot floppies of various
descriptions to break in. See some of the options on this page..(not tried
by me)..

http://sniptools.com/tipstricks/lost-my-windows-xp-password-how-to-recover

 

[Guest]

i am like 99% sure that it wont hurt anything other than the passwords
resetting, i seem to recall doing this on a users PC when they screwed it up
with a startup password.

Hopefully someone chimes in either to say im right or wrong to get you on
your way

 

[Glen]

We have a serious password issue here on our XP computer. My local golf
club has a computer that all members use to post their golf round after
they play. The computer is always on and the program is always up and
running. Not sure how it happened but it appears someone has logged into
Windows and changed the Administrator's and user passwords. We cannot get
past the Windows login screen and thus cannot execute the handicap
program. Someone has already contacted the Golf Association and they
pretty much said there is nothing they can do about it and I agree with
them. We need to get into Windows so we can change the admin apssword back
and secure it. Any ideas?

You can use Active@ Password Changer to reset lost pass. This small
tool saved me before, so give it a try, woth it!
http://www.password-changer.com/

hope this helps

 

[Guest]

Jerry removing the battery will onlr reset the CMOS info it will not reset
the os password i will not hurt the hd you will have to go into the bios and
reset all the settings.

AllenM
you might want to look at " the cult of the dead cows CDC " they
had a a password cracker program it was a brut force hack program they used
to have a free version that you could use 5 times, also look at Winternals
http://www.winternals.com/ they have a excellent software program that will
hack a password and even allow you to replace the file for the passwords

 

[AllenM]

Hey Glen,
Thanks for the feedback and suggestion. I'm going to try this as it doea
look like it is what I need. Thank you.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

i am like 99% sure that it wont hurt anything other than the passwords
resetting, i seem to recall doing this on a users PC when they
screwed it up with a startup password.

Three points here:

1. First, Allen asked about the Windows password. That password is
completely separate from the BIOS password that you suggest he reset by
removing the battery. He may not even have a BIOS password, and if he does,
it would prevent him from getting into the BIOS setup program, not into
Windows. Removing the battery will do nothing to help him with his problem.

2. Second, removing the battery will reset *all* the BIOS settings to their
defaults, not just the BIOS password. Before anyone does this, he should
make very sure that he has recorded, one way or the other (pencil and paper
is fine) the current state of all the BIOS settings so he can manually put
them back the way they were after replacing the battery..

3. Third, how long you need to keep the battery out to reset the BIOS
(Password and other settings) is not 15 minutes. The amount of time varies
from situation to situation. 15 minutes is *usually* long enough, but
sometimes it can be over an hour.

Points two and three above are just for information, since they are not
really pertinent to his question and your reply. The important point is
number 1: he should *not* remove the battery as you suggest since it can not
possibly help with his problem.

Others have suggested means of getting in with a changed Windows password,
and Allen should note their advice.

 

[AllenM]

Ken,
thanks for the input. Removing the cmos battery was not an option for me as
I suspect all it would have done was reset my bios and cmos settings. Others
have supplied some good links to third party tools that for sure I am going
to look into. Again thanks to all for their input.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Ken,
thanks for the input. Removing the cmos battery was not an option for
me as I suspect all it would have done was reset my bios and cmos
settings. Others have supplied some good links to third party tools
that for sure I am going to look into. Again thanks to all for their
input.

You're welcome. Glad to help.

 

[GreenieLeBrun]

We have a serious password issue here on our XP computer. My local golf club
has a computer that all members use to post their golf round after they
play. The computer is always on and the program is always up and running.
Not sure how it happened but it appears someone has logged into Windows and
changed the Administrator's and user passwords. We cannot get past the
Windows login screen and thus cannot execute the handicap program. Someone
has already contacted the Golf Association and they pretty much said there
is nothing they can do about it and I agree with them. We need to get into
Windows so we can change the admin apssword back and secure it. Any ideas?

Go to http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/ and download the boot
disk, this will enable you to reset any system password on an NT class
operating system (it's also free).

 

[Guest]

thats why i only said 99%

Three points here:

1. First, Allen asked about the Windows password. That password is
completely separate from the BIOS password that you suggest he reset by
removing the battery. He may not even have a BIOS password, and if he does,
it would prevent him from getting into the BIOS setup program, not into
Windows. Removing the battery will do nothing to help him with his problem.

2. Second, removing the battery will reset *all* the BIOS settings to their
defaults, not just the BIOS password. Before anyone does this, he should
make very sure that he has recorded, one way or the other (pencil and paper
is fine) the current state of all the BIOS settings so he can manually put
them back the way they were after replacing the battery..

3. Third, how long you need to keep the battery out to reset the BIOS
(Password and other settings) is not 15 minutes. The amount of time varies
from situation to situation. 15 minutes is *usually* long enough, but
sometimes it can be over an hour.

Points two and three above are just for information, since they are not
really pertinent to his question and your reply. The important point is
number 1: he should *not* remove the battery as you suggest since it can not
possibly help with his problem.

Others have suggested means of getting in with a changed Windows password,
and Allen should note their advice.

 

[HeyBub]

We have a serious password issue here on our XP computer. My local
golf club has a computer that all members use to post their golf
round after they play. The computer is always on and the program is
always up and running. Not sure how it happened but it appears
someone has logged into Windows and changed the Administrator's and
user passwords. We cannot get past the Windows login screen and thus
cannot execute the handicap program. Someone has already contacted
the Golf Association and they pretty much said there is nothing they
can do about it and I agree with them. We need to get into Windows so
we can change the admin apssword back and secure it. Any ideas?

After you get everything back to normal, add a keyboard logger.

When this nastiness happens next time, the logger may give you a clue as to
who was using the machine when all the passwords were reset.

Then you can remove his lungs with a fork.

I wouldn't even rule out a video monitor.

 

[CWatters]

3. Third, how long you need to keep the battery out to reset the BIOS
(Password and other settings) is not 15 minutes. The amount of time varies
from situation to situation. 15 minutes is *usually* long enough, but
sometimes it can be over an hour.

I actually had to remove the battery and short out the battery terminals -
It seems whatever capacitor was on the mobo was enough to cause problems.