How to Change the Recovery Console Administrator Password

[Steevo]

Is it possible to reset the admin password in the recovery console? I didn't
even know there was one on my machine but when I tried to use the recovery
console to perform a drive format I was unable to do anything until I input
the administrator password.


Many thanks

 

[David Candy]

Of course it is. Change the password in Windows.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Steevo,

If you did not set an administrator password, you may have been the victim
of a system that was preinstalled using sysprep. The workaround is to use
the boot floppy set. See:

Cannot Log On to Recovery Console After Running Sysprep [Q308402]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308402

Using the WinXP Boot floppy set:
http://www.rickrogers.org/fixes.htm#Boot floppy

Otherwise, as David has indicated, simply change the administrator password
while in Windows.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Steevo]

Hi Steevo,

If you did not set an administrator password, you may have been the victim
of a system that was preinstalled using sysprep. The workaround is to use
the boot floppy set. See:

Cannot Log On to Recovery Console After Running Sysprep [Q308402]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308402

Using the WinXP Boot floppy set:
http://www.rickrogers.org/fixes.htm#Boot floppy

Otherwise, as David has indicated, simply change the administrator
password while in Windows.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

Ah, right - you say change it in windows, they're one and the same password
then?

Can that just be done using the a password reset floppy disk?


Many thanks

 

[Torgeir Bakken \(MVP\)]

Ah, right - you say change it in windows, they're one and the
same password then?

Can that just be done using the a password reset floppy disk?

Hi,

Offline NT Password & Registry Editor
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

The system in the link above can reset the Administrator
password offline.

and this as well from the link above:

Newsflash at 2004-01-16:

Support for easy change of RecoveryConsole parameters (one of
them tells RecoveryConsole to NOT ask for admin password).

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Ah, right - you say change it in windows, they're one and the same
password then?
Yes.

Can that just be done using the a password reset floppy disk?

Don't know, never tried it. No reason I know of it shouldn't work. That's
what the disk is for.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

Hi Steevo,

If you did not set an administrator password, you may have been the
victim of a system that was preinstalled using sysprep. The workaround is
to use the boot floppy set. See:

Cannot Log On to Recovery Console After Running Sysprep [Q308402]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308402

Using the WinXP Boot floppy set:
http://www.rickrogers.org/fixes.htm#Boot floppy

Otherwise, as David has indicated, simply change the administrator
password while in Windows.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

Many thanks

 

[MAP]

Is it possible to reset the admin password in the recovery console? I
didn't even know there was one on my machine but when I tried to use
the recovery console to perform a drive format I was unable to do
anything until I input the administrator password.


Many thanks

The password is sometimes blank. So, try just pressing enter when
you are asked for a password, it may help.

Or, if you can get into XP, even safe mode, you can arrange to bypass the
password by the following registry change:

Instead, just run REGEDIT (Start à Run à Regedit)
Navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Setup\Recover
yConsole
Set the DWORD SecurityLevel value to 1

 

[Steevo]

The password is sometimes blank. So, try just pressing enter when
you are asked for a password, it may help.

Or, if you can get into XP, even safe mode, you can arrange to bypass the
password by the following registry change:

Instead, just run REGEDIT (Start à Run à Regedit)
Navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Setup\Recover
yConsole
Set the DWORD SecurityLevel value to 1

Hmmm...things don't seem to be going as easy as all that. Tried logging into
XP as administrator because couldn't find the account listed in "User
Accounts" thus couldn't create a password reset disk. Anyhow, it logged in
fine without a password, hence I guessed the password must be blank as you
say. That said, having just tried to log into RC with a blank password, it
wasn't accepted and told me to try again.

I then tried your trick with the registry, changing the DWORD Security Level
value from 0 to 1 - upon restart this unfortunately didn't help either
because, after booting from the cd as normal etc. and entering the recovery
console screen I was once again asked for the password. I have just checked
the value once more in the registry and it's still set to 1.

Is there anything else that might work?


Many thanks