Password never set - locked out of Windows XP Home

[lantierl]

Hi all.

Up until last Friday, my Windows XP Home system worked great. Some time on
Friday, the system crashed, and Ihave worked feverishly through the weekend
to get the system back up. I am very close, but stuck now.

I have been able to recover all files using Norton Systemworks 2005 Premier,
and I attempted to "repair" Windows using the Windows XP Home edition boot-up
CD. When I try to boot up without the CD, a pop-up asks for a username and
login, although I have never set one for any of my accounts, including
Administrator. When trying in safe mode or in last known good configuration,
I get the same problem.

Without using the boot-up CD, I get a pop-up box for username and login:
- Trying to login with "Administrator" and a blank password doesn't work.
- Trying to ctrl-alt-delete twice in the password block doesn't work.

Using the boot-up CD:
- When trying to use the recovery console, Windows only sees "1:
F:\Windows", but when you select 1 and hit enter, it asks for the
Administrator password. Hitting enter here doesn't help either.

i'm stuck. Being that I have never set passwords, and having already done
virus scans to confirm this is not a virus (all of my Norton virus
definitions were up to date as of Thursday) I do not know what else to do.

I have read all of the Microsoft articles I could find, but they all seem to
assume you can get into Windows as either a user or as an Administrator, and
I cannot get in no matter what I have tried.

What can I do to bypass the never before set password at the prompt to be
able to get back itno my system?

Help?

 

[Andrew E.]

Try recovery console,once in,type:Fixboot Agree,type:EXIT Let xp start

 

[lantierl]

Andrew,
Thanks for the information, I will try that tonight.

I was able, through Norton Recovery disk, the Windows XP CD, and use of
chkdsk /r to get to a point that when I boot up without any CD's in, the
system gets me to the log in screen. I am able to enter either of the two
user accounts with a blank password in the pop-up login box and hit enter -
when I do so, the computer acts as if it is going to login and displays the
user's wallpaper/background image, then pops up a shutdown display window and
then automatically does the following:
- saves settings
- pops up a window that says the system is shutting down
- returns to the exact same login/password screen (without eve shutting down)
- it's almost as if once the system goes through the initial boot up
process, it's stuck in an infinite loop of trying to login

Will Fixboot destroy any of the files on teh hard drive, or will they remain
intact? (I am trying to avoid a reformat and clean install if I can).

Thanks in advance.

Lance

 

[lantierl]

Andrew,
Ran fixboot last night, and although the system said it had fixed the boot
sector, I am still stuck in the redundant loop of getting to a pop-up login
screen, entering either user's name and leaving the password blank, hitting
enter, then having the machine say it is shutting down, saving preferences,
only to not have it shutdown but instead pop back up with the same login box.
Seriously stuck.....

Help?

What other information might I be able to provide that would give more
insight as to how to proceed next?

Standing by....

Lance