Password

[Guest]

I'm using the XP cd to try to edit the boot.ini file. However, when I get to
that part that asks administrator password I cannot go thru, it keeps telling
invalid password. I never had a password, this computer is mine only. I
always logged in just by pressing enter, never put a password. Is there any
way I can bypass that ?
I have no other way to access my computer because it's in a crazy cycle, It
does not boot because it says it cannot boot from SAFE MODE.
Any help ?
Thanks.

 

[C J.]

I'm using the XP cd to try to edit the boot.ini file. However, when I
get to that part that asks administrator password I cannot go thru,
it keeps telling invalid password. I never had a password, this
computer is mine only. I always logged in just by pressing enter,
never put a password. Is there any way I can bypass that ?
I have no other way to access my computer because it's in a crazy
cycle, It does not boot because it says it cannot boot from SAFE MODE.
Any help ?
Thanks.

A few questions for you: How did you get locked out of your harddrive to
begin with? Did you install /uninstall anything recently? If you haven't
set a password for the built in Administrator account.. then hitting enter
should usually do the trick. Are you attempting this from the Recovery
console on the XP install CD?

 

[Guest]

Yes, I'm using the recovery console from the XP CD.
I did get myself into this trouble trying to get to safemode to remove
spyware and I never got into it, so, someone suggested me to go to MSCONFIG
and select the BOOT.INI option that I would be able to get to safemode. Not a
chance! Now it does not even start in safe mode or normal, just keeps going
back and forth.
And I tried ENTER kowing that I do not have a password and it does not do
the trick.

 

[Rock]

I'm using the XP cd to try to edit the boot.ini file. However, when I get
to
that part that asks administrator password I cannot go thru, it keeps
telling
invalid password. I never had a password, this computer is mine only. I
always logged in just by pressing enter, never put a password. Is there
any
way I can bypass that ?
I have no other way to access my computer because it's in a crazy cycle,
It
does not boot because it says it cannot boot from SAFE MODE.
Any help ?

If no password was assigned to the Administrator account then pressing enter
at the password prompt should work. Also you can't edit the boot.ini file
from the recovery console, anyway.

Here is a utility to remove the password on the built in Administrator
account.
http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/editor.html

As to the latter part of your post it's unclear. One doesn't boot from safe
mode. You start the computer and enter safe mode.

So what exactly is happening in with this system? What is the history of
the problem?

 

[C J.]

If no password was assigned to the Administrator account then
pressing enter at the password prompt should work. Also you can't
edit the boot.ini file from the recovery console, anyway.

Here is a utility to remove the password on the built in Administrator
account.
http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/editor.html

As to the latter part of your post it's unclear. One doesn't boot
from safe mode. You start the computer and enter safe mode.

So what exactly is happening in with this system? What is the
history of the problem?

Sounds like whatever he may of selected in the boot.ini section of
MsConfig - is what is borking his start attempt in safe mode. (scratching
head) if that makes any sense.

 

[C J.]

Sounds like whatever he may of selected in the boot.ini section of
MsConfig - is what is borking his start attempt in safe mode.
(scratching head) if that makes any sense.

Pantera... take a look at this article. It tells you how to make a bootable
Floppy for an XP NTFS PC.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305595

Am thinking you could make one to bypass the Harddrive at startup

 

[Rock]

Sounds like whatever he may of selected in the boot.ini section of
MsConfig - is what is borking his start attempt in safe mode. (scratching
head) if that makes any sense.

I've seen an occasional post on this before. Try to start in safe mode, it
won't. So in normal mode using msconfig choose the /safeboot option,
restart, it goes into safe mode, but then it won't start in normal mode.
The OP has the added problem that now it won't boot into safe mode, either.

I don't recollect seeing a specific solution for this.

 

[Guest]

Hi.
I was trying to use delete using bootcfg /delete /safemode as someone
advised me using the recovery console.
Anyhow, I coud not get there because of the password.
And about the unclear part you mentioned. I know that we do start the
computer and go to safe mode. What I mentioned was that it never started on
safe mode once I choose the options after pressing F8. I got into a cycle and
not going nowhere, so someone told me to go to the MSCONFIG>BOOT.INI and then
choose SAFEBOOT and I would be able to enter safemode, which didn't work also.
So, now my computer does not boot at all, it stuck

 

[jameshanley39]

Pantera... take a look at this article. It tells you how to make a bootable
Floppy for an XP NTFS PC.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305595

Am thinking you could make one to bypass the Harddrive at startup- Hide quoted text -

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I call that the win xp 3 file boot disk. You could google that phrase.
or "3 file" boot disk. xp

it doesn't only bypasses the hard disk for those 3 files on the
floppy.
boot.ini, ntdetect.com, NTLDR

useful if boot.ini is buggered.

I guess she can't edit boot.ini because you prob have to be an
administrator to do it. THat'd make sense. Perhaps Maybe non-admin
accounts can't amend files on the root directory. I have tested some
things..
I know that non-admin accounts are restricted in that they can't
create files in root directory
They can create a directory in the root directory
they can't write, create files or directories in the program files
directory.

i can't verify that now though, i am in an admin account.

The password stopping her editting boot.ini is not in boot.ini, or
protecting boot.ini specifically. It's a password from winthin
windows, belonging to the admin account.

So using a different boot.ini won't help

Peter Nordahl's offline NT password recovery <-- good term to look
for!
will reset the win xp password for any user accounts.

l0phtcrack will display it , it uses brute force, is good for short
ones.

(if she had many different windows xps ,and, and i suppose whether
each windows has its own boot.ini or not. Then still, only one
boot.ini is used. The one on the active partition. That would load
whichever windows , and if she has admin access, she could probably
access boot.ini. Though maybe not any of them, maybe she needs to own
it)


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