rebooting OK when locked out of computer?

  • Thread starter Thread starter iams115
  • Start date Start date
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iams115

Hi,

This is a f/u to my post yesterday - I'm still locked out
of our server and need direction re: what to do.

As stated, I'm locked out of my server. I can access the
server information using the administrator password that
I've always used, but it's not letting me back into the
server computer itself. It keeps telling me the password
is wrong even though I haven't changed it. I've tried
upper case, lower case, everything using the password.
It's now becoming an emergency since I have a new person
starting on Monday and need to get into the server
computer to add the user info.

Question: Does the lock function sometimes get stuck? It
hasn't before, and I've always been able to unlock the
computer using this password. I have had 2 things happen
recently: 1) my old IT person told me he wasn't making
enough $$ on us, so I either needed to pay a yearly
contract fee (+$100/hour for any actual work) or use
someone else. We have 3 people and don't have that kind of
money, so I went w/someone else. 2) the someone else came
in once. As far as I know, he just disabled the accounts,
which were administrator accounts, for the old IT guy, and
a former employee. Several days later, I realized I hadn't
locked the computer so my employees now can't access, and
once I did, I haven't been able to get back into it.

Please help! Can/should I reboot the server since the
administrative password works to access folders on the
server from other computers? Or will this change any
settings that computer guy #2 may have done and
permanently lock me out? For the record, computer guy #2
says I must have changed the password, which I didn't. I
think the fact that I can access the folders on the server
using this same password confirms that, but who cares...I
just need to get back into it!

We use Windows 2000 and MS SBS 2000 for the server. Thanks
for any help!!

AS
 
Can you access the administrative share remotely such as C$ . If you can't then your
password must have been changed. I have never seen the lock function "stuck" and with
the message you are receiving, your password has been changed particularly with the
situation you described. The password was probably changed remotely by someone is my
guess. Hopefully you have backups and you could try restoring the System State from a
time before this happened which will require a password for that also. You might want
to email Winternals and ask if their product can work on your SBS server or if they
have a special procedure for it, etc. Generally it is easy to reset passwords on W2K
computers, but domain controllers are more difficult. See the link below for
information.

http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/locksmith.asp
 
I'm not familiar with how to access the administrative
share remotely w/C$. Where can I find directions? And what
does this mean that it was changed remotely? No one should
have remote access.

Thanks!
-----Original Message-----
Can you access the administrative share remotely such as C$ . If you can't then your
password must have been changed. I have never seen the lock function "stuck" and with
the message you are receiving, your password has been changed particularly with the
situation you described. The password was probably
Click to expand...
changed remotely by someone is my
guess. Hopefully you have backups and you could try
Click to expand...
restoring the System State from a
 
\\ip.address\C$ in explorer or start, run
iams115 said:
I'm not familiar with how to access the administrative
share remotely w/C$. Where can I find directions? And what
does this mean that it was changed remotely? No one should
have remote access.

Thanks!

changed remotely by someone is my
restoring the System State from a
Click to expand...
 
If you have file and printer sharing enabled and no firewall blocking access
to the lan, which would be the case for a domain controller, a user who
knows a domain administrator account credentials could install adminkpak or
manage Group Policy remotely via mmc/Group Policy/other computer to remotely
manange domain AD including domain administrator passwords. It is also easy
to do if Terminal Services is running on a domain controller. --- Steve
 
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