System administrator? Whats that?

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G

Guest

I need to do a system recovery on a computer that was given to me. This
computer has a system administrator that i am unable to log in as since no
one can remember the password. I cant even so much as install my printer with
out being a system admin. How can i find out this information or how can i do
a system recovery without it?
 
csnapp said:
I need to do a system recovery on a computer that was given to me. This
computer has a system administrator that i am unable to log in as since no
one can remember the password. I cant even so much as install my printer
with
out being a system admin. How can i find out this information or how can i
do
a system recovery without it?
Click to expand...


Which flavour of XP?
 
csnapp said:
professional?
Click to expand...


In Windows Explorer click on Help-About and that should tell you. It's
important because depending on what flavour you have (whether Professional
or Home Edition) depends on how you access the built-in Administrator
account....
 
In
csnapp said:
I need to do a system recovery on a computer that was given to me.
This computer has a system administrator that i am unable to log in
as since no one can remember the password. I cant even so much as
install my printer with out being a system admin. How can i find out
this information or how can i do a system recovery without it?
Click to expand...

If you mean a system recovery to wipe out everything on the box & do a clean
install(which is a VERY wise idea when you are given a new computer), you
don't need to know the admin password, because you probably boot up from the
recovery CD to do this. This depends on what kind of CD you have, tho. Or,
is this a recovery partition on the hard drive? You might check with the
manufacturer for help if you can't figure out how to do it.


That said, if all you need to do is reset the built-in admin password, check
out
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/lostpass.htm
and/or
http://securityadmin.info/db/faqresults.asp?keyword=password&SType=AnyWord&CATID=Optional
and/or
http://www.petri.co.il/forgot_administrator_password.htm
 
What I have is Windows XP Professional...

Gordon said:
In Windows Explorer click on Help-About and that should tell you. It's
important because depending on what flavour you have (whether Professional
or Home Edition) depends on how you access the built-in Administrator
account....
Click to expand...
 
To find your version easily click Start > click run > type "winver" without
quotes > click ok.

You should try starting in safe mode then entering under the administrator
account with no password then going to start > control panel > user accounts
create an account > enter your desired name > click next > Select Computer
Click to expand...
Administrator > Click create account. This will work if you have xp home
with a hidden administrator account that has not been set up with a password.
Good Luck,

Joe

Kemco IT Tech
 
will this work with professional?

Kemco said:
To find your version easily click Start > click run > type "winver" without
quotes > click ok.

You should try starting in safe mode then entering under the administrator
account with no password then going to start > control panel > user accounts
Administrator > Click create account. This will work if you have xp home
with a hidden administrator account that has not been set up with a password.
Good Luck,

Joe

Kemco IT Tech
Click to expand...
 
csnapp said:
What I have is Windows XP Professional...
Click to expand...


Then if you use the Welcome screen, press Ctl Alt Del twice at that screen
and the old W2K style log-in box should appear. Log in as administrator and
fix the original problem! If you already use the log-in box, just log in as
administrator.
 
With XP pro you can do as Gordon stated and hit Ctrl+alt+del twice at the
logon screen to get a box log in and then type Administrator with a blank
password as the logon. If you still can't get in you should try this...

http://www.loginrecovery.com/

It will make a bootable floppy(or cd if you don't have a floppy drive) that
will retrieve your passwords by restarting the computers and booting to the
floppy. All the instructions are there on the site. Good Luck.

Joe

Kemco IT Tech
 
Well here's another piece of the problem... I don't HAVE a recovery cd. But
wiping out and starting new is exactly what Im after. The computer belonged
to an employer before he upgraded and there's a lot on here that I dont need,
nor want. Can't I do a recovery using XP?
 
THANKS SO MUCH EVERYBODEE!!!Im off to the races... If none of this works, I
may have to take this computer back to my boss and shove it where the sun
don't shine!!!
 
You can format and reinstall with the XP CD and a key code but you can't
format the drive with just booting from xp because XP is on the drive. I
would ask the employer for a xp cd. Otherwise you will have to buy one and
it is pretty expensive.

Joe

Kemco IT Tech
 
In
csnapp said:
Well here's another piece of the problem... I don't HAVE a recovery
cd. But wiping out and starting new is exactly what Im after.
Click to expand...

Hmmm - well, that's a really good thing, but you need something to recover
*from*. What was it you were planning to use? Did the old owner give you
the license for XP on this box? If it was an OEM/bundled copy, there's
probably a sticker on the case, but you still need media.....if it was a
volume license or retail copy of XP, you may not be entitled to use it at
all.
The
computer belonged to an employer before he upgraded and there's a lot
on here that I dont need, nor want. Can't I do a recovery using XP?
Click to expand...

No - well, not in the sense that most people would mean "recovery," anyway.
You might go ask the old owner whether it even originally came with its own
WinXP or recovery CD (some do, some don't). If not, and you can't get a
copy from the hardware manufacturer, you will need to buy a retail copy of
XP Home or Pro, as you choose. Not an upgrade, tho....a full copy. Then
you're good to go for your clean install.
 
I actually HAVE the XP cd... He gave it to me cuz he knew I would have to
recover and it would wipe out... I logged out and tried what you and gordon
suggested... correct me if im wrong but the "WELCOME" screen is the one that
prompts you to hit ctrl+atl+del...? Well when i did it two times fast, it
went to the same old logon screen that i cant get past... did i do something
wrong?
 
off to the races was a figure of speach... i was logging off to try some of
your suggestions... turns out, i did something wrong... i did ctrl+alt+del
twice but got the same logon screen as usual...
 
In
csnapp said:
I actually HAVE the XP cd...
Click to expand...

OK - then you don't need to worry about "recovery CD" - that's what this CD
is.
He gave it to me cuz he knew I would
have to recover and it would wipe out... I logged out and tried what
you and gordon suggested... correct me if im wrong but the "WELCOME"
screen is the one that prompts you to hit ctrl+atl+del...? Well when
i did it two times fast, it went to the same old logon screen that i
cant get past... did i do something wrong?
Click to expand...

Boot from the CD, and do a clean install.....

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html
 
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