unable to log on because of account restriction

[Gerry Buenrostro]

I have windows XP Professional, and i suddenly got this message after a
reboot "unable to log on because of account restriction" i had a blank
password, and it wont take the password. I tried rebooting the computer in
safe mode but i get the same message. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Malke]

I have windows XP Professional, and i suddenly got this message after a
reboot "unable to log on because of account restriction" i had a blank
password, and it wont take the password. I tried rebooting the computer in
safe mode but i get the same message. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Can you log on with a different user account? If you don't have another
user account, what about the built-in Administrator account? If you are
using the Welcome Screen, do Ctrl-Alt-Del at the Welcome Screen to get
the classic logon box. Enter "Administrator" (without the quotes) for
the user and whatever password you assigned when you first set up the
machine.

What is the recent history of this machine? What kind of
antivirus/security do you have installed?


Malke

 

[Gerry Buenrostro]

Unfortunately i was using the name "Administrator" with no password, I had
Zone Alarm Security Suite. The computer was infected by awtss.exe, after a
few days of frustration i gave up on it, i rebooted my computer and i briefly
saw an error saying "AUTOCHK.EXE" missing and they i started getting that
annoying message.

I have BARTPE, and i tried doing "net user Administrator /passwordreq:no"
from a command prompt to no avail.

Is there any other utilities i can try. or procedures. Thanks!

 

[Malke]

Unfortunately i was using the name "Administrator" with no password, I had
Zone Alarm Security Suite. The computer was infected by awtss.exe, after a
few days of frustration i gave up on it, i rebooted my computer and i briefly
saw an error saying "AUTOCHK.EXE" missing and they i started getting that
annoying message.

I have BARTPE, and i tried doing "net user Administrator /passwordreq:no"
from a command prompt to no avail.

So the computer is still not clean? Use your Bart's PE to back up your
data and do a clean install. Or if you want to mess about for a few more
days, use the Bart's to back up your data and then try to run some
antivirus/antispyware tools from there. The awtss.exe is a variant of
Virtumonde. Me, I'd wipe/clean-install. Your choice.


Malke

 

[Gerry Buenrostro]

I believe that the computer is clean, just trying to get around the
administrator problem. I suppose reformatting would be a good idea. I dont
know where my Current CD - Key is at, is there a way to extract my current XP
CD-Key from Windows so i dont have to purchase a new one.

I might just have to purchase another computer. I know that sounds harsh,
but was looking for a reason to upgrade my 5 year old PC.

 

[Malke]

I believe that the computer is clean, just trying to get around the
administrator problem. I suppose reformatting would be a good idea. I dont
know where my Current CD - Key is at, is there a way to extract my current XP
CD-Key from Windows so i dont have to purchase a new one.

I might just have to purchase another computer. I know that sounds harsh,
but was looking for a reason to upgrade my 5 year old PC.

There are several free utilities that will extract the Windows Product
Key, but unfortunately they need to be run from within the working XP
install. You might check on the Bart's PE forums to see if there is a
plugin that will do this for you.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.gtopala.com/ - System Information for Windows


Malke

 

[jake]

use bartpe rename sam and sam.log from windows/system32/config folder to sam1
and sam1.log
copy sam and sam.log from windows/repair folder and place in the
windows/system32/config folder.Now your computer's user accounts will be
reset to what they were when the opsystem was installed which should not have
a password.
Now you should be able to log in.
go to control panel/users and make a password disk
log back in bartpe and delete sam and sam.log
rename sam1 to sam and
sam1.log to sam.log.restart the computer and use your password disk to
change password.