Unable to logon, missing domain

[Nate]

I'm having this problem with one of my networked XP Pro computers.
It had a domain on it with a couple of admin users on it. I was messing
around with it and somehow ended up changing the network settings so
that you would log onto a workgroup instead of a domain. Now,
unfortunately, when I go to log onto it, I can't because it says my
password is incorrect. The accounts did have passwords, but I never
changed them. I tried going into Safe mode, hoping to do a System
Restore and undo these changes so I can log onto the domain again, but
there it asks me for a password, too, and of course, can't log on.
Obviously, I can't log on because I have no domain now.

Does anyone know of anyway that I can do a System Restore without
having to log on or am I pretty much screwed? Also, it has NTFS. Thanks.


Nate

 

[Guest]

Nate if you log on to the server you can change the password for the user
there, then logon to the xp machine and rejoin the domain (right -click my
computer|properties click tab for ComputerName click change then join domain)

 

[Amanda Wang [MSFT]]

Hi Nate,

Thanks for posting and LanMan's suggestion.

You can try LanMan's suggestion at first to see if it can rejoin the domain.

Based on my knowledge, if the machine has been out of domain, the previous
domain account cannot be used and you must use the local user account and
password.

If the password is incorrect, the best way to proceed at this point is to
attempt to perform a parallel installation so that the customer can backup
their data.
For more information about how to perform Parallel Installation and how to
revert to the original installation are as following and after you have
finished Parallel Installation, you can backup the data from the new system
and reset the settings.

Step 1: How to perform a parallel installation
--------------------------------------

To perform a parallel installation of Windows XP on the same partition, you
need to either start the computer to the Recovery Console or start the
computer from a boot disk that allows you to gain access to the partition
so you can rename the Windows and Program Files folders.

Note: If you are using a FAT16 or a FAT32 file system, you can use a
Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup
disk to gain access to the partition. If you gain access to the partition,
proceed to step 4.

1. To gain access to the registry, start the computer in either Normal Mode
or Safe Mode.

2. Turn on the functionality of the "set" command in the Windows XP
Recovery Console. To do this:

a. Click Start, and then click Run.
b. In the Open box, type "regedt32" (without the quotation marks), and
then click OK.
c. Locate and then click the SetCommand value under the following key in
the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Setup\RecoveryConsole

d. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
e. In the "Value data" box, type
"1" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.

NOTE: The default setting in the "Value data" box is 0.

3. Start the computer to the Windows XP Recovery Console, type the
following command, and then press ENTER:

" set AllowAllPaths = true " (without the quotation marks)

4. Type "<x>" (without the quotation marks) (where <x> is the drive letter
in which Windows is currently installed), and the press ENTER to change to
the appropriate drive.

5. Type "cd \" (without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER to
change to the root folder of the drive.

6. Rename the Windows folder, the Documents and Settings folder, and the
Program Files folder. To do this, type the following commands, and then
press ENTER after each command.

"rename windows winold" (without the quotation marks)
"ren docume~1 doc.old" (without the quotation marks)
"rename progra~1 progra~1.old" (without the quotation marks)

7. Start the computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM, and then start Setup.
Windows is installed in the same partition, and the file system remains
intact.


After you determine that the current installation is the installation that
you want to leave intact, delete the remaining Win<xxx> folder and the
Prog<xxx> folder that are no longer being used. Your documents from the
prior installation will remain available in the mydocu~1.old folder.

Note: If you receive an "access denied" message when you try to view or
open files on an NTFS volume that were created in the old installation, you
must take ownership of the files in the new installation.

Step 2: How to revert to the original installation
------------------------------------------

In some situations, you may want to revert the computer back to the
original installation. To do so, you need to either start the computer to
the Recovery Console or start the computer from a boot disk that allows you
to gain access to the partition so you can rename the Windows and Program
Files folders.

Note: If you are using a FAT16 or a FAT32 file system, you can use a
Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup
disk to gain access to the partition. If you gain access to the partition,
proceed to step 4.

1. To gain access to the registry, start the computer in either Normal Mode
or Safe Mode.

2. Turn on the functionality of the "set" command in the Windows XP
Recovery Console. To do this:

a. Click Start, and then click Run.
b. In the Open box, type "regedt32" (without the quotation marks), and
then click OK.
c. Locate and then click the SetCommand value under the following key in
the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Setup\RecoveryConsole

d. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
e. In the "Value data" box, type
"1" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.

Note: The default setting in the "Value data" box is 0.

3. Start the computer to the Windows XP Recovery Console, type the
following command, and then press ENTER:

" set AllowAllPaths = true " (without the quotation marks)

4. Type "<x>" (without the quotation marks) (where <x> is the drive letter
in which Windows is currently installed), and then press ENTER to change to
the appropriate drive.

5. Type "cd \" (without the quotation marks), and then press ENTER to
change to the root folder of the drive.

6. Rename the Windows folder, the Documents and Settings folder, and the
Program Files folder. To do so, type the following commands (press ENTER
after each command):

"rename windows winnew" (without the quotation marks)
"rename docume~1 docnew" (without the quotation marks)
"rename progra~1 prognew" (without the quotation marks)
"rename winold windows" (without the quotation marks)
"ren doc.old "documents and settings" " (without the quotation marks)
"ren prog.old "program files"" (without the quotation marks)

After you determine that the current installation is the installation that
you want to leave intact, delete the remaining Win<xxx> and Prog<xxx>
folders that are no longer being used.

Parallel Install is the most efficient way for us to isolate the issue.
However, it is a bit complex and time-consuming. Please take your time in
trying the steps and feel free to let me know the result. If you need
further assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us. I’m looking forward to
your reply.

Thanks & Regards

Amanda Wang[MSFT]

Microsoft Online Partner Support

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