Xp Pro Admin Password Issue

[Guest]

My problem is an odd one. I'm trying to avoid reformating and reinstalling
windows on one of the puters in small network. It seems that a prevous most
liklely disgrunteled X employee has deleted all user accounts except admin
and of course the guest account. I've already Started in safe mode hoping
that the user didn't place a password under the Admin account but he did.The
guest account cannot gain access to a propriority program need to run the
business. I know the puter originally came with windows home edition, but now
it has Pro in it. I don't even know if the Pro is legal. Any Input out there
would be appreciated

Mike B MCP

 

[Nepatsfan]

(e-mail address removed),

My problem is an odd one. I'm trying to avoid reformating
and reinstalling windows on one of the puters in small
network. It seems that a prevous most liklely disgrunteled X
employee has deleted all user accounts except admin and of
course the guest account. I've already Started in safe mode
hoping that the user didn't place a password under the Admin
account but he did.The guest account cannot gain access to a
propriority program need to run the business. I know the
puter originally came with windows home edition, but now it
has Pro in it. I don't even know if the Pro is legal. Any
Input out there would be appreciated

Mike B MCP

Either of these tools will allow you to reset the Administrator
password to a blank.

Offline NT Password & Registry Editor, Bootdisk / CD
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

What is the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows?
http://www.ubcd4win.com/

While the UBCD takes longer to create I've found it to be the
easiest to use.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

In the past, I have used the following method described at
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=305. You do,
however, need a bootable WinXP cd.

1. Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it’s
assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be - and that you
have your bios set to boot from CD)

2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd Typically, it
will be “Press any key to boot from cdâ€

3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting
your system and loading files.

4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows
now

5. The Licensing Agreement comes next - Press F8 to accept it.

6. The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a
Repair.

It should read something like “If one of the following Windows XP
installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair itâ€

Use the up and down arrow keys to select your XP installation (if you only
have one, it should already be selected) and press R to begin the Repair
process.

7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start
copying files which can take several minutes.

8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot.
(this will happen automatically – you will see a progress bar stating “Your
computer will reboot in 15 secondsâ€

9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of “pressing any key†to boot
from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard
billboard screens and you will notice Installing Windows is highlighted.

10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see
the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10. This is the security
hole! A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide
access to your system.

11. At the prompt, type NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter. Voila! You have just
gained graphical access to your User Accounts in the Control Panel.

12. Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your
password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your
new password, you can type control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to
log on without being asked for password. After you’ve made your changes close
the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair (have your
Product key handy).

13. Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new
password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose
not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings
should remain intact.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

My problem is an odd one. I'm trying to avoid reformating and reinstalling
windows on one of the puters in small network. It seems that a prevous
most
liklely disgrunteled X employee has deleted all user accounts except admin
and of course the guest account. I've already Started in safe mode hoping
that the user didn't place a password under the Admin account but he
did.The
guest account cannot gain access to a propriority program need to run the
business. I know the puter originally came with windows home edition, but
now
it has Pro in it. I don't even know if the Pro is legal. Any Input out
there
would be appreciated

Mike B MCP

If the system was deliberately damaged, consider that you may not know the
extent of the damage and might spend a lot of time on it before a trap
appears.

There are password removal utilities and boot disks, and from any admin
account you can remove passwords for other accounts, but if encryption was
applied, doing this will permanently end any chance of recovering any
encrypted data.

I would suggest that you make an image of that drive, using something like
Acronis True Image, and then do a clean install starting with redoing
partitions. Or, perhaps, remove the drive, set it aside and install a new
hard disk. This will keep you from being in a position where some
time-bomb goes off; it's the only way you can be sure that doesn't happen.
This may cost you a couple of hours now, in exchange for uncertainty and
grief later.

HTH
-pk