Help!!!!

callumf · 23-06-07, 08:55 AM

My [HEH "better half"] has Reset the windows password on my daughter's PC and forgotten what she's changed it to.

Daft mare.

I mean... by jeeperty doo what the hell?

Any ideas on this one?

Futt · 23-06-07, 09:25 AM

Any other accounts on the box with administrator privileges? If so, log in and fire up the user manager, you should be able to change anyone's password from there.

Do you remember what password you set for the "Administrator" user during install? Log in as "Administrator" - you will have to press CTRL-ALT-DELETE on the login screen to get a domain-type login prompt, and enter the username "Administrator" by hand, then the password. If you can't remember the password, try leaving it blank, there might not be one set. What brand of computer is it? I know some vendors, like IBM, used leave the default Administrator password set to "a".

Next, you can try to load the "Last known good" configuration. Press F8 immediately after POST (Power On Self Test), as Windows starts loading, then select the "last known good config" option from the menu. This might or might not work, depends, but if it works the password should now be set back to what it was before it was changed.

If all else fails, you can use an offline password reset utility, such as Peter Nordahls NT Password recovery boot disk. Download the CD image, burn it, and boot the system from the CD. Follow the instructions carefully, this is not a pointy clicky thing, it requires some skill and attention. On the upside, using this method you can boast your 1337 Linux H4x0r sk1llz down the pub later tonight.

Failing all that - disable your firewall and I'm sure some 13 year old skript kiddie has hacked it in a few minutes, ask nicely and he might give you the password.

Aeribian IV · 23-06-07, 10:56 AM

Give a good clean in warm soapy water, scrub all the password data off

Sally Buttons · 23-06-07, 12:20 PM

No, soapy water is no good. In a case like this, you need some CILIT BANG!

Ebony&Markus · 23-06-07, 12:44 PM

Hmmmm.... I think vanish oxi would be better myself.

Futt · 23-06-07, 01:57 PM

Don't write in all caps!! I was wondering what the hell CLIT BANG is...

Sally Buttons · 23-06-07, 02:40 PM

Don't make me get Barry Scott onto you!

Ebony&Markus · 23-06-07, 06:04 PM

oooooh misreading Cilit bang as clit bang.... I wonder what Freud would make of that

callumf · 25-06-07, 09:19 AM

Well the administrator password had been screwed up between her and the adughter as well =/

But all in all I simply reinstalled windows xp over the top of the old install which seems [as I remembered rightly] to only update the correct files not deleting the drivers!

SO it was a neat little job needing a few clicks and leavign it installing while I went shopping!

But thanks for the input - next time I might try the haXXOr route!

Taggart · 25-06-07, 11:29 AM

should also set their accounts to limited so they can't screw it up again