forgotten Win XP password

[camaroguy1998]

Is there a way to retrieve or change the windows log on password?
A friend has forgotten his password. I dont want to reload Windows if I dont have to!
There is data he would like to keep.

[kenc51]

Linux System Rescue CD

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows- ... rescue-cd/

[camaroguy1998]

Linux System Rescue CD

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows- ... rescue-cd/

Thank You Kenc51!
Unfortunately it did not work.
After it failed I talked to the owner again and got a little different story.....
Apparently he forced a shut down while windows was running updates,
Even though it told him not to turn it off or cut power.
I tried to do a windows repair but its asking for a password, which it does not accept.
Anyone have any ideas?

[kenc51]

Will it boot at all?
If it does, try booting into SAFE mode. You might be lucky and he left the default "Administrator" account alone and you might be able to login with user: Administrator and no password.

In fact, try the repair again and use "Administrator" and no password.

You could also try "Last Known Good Configuration" from the boot menu (press F8 at boot)

The next option is to "hack in"
You can use Linux (again) and use "0phcrack" to get the password using rainbow tables.
It can get the Windows password in a couple of minutes, as long as it's 14 charachters or less.
Anything longer might be a problem and could take a while, but still can be done.

http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/ --> use the live CD.
There's also a Windows .exe, but you'll need to move his hdd to another bootable PC to use this.

I haven't used it, but the FAQ and instructions are below
http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/o ... ck_Support


Ken

[Major_A]

http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/ --> use the live CD.
There's also a Windows .exe, but you'll need to move his hdd to another bootable PC to use this.

I've used this in the past with varying results. One computer I had to use it on gave me the password to the non administrative account. That did me virtually no good.

[camaroguy1998]

Here's a little more info....
It will boot to the windows login screen. It has his name when you click on it, it asks for the password. Which is rejected.
I used the Linux/RescueCD and changed the password(or at least went through the process) When trying to login it still rejects any password, old or new. I am able to boot into the BIOS and when I check the settings under the security tab it says both the Administrator and System passwords are NOT SET! That I find strange.
I'm going to try the safe mode boot and see what happens!
Thanx for all the ideas!

[camaroguy1998]

I was able to boot into the SAFE mode and access the UAC and remove all passwords.
It now boots up without issue!

Thank You!
Made my friend extremely happy!

[Major_A]

Jeez, didn't know it was that easy to remove passwords. If that's true in all Windows installs then it kind of defeats the purpose of the password. Thanks for sharing and glad you got it working.

[camaroguy1998]

Jeez, didn't know it was that easy to remove passwords. If that's true in all Windows installs then it kind of defeats the purpose of the password. Thanks for sharing and glad you got it working.

I hear you...I was amazed!
I worked on this thing for 5-6 hrs.
and when I tried the Safe mode boot, had it fixed in less than 10 mins.

Thanx for your ideas!
Thanx Kenc51!
Your help is greatly appreciated!

[kenc51]

Jeez, didn't know it was that easy to remove passwords. If that's true in all Windows installs then it kind of defeats the purpose of the password. Thanks for sharing and glad you got it working.

It should never be difficult to get into systems when you have physical access to the box. Sure, you can further lock it down; but what's the point.
When you boot in to Safe Mode (or run single user mode) there's no network connection, so this can't be done remotelty.
This is true for both Windows and Linux/Unix.

Thanx for your ideas!
Thanx Kenc51!
Your help is greatly appreciated!

Anytime