PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => Windows PCs & Software: Help, News & Discussion => Topic started by: Lona on February 23, 2003, 02:10
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My friend has just acquired a pc and cannot get into windows as it is asking for a password. Is there a way round this? ???
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Can you start it up in SAFE mode Lona then go to Control Panel and then to passwords and see if you can delete the requirement for it in there?
The only sure way I can think of is to boot it from the floppy and use FDISK to format the drive and reinstall an operating system.Do you know which OS is on it at the moment?
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To the best of my knowledge it was an ex works PC and has windows NT which I am not familiar with. I haven't actually seen the machine in question so don't know the spec but I thought I would ask for advice first before I go look at it. I was quite surprised when my friend said it had one large speaker. I would have thought it would have had 2.
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Greetings Lona 8)
Look at this BHS support centre/NT (http://32bit.bhs.com/downloads/category.asp?cid=47)
Still worth a look to the techies in here tho ;).
There are a few password recovery programs in there, hope you manage to crack it ok.
Whoops silly me, I forget about this one we use at work ;)
try this one (http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/) this one will be a better choice me thinks. :-*
Hookstar
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Nice links Hook, thanks very much 8) :D
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That was excellent, Hookstar. I have e-mailed that link to my friend and he can get on with it.
I will let you know if he ever manages to get into Windows. :)
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Hi again. Because my friend is a numpty when it comes to computers. I have downloaded a key to unlock passwords for Windows NT. If he puts in the boot disk will there be easy instructions for him to follow? ???
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I went down to my friends. Used the boot disk which allowed me to reach the WindowsNT logo screen but there is another Novell systems logo which is asking for the password. Now would I be right in thinking I need to find a Novell password key?
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On the Novell login screen you will find a tickbox marked "Login to Workstation only" or something similar.
Ticking this box should allow you to get to the NT desktop. If you are logged in as Administrator you should be able to remove the Novell Networking client either from Add/Remove programs or the Network icon in Control Panel (I can't remember which it is in NT :-[)
Best of luck! Post back if you need further help :)
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We tried ticking the workstation box but it didn't let us in.
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As long as you have a correct password for the username you are trying to login with it should work.
It doesn't sound like the password you have is the correct one.
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Adept, this is an ex office pc that my friend was given. The whole problem is he doesn't have the password.
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Sorry, I thought the download that Hookstar mentioned allows you to reset a user's password to anything you want. You should run that software and set the Administrator password to something you will remember (or blank).
You will then be able to log in with the workstation tickbox ticked :)
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I put the disk in like I would a boot up disk but nothing happened. I'm probably doing something daft. I noticed the pc had windowsNT version 4 and the disk I downloaded was for version 5. Do you think that's why it didn't work. I went back in to hookster's site but could not find anything for version 4.
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Ah! :)
I think you may need to enable the PC to boot off a floppy of a CD (whichever it is you are using).
You'll need to go into the BIOS to do this. I hope it's not password protected :o
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I've just realised that the link Hookstar gave you is for a program I've used myself. The program is actually a very small installation of Linux, dedicated to reading the NT/2000 password database. It actually works very well and has pulled my bits out of the fire on many occasions ;D
If you are not seeing a very unfamiliar text-based interface when you boot the PC, something is wrong. I think you'll probably need to enable booting from the floppy drive or the CD drive.
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At least this is keeping Lona out of the Quiz Zone!! ;D ;D
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Your telling me Simon, the Quiz Zone is a doddle to this.
Adapt, you're right, I have been reading through the FAQ and it says I need the original copy of winNT in the rom drive for hookstars programme to work or create a boot disk. How do I get into the bios when I switch on pc as it just boots up immediatlely and I don't want the logo screen to come up.
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What brand is the PC Lona? If it's an IBM or a Compaq I think you press F2 to get into the BIOS.
Try F1 and DEL as the PC is booting too ;)
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It's a compaq, Adapt. Will I be able to create a boot disk from there.
I've just thought of something. If I can stop Novell from loading would that get me right into WindowsNT? or am I talking mince ;D
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Hi Lona, all you can do from the BIOS is enable the PC to boot from a floppy disk, it can't create a boot disk for you.
As I understand it, the utility you downloaded will create a boot disk for you, but you need to create it on a machine other than the one you are trying to crack get in to ;)
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The utility I downloaded is a programme,Adept. I have interrogated the disk and there is nothing on it for creating a boot disk. I will have to find a boot disk for windowsNT from somewhere.
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I've just downloaded the file at http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bd030126.zip (http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bd030126.zip)
All it contains is an image file of the boot disk you need to create.
To create the disk you need a program called rawrite
How to use the floppy
The unzipped image (bdxxxxxx.bin) is a block-to-block representation of the actual floppy, and the file cannot simply be copied to the floppy. Special tools must be used to write it block by block. For Dos, win95/98 & NT, use rawrite2.exe or some other imagewriter:
rawrite2 -f bd030126.bin -d A:
You can get a copy of rawrite from here (http://snallen.lsu.edu/disk_imgs/) The command given above needs to be typed in at the MS-DOS prompt.
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OK Adapt, I have downloaded rawrite.exe zip file to a floppy. I imagine if I open it a floppy will be too small for the programme.
I have the password programme on another floppy which is also a zip file.
What do I do now???
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OK Adapt, ...
... What do I do now???
Who this Adapt person Lona? There's only me and you here ;)
First thing you need to do is extract the rawrite program file somewhere. I'm assuming that you have another PC available other than the one you are trying to get in to?
You need to unzip the rawrite file into a folder and also unzip the other bd030126.zip file into this folder.
You should then be able to get into a DOS prompt. You will need to change directory to the one you just created by typing
cd \{your folder name}
Then you can type the command given earlier. This should then write a boot disk for you.
Phew :) I bet you thought this was going to be easy didn't you Lona ;) :D
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Ok AdaptAdept,see I can't even spell ;D
I open both files into the one folder. Then I go into dos and type the command you gave me. I should have a floppy disk loaded and that should create what I need to put into the other PC. I am not really understanding what I'm typing can you ;D
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Yes you have it exactly right.
Come on Lona, nearly there :) You can do it :gofor:
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Back to the drawing board,Adept. I did exactly what you told me. I opened a new folder, put the 2 files in it, went into dos cd dir and paste and copied your command. It came up no such file.
What's next? :)
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Hi Lona. Looking back at the earlier posts, I can see the problem. The file you have downloaded is called rawrite.exe and the command I asked you to enter is rawrite2
The command should be
rawrite -f bd030126.bin -d A:
Hope that works ;)
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Bingo, it worked. Now that I have the disk do I insert it in the other pc then boot up and follow the instructions it gives me? :)
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Yay! :welldone:
Yes that's right Lona. Just follow the instructions. There is a lot of text to read, but most of it is just Linux stuff that you don't need to worry about.
Just follow the prompts carefully and everything will be fine :)
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Thanks very much for your help adept :)I couldn't have managed on my own. It's been a long night, so I will go and have some fun now. I will let you know if the disk works. It maybe next week before I see my friend. I hope he's grateful. ;D :thanks:
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No problem Lona. I hope it all works out OK for you :)
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Funny, all my posts from yesterday morning have disappeared. Must be the new upgrade. Anyway, it was just to say that the floppy disc did not work. The pc just booted up as normal. I managed to get into setup by pressing del and went into passwords and changed it, but that made no difference. The orginal user kept coming up. Now what's worse I can't get into setup any more. I am flummoxed, as what to do next. :'(
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When you said the floppy didnt work Lona,do you mean it never even flashed the light to say it was reading?
As long as it is able to read a floppy I think,unless there is something on the PC that he wants,I would be tempted to just format it and reinstall an OS if it will let you do that ::)
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The password change software isn't all that easy to use Lona. I think you may have gone wrong somewhere. The software offers to change the Administrator user by default, so I am assuming this is the password you have changed.
If so, and assuming you've saved the changes you made to the password database, you should be able to log in as Administrator with the password you set.
Of course, if none of this makes sense to you, the disk probably isn't working properly :( Did you get screensful of text as Linux boots?
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It didn't even attempt to read the disc, as Sandra said the light did not flash on the A Drive. I managed to get into the setup when the machine was booting up and changed the password in setup. Now what's happening is when you try to get into setup it asks for a password which is nothing to do with the password after boot up. I noticed on the Hookster's site it was said that the disc did not work for older versions of NT so maybe I will have to download an older version of the programme. I am fed up trying to help the guy as he doesn't appreciate all the trouble I am going to. I have spent hours trying all kinds of variations and he couldn't care less, I think I will leave him to sort it out himself. I've lost interest >:(
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Oh well, at least you tried ;)
If you ever feel like having another go, I think we could probably get it working if I talked you through it live on MSN :)
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Sounds like the A drive isnt selected as first boot device in BIOS Lona.
It may be password protected there too so I think the easiest way would be to remove the battery for a few minutes to clear the CMOS.
Replace it and then get into BIOS and enable floppy seek and A as first boot device.
Then either try the floppy you have again or as I said before format the drive and reinstall the OS.
Whichever way you do it you need to get into BIOS to get the floppy to read :-*
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Lona's thinking "Boll**ks to it!!" ;D ;D
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Just an idea Lona,has the guy thought of asking for the password from wherever he got the PC from? Or is it a bit "iffy" ;)
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Let me put you all in the picture here...........
This is the husband of my friend who was given a PC by his employer from a department which was closed down. He doesn't know fart about PC's and I, with my limited knowledge decided to help him get into it. He doesn't give a toss and does not realise the complexity of breaking passwords. I have tried my best and failed. I hate to be beaten but there comes a time when you have to say stuff it and I have just about come to that time ;D ;D ;D. I will come on to MSN, Sean and tell you all that happened and you can see what you think but I have spent hours of my time and yours on this bloke who doesn't seem to be bothering his bum so why am I getting my knickers in an uproar for him. :aarrgh: