XP professional password
 

I don't know if anyone can tell me if, on xp professional, the password to the hidden administrator account is a generic, known by all password?

I know on the home edition, the password is blank, but I'm sure that I read that pro comes with a default.

It's just that my friend's (no, not me ;) ) computer has 2 user accounts on it, one has admin rights and the other not.

Now, the only person who had the password to the admin account has done a runner and we don't know the password.

The administrator account has a password on it, but I can't be sure if has been changed or not.

I swear to god that this is genuine and not dodgy. PM with the info if you like.

Re: XP professional password
 

Can`t you just boot into safe mode and delete the password on the Admin account that way?

Re: XP professional password
 

Can I do that from the limited account, because that's the only one that I have access to?

Re: XP professional password
 

I think you can in safe mode.
Reboot the PC and tap the F8 key until you get the options screen.
If you reboot in safemode, you are the Administrator.

Re: XP professional password
 

You still have to log in though.

Re: XP professional password
 

Don`t you just log in as Administrator? then remove the password.?
I could have got this whole thing wrong and i apologise to all if i have:)

Re: XP professional password
 

Default is blank but on first boot up you are given the option to set a password I think so the person who installed it or first ran it may have set a password. Try blank if not then you could always try working around the problem.
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The person with the password for the only other admin account has done a bunk ;)

Re: XP professional password
 

Can you not just delete the Admin account then? Or am i being a Tw*t:D

Re: XP professional password
 

ive been there and opened a thread lots of advice at http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...light=passwordit helped me good luck :)

Re: XP professional password
 

Erm no comment lol You cannot delete the main admin account (the protected\ built in\ hidden one) and you would need an admin account to delete the created admin account which is the one that the person created and subsequently disapeared with the password to.

Re: XP professional password
 

It`s official then! I`m a Tw*t!:D :dunce: Lol. Sorry!

Re: XP professional password
 

What Gazzae said in this post...will it have any side effects other than what was mentioned?

Luckily, it's still on fat32, so I might try that.

Re: XP professional password
 

I can't see any major side effects if it's on Fat32, it would be a different matter if it were on NTFS as you can end up losing files if they are encrypted etc.

Re: XP professional password
 

Super :)

Thanks for the advice people! :D

...I'll probably be back after it all goes wrong... ;)

Re: XP professional password
 

Can you not just do a repair install of XP? At least that way you get access to the hidden admin account again.

Re: XP professional password
 

No, installation disk did a runner as well ;) Unless I can do it without it?

Re: XP professional password
 

If you legally own an original, you can download/borrow another copy like-for-like and use it. Repairing an install of Windows won't mean you have to re-activate so you wouldn't have to worry about that.

Re: XP professional password
 

Do you have the serial key? If you have the key you can do as Punky says, source a replacement copy and install it with the key. Make sure the copy matches the Key though (obviously you will need a copy of Pro but was it an OEM version installed or normal shop purchased version?)

Re: XP professional password
 

Will this help?

[Admin Edit(Mick):-Link to Crack site Removed-Please don't post any links to warez or cracks sites. Thanks.]

Re: XP professional password
 

Only if it were an OEM version and if he has time on his hands to remove the rubbish that comes along with it ;)

Re: XP professional password
 

as soon as i clicked that link it tried to download files to my pc :confused:

Re: XP professional password
 

Yeah people need to be careful hitting that link, the site does try to install a few things in the background so that you gain access to the files on the site. Unfortunately a lot of the stuff it tries to install are spyware.

Re: XP professional password
 

Sorry was not looking to compromise anyones machine with the link.

Re: XP professional password
 

Nope but it does point out how careful we have to be with links lol. Any time someone posts a link to a warez or crack related site you should always be wary of clicking it. I knew what was going to happen when I clicked that link as I've seen that site before due to links on other forums but to anyone caught unawares it could be a long drawn out process to remove the rubbish that loads up in the background if you choose to allow the install to happen.
Next time a "user beware" type warning would be a good idea just in case :)

Re: XP professional password
 

What you need to use is a program called "ERD Commander", which will let you change the Admin password.

It's an indispensable tool for a tech.

Re: XP professional password
 

Oh if only they put an N at the start ;)

Re: XP professional password
 

not when i've done it. is it different for oem/non-oem CDs?

Re: XP professional password
 

Excellent tool, has got me out of the dodah a few times...
You could also try a brute force cracker (search the web) - might take a while though...

Re: XP professional password
 

I just tried this. When I tried to delete the SAM file and it wouldn't let me, saying that it was in use.

How would I be able to find out what service is using it and would I be able to close it from a limited account?

Re: XP professional password
 

You wouldn't be able to delete the SAM file while you're still using that installation. The normal procedure is to use either a Linux bootable CD, another application such as Winternals ERD Commander, or to use a bootdisk as outlined at http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

In all these cases, however, you're not actually accessing the Windows installation that you're trying to hack ...er, fix.

Re: XP professional password
 

Sorry, but I've never done anything like this before, but for the bootdisk, can this this be used?
Sorry, it's not dodgy. It's for my sister actually, her ex left, but left her computer with just his admin account and one limited family account. We don't know the passwords. :mad:

Re: XP professional password
 

Oops, didn't mean hack as in hack into something maliciously, I meant hack as in hack around with something... although re-reading my post, I can see how it could be interpreted both ways.

Sorry, Mal, didn't mean to imply you were doing anything dodgy... I use hacking all the time and it's not often referring to doing nasty/bad stuff. There's a difference in my mind between hacking and cracking.

Re: XP professional password
 

...and sorry from me...the mad smiley was for the ex, not you :)

Re: XP professional password
 

erm, as to your question... those MS boot disks are purely to enable you to gain access to a CD drive so that you can perform an installation of Windows from a CD on a PC that doesn't allow you to boot from a CD drive.

In all honesty, the most easiest way to fix the problem your sister has got is to use ERD Commander I gave you a link to in a PM a week ago. It's unbelievably easy to reset the password with that software. It boots into something which resembles Windows, and has an application called Locksmith that you run, it asks you for a new password for the Admin account and then changes the password for you. You remove the CD, reboot the PC and the problem's solved. I can't think of any more simpler way of doing it than that.
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Actually, I've got a CD sat oin my desk... lemme know if you want me to pop it in the post for you.

Re: XP professional password
 

:) The thing is, she hasn't got internet access as yet and you may find this strange, but I don't have a cdrw, so that's why I was trying to find another way.

Re: XP professional password
 

Would it not fit on a 3.5" disk (hopefully you have one of those)?

Re: XP professional password
 

Repair install re-sets the admin password- or so I've been told...