R5- previous IT support didn't leave admin/Cert passwords

[rdannand]

I apologize up front if this is a duplication of question. The Tek-Tips search feature is down for maintenance so I've been unable to find anything.
I'm trying helping my buddy Tim on a sticky-wicket case. Tim is a tech-of-all-trades in an IT support company with several small clients.
Tim's newly-contracted client company is a publishing shop running Lotus Notes Server with 20 mailboxes on an NT platform. A previous IT support company, now defunct, installed the server. They made 3 critical mistakes when they left: No administrator client was installed on a computer remaining in the shop. No password was left for a user ID with administrative rights, and no password was left for the Cert ID. Now the client has problems like user ID's hitting the recertification deadline (the early warning notification was turned off in Notes.ini)
Is there a way without the Admin client software that I can recover the Admin password and/or the Certification password? If I can recreate the Admin ID password, I should be able to install the admin client at least.
Perhaps there is a way to recert an ID and account using the Lotus Server command prompt only? I've had little experience in that so far. I'm still trying to figure out how they created new accounts, etc, from a Lotus command prompt window only, unless the first IT shop carried a laptop with the admin client on it.
Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Guy987]

Well. I hadn't looked at this earlier, so I don't know if this is too late to help...

Leave the server up, in case transaction logging is enabled.

From the server, open a command prompt and change to the Domino directory. No need to go to the data directory, just the one with the .exe's.

Type nlnotes at the command prompt. When the notes client comes up on the desktop, do a file->database->open. Leave it on local, and select the directory... names.nsf and click open.

When the database opens, goto files->database->access control and add someone from the office to the ACL as a manager, with full rights, including the rights to delete documents.

Close the about window for the database and from the list on the left hand side, open the servers section, open servers from the next section and you will see the server document. Double click and open the server document. On the Basics tab, locate the Administrators field and add this same user to the field. Do not delete anyone from the field.

Close the database. Close the client.

From the users workstation, download and install the admin client from IBM. They should now be able to open the admin client and have rights to the directory.

From the admin client, you can go to the configuration tab and you can try any obvious password you can think of for the certifier - start with the Admin password for the domain, any local admin passwords for the box, the company name, the bosses password, "users", "password", the Domino domain name, etc.

Hopefully, you will be able to succeed in discovering the correct password, because as far as I know, even IBM cannot get this back for you... although I would check, just in case this has changed since I went to class.

If you discover the password, change it to something that somebody will remember or note the correct password in a safe place. Remember as you are trying to get into the certified password, it will take longer and longer with each wrong attempt….

Hope this helps to get you there.

Leo L’Homme, PCLP