Win2k Admin Password problems

[mwtakahas]

OK, I need some ideas on how to get back access to a win2k pro machine.

The machine was part of a domain, it has the following accounts on it:

Administrator/localmachine
user1/domain (admin priv)

I forgot the admin password, I meant to change admin password while logged on to user1/domain account. Unfortunately, I took the machine off the domain, and rebooted - forgot to change the Administrator/localmachine password. Now since the machine is no longer on the domain, and can't get authenticated, and I don't know the admin local password, I can't get back on the machine.

Any Ideas on what to do next?

thanks in advance,
michael

 

[Tourist]

I'd recommend using a tool such as LC3 to recover the local admin password.

More info can be found at:

http://www.atstake.com/research/lc3/index.html

I've used it once on a NT4 server. It found the password in less than 3 hours. Never tried it on a Windows 2000 though. In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates?

 

[mwtakahas]

lc3 says you need to be logged in on an account with admin privileges... unfortunately, I don't have this option. There were only 2 accounts on this computer. One was the local administrator (which I forgot password.) The other is user/domain (admin priv.) The User/domain account was what I was using,and it had admin priv over the local machine, but the problem is I took this machine off of the domain. Is there a way I can actually get the user/domain account to work once the machine is off of the domain? At the login screen, it just has usernam, password, No domain field anymore.

 

[jeremybarker]

Check out this link:

http://windows.about.com/library/tips/bltip115.htm

Hope this helps!

 

[mwtakahas]

Thanks Jeremybarker, unfortunately, my drive is NTFS. The Link you posted said that will only work on FAT partitions.

 

[Tourist]

Can you still log on to that machine? With any account, the guest account maybe?
If so, you could change your domain policy temporarily so that everyone can add a workstation to the domain. Add the machine back to your domain, log on with a domain admin account and change the local admin password.

If you can't log on to that machine at all, I would try accessing the sam file under WINNT\system32\config. If you're using a FAT partition, you can pretty much use a simple boot disk to get that SAM file. If you're using NTFS, you'll need a bootdisk with a Linux Shell or NTFS for DOS. Copy the SAM file to another machine (put in on a floppy or something), install LC3 there and have it run on the SAM file.

Another option is to install a parallel OS or stick your harddisk in another PC as slave and try to recover the admin password from there.

Just search the forum for admin password and I'm sure you'll find all the answers you need. In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates?

 

[Guest_imported]

Try signing on the guest account with no password. "It is never too late to learn what is always necessary to know".
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC - 65AD); Roman philosopher and statesman.

 

[mwtakahas]

Unfotunately, the guest account was disabled. Can't get on that way.... How would I go about hooking the machine up to another via null modem cable, and then access the hard drive on the machine to get at SAM files? Once I get the sam files, I may be able to run LC3 on it. Any details on null modem cable setup and access would be appreciated...

 

[jeremybarker]

Try taking the hd w/ the os loaded on it and hook it up as a secondary drive to another pc. You could view the sam file that way and use the link I provided b4.
Another way around it?

 

[CapnWinky]

OK mwtakahas, I was just reading up on this the other day and the article I read said to use a copy of NTFSdos. With this, you can access files on NTFS drives. Just go to google and do a search on it. Boot up to dos with a dos bootdisk, then use the NTFSDos disk, with this, you can access your NTFS partition and get ahold of the SAM file from C:\WINNT\System32\Config.Then using LC3, you can get the admin password from the SAM file. I tried LC3 on my PC, it got the admin password pretty quick. Laterz, let me know if it works.