• Serious Windows Vista password recovery problem
    7 replies, posted
Alright, so my friend still has Vista, despite everyone trying to convince him to switch to 7. He forgot his password a while ago. He tried the usual stuff, you know, trying to guess the password, then he tried to use Safe Mode and use the default Admin account that gets created when you install Windows to reset it. This didn't work as well, due to Microsoft turning that account off at default to improve security or something. Then he used an utility on one of these PC Recovery discs to reset his password. The problem is, it didn't. Instead it fucked his password up so that every similar program just tells him the password is gone, and yet he still gets asked for a password everytime he tries to log in (leaving the field empty doesn't work, and neither does entering random stuff). I then ask you, on behalf of my friend, dear H&S Windows section: wat do?
Seeing how you've already tired the password recovery programs: 1.) make linux bootable CD/flashdrive 2.) copy his stuff to flashdrive/external HDD/cds/dvds 3.) reinstall windows That's what I would do. Unless you could take the HDD out and hook it into a different machine to copy the files that way. Unless there's a second tier of even more hacky stuff that I don't know about.
There are several bootable Linux LiveCDs that can help with this... Hiren's Boot CD (Windows Password Reset Tool within Mini XP) Rescatux Offline NT Password and Registry Editor Winpass, a utility on Trinity Rescue Kit Lockpick on the ERD Commander 2008 boot CD Just to name a few. You boot them from disc or USB, reset the password to blank, and then reboot.
Yes, Win7PE_SE I use personally, in my own built environment using WinBuilder. Get a hold of Trinity Rescue Kit and burn it to a CD from a different computer. And always keep a copy of it with you, since it is one of the easiest ways to reset the windows password, it should only take you about 10 minutes to get it reset if you tell it to load normally, mount all local harddrives, then run WinPass, select the harddrive, and choose a username to reset the password for, reset it, and then restart the computer.
I found a really awesome bootable CD called 'Reset Windows Password'. ([b][url]http://www.passcape.com/index.php?section=downloads&category=14&id=4[/url][/b]) [I](The download says it's Shareware, but you're not locked out of any functionality, and it gets the job done.)[/I] Not only can it blank User Account passwords, but it can also brute-force attack many different ways, AND search the Windows cache for the password! I've had 100% success rate just using the 'search Windows cache' method. It's like Ophcrack, ON crack! It works with XP through Windows 8 so far. [img]http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/2607/rwp1.png[/img] [img]http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/3601/rwp7.png[/img] [IMG]http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1341/rwp3.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1535/rwp4.png[/IMG]
My preference is: [url]http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/[/url] Works every time :)
[QUOTE=Nisd;34738502]My preference is: [url]http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/[/url] Works every time :)[/QUOTE] I prefer a GUI, but I've used that several times too. Highly recommended, as it still works with Windows 8. :)
He used the Offline NT Password and Registry Editor and managed to regain access. Thanks for the help, guys.
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