GolfHos

I got this Laptop.  Previously corporately owned.  The only thing separating it from me owning it and it being a boat anchor is it's locked by the windows password.

I don't give a *feces* what's on it.  I just want it to be my laptop.

There has to be some F4 ALT CTRL F15 to get to some root menu to re-boot the thing.

What do I do?

(I got this today.  Legitimate source.)

 

Long cables, really long cables.

Wait till you get the Ubuntu CD and boot from that, then load it.

Seriously.

You could do the same with a Windows CD too. Unless you have the password these really are your only option.

C. ,

I guess my question is, how do I get to that?  When I power on.....what "F" do I push to get to that option?

Why not call your "legitimate source", get the password and then change it?

If he knew it, I would not have posted this thread.  *fudge*head.


Computer is from an IT guy.  Computer was surrendered from a large corp.  Normally they just get recycled(read: thrown in the trash.)

It's locked with a Windows password.  I either need to get passed that, or figure out a way to re-boot the machine, or throw the damn thing out like it was destined ......

I just thought I could get to the guts, and start from scratch.    [sm_banghead]

;D That is harsh only because I thought the same thing about contacting the "legitimate source."  Give me credit though, because I thought that the only reason you hadn't done that is because you drank a 12 pack in celebration for getting such a good deal thereby losing the ability to remember that you had a source.

Is the laptop running XP or Vista?


If it's running XP, there's a utility I've used on one of my XP machines at work to reset a password.  You have to create a boot floppy with some utilities on it.  It's a little involved, but we can walk you through it.


There are nice instructions at this page:
http://www.windows-help-central.com/lost-xp-password.html
(starting at Creating the boot disk.  You don't need to fill out the form to request a download link.  The existing link works fine)

That page basically walks you through an old password recovery tool for NT that works for XP.  The instructions at the link above go through the steps including downloading a file from
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Ahah :-\

I'm sorry Ted.  Long day yesterday, a lot going on around here.  I had a pretty low boiling point.

Thanks dys.  I guess I will need some help, with that program you have. Windows XP Pentium 4. Dell Latitude, 15 inch monitor, DVD drive, lots of other holes to plug *feces* it, about an inch tall, black, no prior arrests,last seen sitting on my desk.(and having you walk me through it no doubt)

I found and downloaded OPHcrack and that booted up and loaded Ubuntu*, but I can't see where it found/resolved the Windows password.

*A.  I know, I know.
  B.  Spankers, you could prob. save the postage if you haven't sent it out yet.
  C.  No!  I want to get to the Windows for right now, Aske.
  D. San Dimas High School Football Rules!

Worst case scenario: Last I priced them, new laptop hard drives are relatively affordable.

[edit] *fudge*head.

Yeah.  Last resort.

If I do that, don't I have to "buy" Widows as well?

I've seen OEM copies of XP going for $70-$80 on ebay. Given how frequently windows needs repair, it might not be a bad idea to buy it anyway.

buy xp discs while they're still available.  windows sucks!
oh, and of course ubuntu is free  [sm_devil]

i'm sure your computer would recognize either a windows xp disc or ubuntu disc and autoboot from them.  if not ,  we could guide you through changing the BIOS boot order.  (but i'd recommend you be sober for that  ;) )

LOL  I did all that (and everything in dystopia's links and instructions on that website).

I get all the way through it, (reset password, change to "mike", accept, blah, blah) remove the cd, reboot
  It that black screen dealie it sets to reset the default admin (which is what I need at this point)
It is calling it MDTLCLADM.

Go to log in.

I get Windows boot up CTRL. Alt.Del.  Type that in, and mike and it still says "System can not log you in.  Make sure username and password are correct.   [sm_scratch] [sm_banghead] :yield:

Did you use the long cables or the really long cables when you tried this?

Anybody else want some??!!
(http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n132/powerballadman/boomstick1.gif)

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/78/Evil_dead_03.jpg/235px-Evil_dead_03.jpg)
Gimme Some Sugar Baby

Rats.  I thought that would work.  I'm impressed you got through the black screen dealie.  That tool is pretty tough to navigate.  It might be too late, but I found another page with better details on getting through the black screen part:
http://www.watchingthenet.com/reset-windows-password-when-you-have-forgotten-it.html


There are a few more free options to try on this page:
http://www.petri.co.il/forgot_administrator_password.htm
(I haven't tried them though, the "EBCD – Emergency Boot CD (v0.61 - October 2004)" one looks promising)

Thanks dys.  I'll give it a shot later.




Is this a bad time to bring up the fact that I'm also having trouble with my wireless router?   ;D

Bad time?  Why would it be a bad time?  We like talking about computer problems! :D

Any ideas?

Installed wireless dealie a week or so ago, and now it won't connect no matter what.  When I first installed it it was fine, now, nada.  Change to a different computer............nyet.  Nephew was over with his Apple device, used to come right up...........now just says "unable to connect".

 :'(

Nothin' personal. ;D

I've had lots of those days.

Ask other Windoze experts around here, but my son had a password problem with a new Compaq (long time ago), and was told to remove the internal battery to kill the BIOS then to start from scratch.

(What do I know, I run a Mac. ;D)

Edit: Oops, sorry to have mentioned 'Mac'.

Oh, I'm more on board with Mac than you realize, it's just I'm short on McDollars.

I got this for free, so I thought I make the best of it.

routers are generally pretty cheap for what they 'give you' .  build quality is therefore low.   it could be flat out broken,  or it could have just somehow or another power cycled and lost its settings.  hardwire in and reset all your settings?

Just referring to your nephew's "Apple device."

Mc What now?   [sm_scratch]

I got it plugged into my main pc.  "hardwired" I guess.

No, I made the decision to go all Mac a while ago.  I'm just waiting 'til I have a few more bucks, or we move.

(I'm hoping the move comes first.)

It always comes back to this.

ARRRGH!!!!!  baumas2  Who are you!!!!!!!!!??? ?
(http://www.msoci.com/andrea/archives/sun.jpg)

Is baumas2 one of the users on the laptop?

What other users do you see when you are on this screen?
(http://www.watchingthenet.com/wp-content/uploads/image/recoverpassword8.png)

tMe3WDmxBEI

No.   It's just what has always come up in the Windows login.

RID                                        ADMIN?          Lock?
03f4    ASPNET     
01f5    Guest                                               dis/lock
03f6    HelpAssistant                                     dis/lock
01f4    MDTLCLADM                   ADMIN           dis/lock
03f3    SMSCLiTToknLocalAcct&                       
03f8    SUPPORT_388945a0                            dis/lock   


                                 

 ;D

That's interesting that there's no baumas2 in that list.  It's possible that account was deleted or maybe it's a network account that uses the SMSCLitTokn... account as a local proxy. (?)

I have a couple of ideas to try if you get a chance to work on the machine this week.

Idea #1
a) Instead of resetting the MDTLCLADM account to mike, I'd try blanking it out.

In these instructions, it recommends using an asterisk to blank out the password

b) In fact, in the FAQ for that utility, they recommend blanking vs. changing the password

c) Remove the cd, reboot to windows, and try logging in as MDTLCLADM (instead of baumas2) with no password (not a blank, not an asterisk, just don't enter anything in the password field)


Idea #2
It's weird that in your list it says that the MDTLCLADM account is disabled/locked.  In the screen where you're editing the MDTLCLADM account.  I would see if you can uncheck it if it says that account is disabled/locked.
[ X ] Disabled
(http://www.watchingthenet.com/wp-content/uploads/image/recoverpassword10.png)

dys., I'll try those out tonight when I get home.  I didn't bring it with me to work.



However, I think I found where it's hanging up(not sure if I can fix it though).

In the beginning of the black screens, where the instructions say just to accept the defaults, I was blowing past an error message that says something did not load.

"you may continue, but changes will not be saved."   Found it this morning when I was reading every word on every page.

It wants me to boot Windows in safe mode twice, and then come back and try again.

We'll see what happens.  Don't get off 'til 9pm tonight, so it'll be a while.

[/b][/size]

I broke my cherry!  I'm officially a hacker!


 [sm_headbang]

[sm_thankyou]

(it was the problem with it not loading whatever.  Booted in safe mode twice, ran the boot cd again, and it walked right through like it should.  Windows login, MDTLCLADM  *password blank*.........loading you personal settings.  ;D)

Now, I'm sure there is a ton of *feces* I need to do to make it mine, where do I start?   :D

> format c:

Really?

I don't have a recovery disk for it.

Ummm, no.  Not really.   ::) [sm_shock]

;)

[$.02]I'd be  :airquotes: concerned  :airquotes: at best with the integrity of Windows on a used laptop. Buy an OEM copy of XP for cheap, and be certain that you have a good install from the beginning and that you can fix any problems you'll encounter sooner or later. And it will happen, but if it happens later then you have to worry about what to do with your files/settings/etc when you have to reinstall with a new copy Start fresh.[/$.02]

Oh, and well done on the "hack."  [sm_beertoast]

Phew.  I'm fragile right now.  ;)

I am buying a wifi USb dealie with a big honking antenna and going to Starbucks.

Woo-hoo!  [sm_beertoast]  Next week, I can show you how to hack golfhos so that every time Aske posts it subtracts from his post count and adds to yours.



(http://www.golfhos.com/images/usbdog.gif)
(http://www.baronbob.com/usb-humpinghoundanim.gif)



But seriously, similar to spacey's thoughts.  Do you trust your source for this computer?  This isn't some elaborate phishing scheme to get banking info or anything is it?

If you're not going to do a fresh install, I'd probably start with your favorite anti-virus and spyware apps and uninstall the things you aren't going to use.

yup, i'd be suspicious and fresh install anyways. (winblows and ubuntu)

be sure to get a good  is suite for winblows (like kaspersky  ;) )

Well, first, a big thank you to you.

I do trust the source.  This is a good friend of mine, who does IT networking for a very big company here (I won't say who, but they are know for making pacemakers  ;) )

He has *feces* like this pile up at his house and replaces/recycles pcs all the time.  People there move on, upgrade, etc.  He's got printer and copy machines coming out the wazoo.  And could tile his bathroom with 15 inch lcd monitors. He also had a brand new macbook pro that some lady spilled coffee on the keyboard.  He sent it off to Apple, they replaced the components.  In the meantime, she just ordered a new one.  He gave it to my brother in law.  >:(  Oh, well I got this one.

As far as security/app.s  The only thing I ever plan to use it for is to suf Hos from the couch, but more importantly when we leave and stay in a hotel.

Truth is, I would have been just fine with having Ubuntu, and firefox.  Other than plugging a DVD in for Maddie to watch during car rides, that truly is all I'll use it for.

Is it just me, or is that dog kinda hot?





And anyone ever heard of/tried Vision XP?

That's great!  [sm_thumbsup2] I thought you'd said something about getting it from a friend, but wanted to make sure.  Sounds like it'll be nice to have an extra machine around.

(And I've never heard of Vision XP)

If it works anything like their pacemakers, that laptop should inexplicably quit at precisely the moment you are driving onto a dangerous two lane bridge spanning a large canyon.

LOL