Overriding a password in Win XP

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pillar

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So heres the issue I have; I was recently given an older desktop by 1 of my moms next door neighbors. Two issues reside in this desktop. Someone upgraded the OS (originally had Win 98 in it) and didnt think to put the cd-key on the back or the side of the case. 2nd issue is that this lady wants me to try & figure out how to override the password. Ive searched up videos on this issue & they all show how to do it, once you're in the account. I dont think there is a way to override a password in win xp correct? I was hopefully trying to get into command prompt, but you cant do that in win xp w/o having to go into the os itself. the good news is that i was given a legit copy of win 98 se for a system w/o an os (or in this case a system that possibly needs an os w/o a password).

Any ideas?
 
So, it has win xp on it now correct?

Are you able to boot into "safe mode" and login as "Administrator"?

If you can't, do you have a XP cd available?
 
i guess i didnt make myself clear & i apologize on that part. i do not have the password to the admin account. i do have a win xp cd, however i do not have the cd-key, so it makes the cd useless. i figured i would be able to go into administrator in safe mode, but it even requires the password in safe mode, which doesnt make sense. any ideas?
 
the passwords are stored in c:\windows\system32\config\SAM. You COULD put that hard drive in another computer (as a secondary drive) and access that file.

It's really an encrypted hash, so you would need to download a program that can read them. Tons on the net.

Also.. um, check out the below link. Probably what you are actually wanting..

http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/
 
i have a program if you can boot via a Cd.. its called active boot disk. (google it) and you can reset any password in windows
 
ok so im downloading both files. now ive never heard of this active boot disk software. will the readme file teach me how to be able to bypass the password feature & unlock it or will the software automatically unlock it or how will it work? just found a video on youtube on how to create a boot disk by burning a cd, but thats all.

also for the active boot disk, if i ask it to boot to dos, will it actually overwrite the files & actually come up to the command prompt?
 
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Active boot disk looks pretty nice. I glanced over the web page, it looks like it takes you to a menu selection that will allow you to choose what to do (like resetting passwords)
 
But you didnt see my question. I have options to boot to windows, boot to dos, or boot to both. Which do I need to choose?
 
pillar are you talking about after you booted from the disk...? If you haven't booted from that disk yet, you do that first. Option should be in bios, though it sounds like you're already at that stage..
 
So heres the issue that I run into. For the Active boot disk deal, I can find out what all settings are set, however in order to override the software, I have to purchase Active boot disk, so thats outta the ? (according to the demo version of active boot disk). I will soon run the other software that was mentioned.
 
Well looks like overriding the password is out of the question since i only have the demo version of Active boot disk. I even looked for torrented version of the software & the software wanted a floppy disk to put the info onto & this desktop that I game on doesnt have a floppy disk anymore. Good news is that I have Win 98 se so ill install that on the desktop & upgrade it all the way.
 
http://www.backtrack-linux.org/

It's a bootable version of linux that has everything you could ever want to do "penetration testing."

In essence it has a program to clear passwords out to allow you to regain control of your own systems.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-8XEbD5ROI[/ame]

I've done this many times, so if you run into issues, just let me know and I'll assist you further.

The only disclaimer I'm going to throw out here is that it's illegal to use these programs on systems that you do not have permission to access and/or own.
 
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hey shadowblade, my ? is can i burn this software onto a cd so i can try & run it on this machine?
 
+1 ShadowBlade...

I've used backtrack for many a Wi-Fi hack and a few spare Win hax. I much prefer Hiren's Boot CD for Password Removal, however.
 
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