# Old password hack question...



## Kembudo-Kai Kempoka (Jul 24, 2009)

OK. So. I'm working on a number of writing projects, and on trying to manage a website for an upcoming event...on the site, I'm supposed to provide 24-hour turnaround when a sponsor for a benefit kenpo seminar purchases a spot. 

Problem? No PC. Solution? Friend loans me one of her extras, which she got from her pops. Problem? When she goes to turn it on to show me how to use dreamweaver, it says her password has expired, and needs to reset. She never had or used a password for it. So we contact her pops...she says its an old machine from work (now retired), and he has no idea.

So...how do I get past the password? It's an old dell Inspiron 8100, running Windows 2000. Since passwords exist for a reason, and I wouldn't want info on how to get past that "time to change your password" thingy being readily available online, if anyone has any information on how to slip through a back door and turn the password gate off, I'd much appreciate it. You can email it to me at kenpochiro1 @ yahoo.com Just remove the spaces.

Thanks,

Dave


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## Frostbite (Jul 24, 2009)

There's a boot disk image I use from time to time at work that you can find here:

http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/

It basically boots your computer into Linux and will allow you to rewrite the SAM file that contains local passwords for the computer.  It's fairly straightforward to use but make sure you read the directions thoroughly because you can do some harm.


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## Kembudo-Kai Kempoka (Jul 24, 2009)

Frostbite said:


> There's a boot disk image I use from time to time at work that you can find here:
> 
> http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/
> 
> It basically boots your computer into Linux and will allow you to rewrite the SAM file that contains local passwords for the computer. It's fairly straightforward to use but make sure you read the directions thoroughly because you can do some harm.


 
What's Linux?


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## jks9199 (Jul 24, 2009)

Kembudo-Kai Kempoka said:


> What's Linux?


Not to be rude or a jerk...  but if you don't know, it's quite possible that it's not the tool for you to use!

Linux is an alternative, largely or often open-source, operating system with a lot of similarities to UNIX.  Which pretty much exhausts my knowledge of it!  It sounds like the boot disk here would let you temporarily run the computer as a Linux PC long enough to fix the password.


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## Carol (Jul 24, 2009)

When Windows says the password is expired, it usually asked the user to enter in a new password (of the user's own chosing).

If there is no known password, then try logging on with the password blank.

If that does not work, try logging on as username: Administrator and a blank password

If that does not work, then the solution that Frostbite posted may be the most expedient way in.


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## Frostbite (Jul 25, 2009)

Carol Kaur said:


> When Windows says the password is expired, it usually asked the user to enter in a new password (of the user's own chosing).
> 
> If there is no known password, then try logging on with the password blank.
> 
> ...



Well, what's probably going on, if it was a former work computer, is that there's some domain group policy that dictates password expiration.  If that's the case, he can try logging on locally, doing what you described.  Although, no network admin worth their salt is going to leave a local administrator password blank.


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## Andrew Green (Jul 25, 2009)

Frostbite said:


> Well, what's probably going on, if it was a former work computer, is that there's some domain group policy that dictates password expiration.  If that's the case, he can try logging on locally, doing what you described.  Although, no network admin worth their salt is going to leave a local administrator password blank.




This assumes there is a network admin worth any salt at all.  I've seen some really important systems *running* as Administrator, without a password.  These are systems set up by a large, "professional" IT company.

Anyways, another option is to download and burn this:
http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/download.php?type=livecd

Which can crack most windows passwords in a few minutes.


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## DavidCC (Jul 27, 2009)

Kembudo-Kai Kempoka said:


> OK. So. I'm working on a number of writing projects, and on trying to manage a website for an upcoming event...on the site, I'm supposed to provide 24-hour turnaround when a sponsor for a benefit kenpo seminar purchases a spot.
> 
> Problem? No PC. Solution? Friend loans me one of her extras, which she got from her pops. Problem? When she goes to turn it on to show me how to use dreamweaver, it says her password has expired, and needs to reset. She never had or used a password for it. So we contact her pops...she says its an old machine from work (now retired), and he has no idea.
> 
> ...


Still a problem?

if she never entered a password before, it is possible that the password is blank.  Try hitting escape or clicking cancel, see if it lets you in anyway (of course that is so obvious you prolly already tried that!) or enter a new password and use blank for old password maybe??


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## Bob Hubbard (Jul 27, 2009)

Win2k won't allow you to avoid the login by escaping out.  You can use a boot disk and a 3rd party reset utility.  I had to do that for a client back in 03 who had been locked out of their network and workstations by their former IT guys.  Can't recall the program though.

Here's a few links that might help



*Reset Windows 2000 admin password? / Infopackets.com*

How can I _reset_ my _Admin password_? Thank you for reading this and any help is *...* Put the disk in your locked-out _Win2K_ Pro computer, and reboot. *...*
www.infopackets.com/.../20031030_*reset*_windows_2000_*admin*_*password*.htm - Cached - Similar
*How to Reset the Administrator Password*

My machine boots into _Win2K_ Pro and _Win2K_ Server, so I started _Win2K_ Server and _reset_ the _Administrator password_ to blank. Then, I launched regedt32, *...*
windowsitpro.com/.../how-to-*reset*-the-*administrator*-*password*.html - Similar
*Access Denied: Reset the Administrator Password on a Locked-Out ...*

Because your machine is a _Win2K_ system, you can't load its SAM into L0phtCrack to crack the _administrator password_. L0phtCrack would be unable to crack the *...*
www.windowsitsecurity.com/.../access-denied-*reset*-the-*administrator*-*password*-on-a-locked-out-machine.html - Similar
*Cool Solutions: Changing Local Administrator Password on Win2000 ...*

Feb 14, 2007 *...* net user <userID> <newPassword> echo <UserID> _password_ was _reset_ on *....* the _Administrator password_ on over 2000 WinXP and _Win2k_ PCs on a *...*
www.novell.com/coolsolutions/tip/15516.html - Cached - Similar
*Forgot the Administrator's Password? &#8211; Change Domain Admin ...*

Forgot the _Administrator's Password_? - _Reset_ Domain _Admin Password_ in Windows 2000 AD Note:  In order to successfully use this trick you must first use one *...*
www.petri.co.il/*reset*_domain_*admin*_*password*_in_windows_2000_ad.htm - Cached - Similar
*Resetting the Administrator's password*

Jun 2, 2004 *...* I've forgotten the _Administrator password_. How can I _reset_ it? *...* There is also a way to _reset_ the _Administrator password_, do what you want *...*
www.techstorm.net/*win2k*/*resetpassword*.html - Cached - Similar


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## Jdokan (Aug 13, 2009)

i posted a similar question maybe a year or so ago...go several responses of which I replied to with the solution I found to work great...search on that.  Hope this helps.....


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