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Cannot log on after removing the computer from the domain

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by tentedmed 1 view

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Re: After I changed my computer's membership from a domain to a workgroup and restarted the computer, I cannot log on to the PC. I get this error message:

"The system could not log you on. Make sure your user name and domain are correct, then type your password again. Letters in passwords must be typed using the correct case. Make sure that Caps Lock is not accidentally on."

Machine's OS = Windows XP Pro SP2.

My questions are:

- Since I cannot log on to Windows to Restore my PC to a previous restore point, what are my options?

- Can I mount the HDD into a USB enclosure and plug it into another XP machine and run Regedit, "Load Hive" from that HDD and modify whichever file I need to edit (if the registry?s where I even need to fix the problem) and fix whatever I need to be able and log back on to my PC?

- Or is there a way to boot the machine up with a CD or recovery utility disk and run a restore point to get my machine back to where it was before I made this change?

Thank you.

Ted

4 replies

by thumbsup2

A quick answer for your questions are No, No and No. Restore points won't fix a password. In addition, running regedit from the external HDD will still edit the CURRENT registry or hive of the computer you're using.

The problem is, obviously, you aren't using the correct username/password combination for the LOCAL machine. If you have removed it from the domain, forget anything you knew ABOUT that domain. If you're trying to use your domain username/password combination, it won't work.

You should have an original username/password to use from before it was placed on the domain. At the very least, you should be able to log in as the "Administrator" using the password for THAT account. AND, if all else fails, contact your domain administrator to see if they know what the username/password would be for the LOCAL machine.

by tintoman

That when you get to the log in screen you are still trying to log in to the domain, you need to click the little down arrow at the side of the box under the user name and password boxes and change to ""Computername"(This Computer)
If you think there might not be a user name and/or password dont put any in and log on

by cg it

is that once you remove the computer from the domain, domain accounts are no longer valid for the local machine.

you can try using administrator with a blank password. If that doesn't work, you can try using your domain administrators user account with a blank password.

After that, you will have to reset the local machine's administrators password. There are various utilities that can do this which are readily available on the internet.

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