Forgotten Password WK

Additional thpught! I've discussed a clean install, however, the client cannot loose the data. His backup is several weeks old(new client , will now backup regularly on my advice)and he is not sure what he will loose. Can I use Laplink to transfer the documents the he needs and then do an install?
Thanks

Are we talking about W2K ?? If not then ignore the rest of this. Theres no hardware based fix to the loss of a password at the operating system level. there are some backdoor hacks to recover a password, but you'll probably need a brute force attackand that could take days. Accessing the drive via a booot floppy using NTFSDOS (if the partition is ntfs) will give you access to the disk and allow you to copy files. But by far the easiest approach is a reinstall using the same partition. this will trash the registry and winnt folder (although you can install to a different folder if you like) so his apps are unlikely to work, but all of the data will not be touched and can be accessed as normal afterwards. sounds like you will have to rebuild his machine anyway... hope this helps...

I am talking about W2K

I agree with 1st response. Other options, yes use laplink to save data to simular machine, Or use another hard drive with a fresh install, put problem HD on second controller and copy all needed files to new system then remove the problem drive. This may take less time than trying to figure out how to get the password!!! Both drives have to be either NTFS or FAT.

Did you set up the machine? How did you handle the administrator account? If it still exists and you know that password, your problem is solved.

This question was closed by the author