Formatting NT - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

The_Dude · 08-16-2003, 06:21 PM

ok, i need help!!!!

somehow, my OLD laptop seems to have screwed up the accounts and doesnt allow me to log in as admistrator

i only had one account and that was the "administrator" account and there was no pass for it , but it doesnt let me in anymore.

i'm willing to wipe the whole thing off if necessary.

1) there is no cdrom drive
2) the setup files for nt are on the c drive inside a folder, but they are inaccessible at this point.
3) i cant get into safe mode.
4) hd is ntfs, so i couldnt get access to the files using a win98 boot disk (is there an ntfs boot disk that would let me access to teh dos prompt?)

any ideas/suggestions welcome here.

Nooze2k · 08-16-2003, 07:50 PM

Dunno what you're gonna do without a cd drive. Only thing I can think of is maybe getting your hands on a USB cdrom or something. Might want to look into doing a network install if its possible, maybe Google "Windows NT network install" or something like that. Not too familiar with NT as much as I am with 2000/XP, so i probably can't help much, but I hope that all helps.

The_Dude · 08-16-2003, 07:54 PM

this thing is too old for usb's (yeah, real old).

my preffered os would be win98, but i cant (or cant afford) to get it on there.

one of my options is a parallel cdrom drive (as somebody suggested in an earlier question about the laptop) but that's not worth spending for a such a laptop.

and this doesnt have a nic either (wtf were they thinking) but does have a modem out. but i run on cable and dont have a dial up account (even if i did, i wouldnt be able to access anything without an OS)

Nooze2k · 08-16-2003, 07:59 PM

Access to a Zip drive at all? I know you can copy Win95/98 on to a Zip diskette to install, might work with NT as well.... Your situation is really dumbfounding .... if I come up with anything else I'll post it right away. BTW, what brand is the laptop?

darkure · 08-16-2003, 08:12 PM

I have not used this program for Win2k or XP but I remember that the linux boot disk this site offers for free download allowed me to change an NT4 admin password. It looks like the guy has updated it for new versions of Windows since I last had a need for it.

Pragma · 08-17-2003, 03:19 AM

The link that darkure listed is exactly what you want. I've used it for NT4, Win2k, XP, and Win2003. As long as you've got a floppy drive, you're good to go.

God of Thunder · 08-18-2003, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nooze2k
Dunno what you're gonna do without a cd drive. Only thing I can think of is maybe getting your hands on a USB cdrom or something.

USB does not work with NT at all!!

Tickford · 08-22-2003, 06:50 AM

Ok, what you need to do is to take the hdd out and plug it into another PC (using a HDD converter) that has NT/2K/XP on it. Set it up as a another disk. Boot into the other OS. Access your disk and you need to rename the SAM file. I think that is stored in the c:\winnt\system32\config directory. What you SAM does is stores all the user account information. Renaming it to SAM.old will give you a Administrator account with a blank password. So after you rename that file, put your hdd back into your laptop and boot the PC, then logon as Administrator with a blank password. You will just have to recreate all you user accounts....

Hope this helps....

ack32 · 08-30-2003, 04:10 PM

One other thing you might want to look into is a PXE network boot, where you can boot off of boot images stored on a network, but I would guess that if you've got other computers around to network boot from, you could probably just pop in your hard drive and get the files you need off of...

crashoverride · 08-30-2003, 05:23 PM

hmm as far as I know there is no way to access the files on your ntfs formated hard drive from dos without the password.

08-16-2003, 06:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
The_Dude The GrandDaddy of them all! Location: Austin, TX	Formatting NT ok, i need help!!!! somehow, my OLD laptop seems to have screwed up the accounts and doesnt allow me to log in as admistrator i only had one account and that was the "administrator" account and there was no pass for it , but it doesnt let me in anymore. i'm willing to wipe the whole thing off if necessary. 1) there is no cdrom drive 2) the setup files for nt are on the c drive inside a folder, but they are inaccessible at this point. 3) i cant get into safe mode. 4) hd is ntfs, so i couldnt get access to the files using a win98 boot disk (is there an ntfs boot disk that would let me access to teh dos prompt?) any ideas/suggestions welcome here. __________________ "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Darrel K Royal

08-16-2003, 07:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
Nooze2k Tilted Location: Ontario, Canada	Dunno what you're gonna do without a cd drive. Only thing I can think of is maybe getting your hands on a USB cdrom or something. Might want to look into doing a network install if its possible, maybe Google "Windows NT network install" or something like that. Not too familiar with NT as much as I am with 2000/XP, so i probably can't help much, but I hope that all helps. __________________ " Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies, Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I "

08-16-2003, 07:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
The_Dude The GrandDaddy of them all! Location: Austin, TX	this thing is too old for usb's (yeah, real old). my preffered os would be win98, but i cant (or cant afford) to get it on there. one of my options is a parallel cdrom drive (as somebody suggested in an earlier question about the laptop) but that's not worth spending for a such a laptop. and this doesnt have a nic either (wtf were they thinking) but does have a modem out. but i run on cable and dont have a dial up account (even if i did, i wouldnt be able to access anything without an OS) __________________ "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Darrel K Royal

08-16-2003, 07:59 PM	#4 (permalink)
Nooze2k Tilted Location: Ontario, Canada	Access to a Zip drive at all? I know you can copy Win95/98 on to a Zip diskette to install, might work with NT as well.... Your situation is really dumbfounding .... if I come up with anything else I'll post it right away. BTW, what brand is the laptop? __________________ " Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies, Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I "

08-16-2003, 08:12 PM	#5 (permalink)
darkure Addict Location: Dodging the ice pick	I have not used this program for Win2k or XP but I remember that the linux boot disk this site offers for free download allowed me to change an NT4 admin password. It looks like the guy has updated it for new versions of Windows since I last had a need for it. __________________ COYW

08-17-2003, 03:19 AM	#6 (permalink)
Pragma I am Winter Born Location: Alexandria, VA	The link that darkure listed is exactly what you want. I've used it for NT4, Win2k, XP, and Win2003. As long as you've got a floppy drive, you're good to go. __________________ Eat antimatter, Posleen-boy!

08-22-2003, 06:50 AM	#8 (permalink)
Tickford Insane Location: Australia	Ok, what you need to do is to take the hdd out and plug it into another PC (using a HDD converter) that has NT/2K/XP on it. Set it up as a another disk. Boot into the other OS. Access your disk and you need to rename the SAM file. I think that is stored in the c:\winnt\system32\config directory. What you SAM does is stores all the user account information. Renaming it to SAM.old will give you a Administrator account with a blank password. So after you rename that file, put your hdd back into your laptop and boot the PC, then logon as Administrator with a blank password. You will just have to recreate all you user accounts.... Hope this helps.... __________________ Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined. Samuel Goldwyn

08-30-2003, 04:10 PM	#9 (permalink)
ack32 Tilted	One other thing you might want to look into is a PXE network boot, where you can boot off of boot images stored on a network, but I would guess that if you've got other computers around to network boot from, you could probably just pop in your hard drive and get the files you need off of...

08-30-2003, 05:23 PM	#10 (permalink)
crashoverride Crazy	hmm as far as I know there is no way to access the files on your ntfs formated hard drive from dos without the password.