Re: locked out of XP, need file access

[Suramya Tomar <security () suramya com>]

Hi,
 There are a couple of things you can try, first you can try reseting
the Admin password using a password reset utility. I would recomend that
you use Offline NT Password reset utility available at: 
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html for this. I have
used it a couple of times and it fixed the problem each time. 

If the password reset doesn't work then you could try booting up with a
Linux boot disk and mount your HDD and then copy the files using that.
If you are trying this method I recomend Knoppix Live Linux CD available
at: http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

Once you boot into Knoppix click on the Harddisk icon on the desktop (It
will be named something like hdx), this will give you readonly access to
the drive.
 
Hope this helps.

- Suramya

> I'm locked out of my own Windows XP box.
> Being a paranoid,
> I have not provided myself with any password hints
> even for the administrator mode.
>
> I do remember about 2 characters from it though
> but there's just too many combinations.
>
> There are personal files in there that I need to access.
>
> I remember that with the old Win98,
> it was possible to do something with the .pwd file
> (not that we needed it,
> since all the files are accessible anyway)
> but I'm sure things have changed significantly since.
>
> I did infact try using a XP password recovery tool kit
> and global-resetter thing I got from the net...
> but the software asks me to enter root password
> and then tells me to get lost.
> It's strange and ironic,
> because the passwd is precisely what I'm trying to figure out.
>
> I don't wanna read a 1,000 page book just yet
> cuz I need access to my files asap.
>
> What would be some of the necessary simple steps to take at this time?
> Thanks in advance...

-- 
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Name        : Suramya Tomar
Homepage URL: http://www.suramya.com
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