HELP! Lost Win2K Log on password

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mike
  • Start date Start date
M

Mike

HELP! Somehow, in trying to fix my network connection (I
have a sudden 2K and XP issue) my computer running 2k
changed my log on password in the "log on to windows"
screen. Nothing works, i even thought it might have just
changed it to no password. How can i get passed this
screen so I can change my password back to what it was?
How do I change it once I can get passed the prompt???
 
There are a couple of ways to do this if all else has failed:
One method involves putting a command prompt in place of
the the login screen saver, booting in safe mode, and waiting
for the screen saver to kick in. This is a nuisance as
you have to first install another copy of Win2K, or move the
boot/system drive to another machine to make the modification.

Another mechanism is to use a special boot diskette
that can reset the SAM database passwords and locks. This is
my own preference, and I have used it many times with
clients and never had any problems.

Both of these are widely documented and freely available on the net.
I prefer not to post specific URLs here because this is a
sensitive topic to some, and also because it is fraught
with danger if you don't understand what you are doing
(I do fully acknowledge the 'what've I got to lose' aspects to this).
A web search will turn up what you need quite easily if you
decide to explore these options.

There are also a number of commercial programs available
to do NT password recovery if you are more comfortable with that.

Best of luck

Steve Duff, MCSE
Ergodic Systems, Inc.
 
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