April 14th, 2008, 04:40 PM
I have a laptop that has the administrator password set to restrict access but nobody knows what the password is.
Could there be a way to crack the password?
Can I just insert an XP CD and reload or will it tell me I don't have admin access? I would like to clean the PC up and get the network software off. Novell etc. Really makes the poor laptop a dog.
Any tips to reloading this would be appreciated.
I have a laptop that has the administrator password set to restrict access but nobody knows what the password is.
Could there be a way to crack the password?
Can I just insert an XP CD and reload or will it tell me I don't have admin access? I would like to clean the PC up and get the network software off. Novell etc. Really makes the poor laptop a dog.
Any tips to reloading this would be appreciated.
April 14th, 2008, 04:54 PM
Quoting Scott Free
OK, if I register will the ads disappear? I'm not real sure just where to click. I'm going to explore some more.
Newbie
Posts: 1 
April 15th, 2008, 11:45 PM
I have a laptop that has the administrator password set to restrict access but nobody knows what the password is.
Could there be a way to crack the password?
In Windows XP during setup it makes you create an account when you setup your computer. Compaq's generally make one for you called compaq_administrator. If you get to the Welcome Screen you should be able to press control alt delete (possibly twice can't remember) It will take you to the logon screen. Try administrator with no password. If you are locked out of both your account and this account then your out of luck. If you can get in your aco**** or the administrator account you can reset the password of the other account by going to computer management local users and groups and right clicking on the account and choosing reset password. If you have XP home this method may not work. Try booting into safe mode using f8 during boot and choosing safe mode. Safe mode will take you into the adminstrator account and you can use it to reset your password.
I can't go too much into hacking your OS, but I'll give you some tips. There is a bootable cd called Hiren's that'll do it, and ERD commander. Hiren's seems to be free and ERD is really expensive. Do a search and you should find it.
Can I just insert an XP CD and reload or will it tell me I don't have admin access? I would like to clean the PC up and get the network software off. Novell etc. Really makes the poor laptop a dog.
You can use the restore cd's or press the restore key to restore your computer without having to provide any sort of credentialls. If it's a clone or there are no restore cd's you can use your windows xp disk to reload your computer. I believe the repair option will perserve the passwords.
Any tips to reloading this would be appreciated.
Depends on your computer. From a normal XP disk, I believe it should be boot from CD choose enter, f8. It should detect your previous OS. Choose continue, choose format and install. The install is pretty straight forward. It will ask for a cd key, it should be on a sticker on the side of your computer. If it is a retail version it will be in the box it came with. If you have an upgrade version and you boot from the cd it ususally asks you to validate you have a previous version by putting it in for a sec while it scans the cd.
I have a laptop that has the administrator password set to restrict access but nobody knows what the password is.
Could there be a way to crack the password?
In Windows XP during setup it makes you create an account when you setup your computer. Compaq's generally make one for you called compaq_administrator. If you get to the Welcome Screen you should be able to press control alt delete (possibly twice can't remember) It will take you to the logon screen. Try administrator with no password. If you are locked out of both your account and this account then your out of luck. If you can get in your aco**** or the administrator account you can reset the password of the other account by going to computer management local users and groups and right clicking on the account and choosing reset password. If you have XP home this method may not work. Try booting into safe mode using f8 during boot and choosing safe mode. Safe mode will take you into the adminstrator account and you can use it to reset your password.
I can't go too much into hacking your OS, but I'll give you some tips. There is a bootable cd called Hiren's that'll do it, and ERD commander. Hiren's seems to be free and ERD is really expensive. Do a search and you should find it.
Can I just insert an XP CD and reload or will it tell me I don't have admin access? I would like to clean the PC up and get the network software off. Novell etc. Really makes the poor laptop a dog.
You can use the restore cd's or press the restore key to restore your computer without having to provide any sort of credentialls. If it's a clone or there are no restore cd's you can use your windows xp disk to reload your computer. I believe the repair option will perserve the passwords.
Any tips to reloading this would be appreciated.
Depends on your computer. From a normal XP disk, I believe it should be boot from CD choose enter, f8. It should detect your previous OS. Choose continue, choose format and install. The install is pretty straight forward. It will ask for a cd key, it should be on a sticker on the side of your computer. If it is a retail version it will be in the box it came with. If you have an upgrade version and you boot from the cd it ususally asks you to validate you have a previous version by putting it in for a sec while it scans the cd.
April 16th, 2008, 06:58 PM
Thanks for everyones help.
Turns out I could get into the bios and then change it to 'boot from cd'. Was set to usb. Since I wasn't worried about one bite or byte of data on the machine it was smoooth sailing after F8. I made the machine new again. So far anyway. Still formating at this moment but I've been here a couple of dozen times before so looks good.
Thanks for everyones help.
Turns out I could get into the bios and then change it to 'boot from cd'. Was set to usb. Since I wasn't worried about one bite or byte of data on the machine it was smoooth sailing after F8. I made the machine new again. So far anyway. Still formating at this moment but I've been here a couple of dozen times before so looks good.
April 17th, 2008, 04:08 PM
Update:
All's well that ends well. The machine turned out like new and all the drivers were availible from IBM. The funny thing was there are 3 different drivers for the wireless so I started with one, didn't work so I uninstalled then got the next one, still didn't work. I uninstalled that one, restarted the comp with intentions to get the next one but upon restart it asked me which wireless network I would like to connect to. I chose my own as who knows when the guy next door will unplug his router.
Anyway, I thought that was mind bogling, having a device start working after removing the driver.
Thanks again for everyones input.
Update:
All's well that ends well. The machine turned out like new and all the drivers were availible from IBM. The funny thing was there are 3 different drivers for the wireless so I started with one, didn't work so I uninstalled then got the next one, still didn't work. I uninstalled that one, restarted the comp with intentions to get the next one but upon restart it asked me which wireless network I would like to connect to. I chose my own as who knows when the guy next door will unplug his router.
Anyway, I thought that was mind bogling, having a device start working after removing the driver.
Thanks again for everyones input.
