Vista password

[Guest eskimopie]

After a series of power outages, my Gateway Vista 64 is now asking for a

password which was never set for user. Additionally there is no visible

ability I can find to select a different user (admin?). Lastly I just

tried a Vista 64 compatible password reset app which said it completed

successfully, but after reboot it is again asking for password - what to

do? I do not have password rescue disk because again no password was

ever given to machine, it just started up and loaded as it should have

until now. Help!?

 

 

--

eskimopie

Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com

[Guest Malke]

eskimopie wrote:

<span style="color:blue">

>

> After a series of power outages, my Gateway Vista 64 is now asking for a

> password which was never set for user. Additionally there is no visible

> ability I can find to select a different user (admin?). Lastly I just

> tried a Vista 64 compatible password reset app which said it completed

> successfully, but after reboot it is again asking for password - what to

> do? I do not have password rescue disk because again no password was

> ever given to machine, it just started up and loaded as it should have

> until now. Help!?</span>

 

1. In Vista, if you neglected to create an extra emergency user account that

has administrative privileges (and now you see why doing this is A Good

Thing), you will need to use NTpasswd to enable the built-in Administrator

account (disabled by default) and set a null (blank) password. Enabling

this account will put an icon for it on the logon screen so you can then

log on.

 

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

 

Download the CD image (.iso) and burn as an image, not as data. You will

need third-party burning software. Then boot with the CD you created and

follow the directions. After you've finished with NTpasswd, remove the CD

and reboot the computer. Log into the Administrator account you enabled.

 

(Note - If the unnamed "Vista 64 compatible password reset app was

NTpasswd, you were doing it wrong. Reboot with it and read the instructions

more carefully next time.)

 

2. Once you have logged into the built-in Administrator account, go to

Control Panel>User Accounts and create:

 

a. An administrative user account - call it "CompAdmin" or "Tech" or the

like. This account will only be used for emergencies and elevation.

b. A Standard user account for your daily work.

 

3. Log out of the built-in Administrator user account and log into

CompAdmin. While in CompAdmin, disable the built-in Administrator account

for security purposes:

 

Start Orb>Search box>type: cmd

When cmd appears in Results above, right-click it and choose "Run as

administrator" [OK]. Now you will get the command prompt. At the command

prompt type:

 

net user administrator /active:no [enter]

 

Exit the command prompt.

 

Now go to Control Panel>Users and fix your user account's password (and make

it a Standard user if it isn't already). Log off CompAdmin and into your

own daily user account.

 

Considering purchasing an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). A decent one

is about $60 and is totally worth it.

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

[Guest GTS]

You have a damaged registry (SAM hive). Password reset tools won't help in

this situation. Your best bet is to boot from your Vista DVD to the

Startup Repair options (assuming you have a real installation media and not

a vender recovery disk). Then try to run System Restore. The link below

may help you.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial148.html

 

(In XP there is a straightforward way to retrieve a copy of the registry

files from the System Restore repository - System Volume Information folder.

Unfortunately, these files are stored differently in Vista, and as far as I

know, the same technique isn't available.)

--

 

"eskimopie" <eskimopie.3qr4kg@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com> wrote in message

news:eskimopie.3qr4kg@no-mx.forums.vistaheads.com...<span style="color:blue">

>

> After a series of power outages, my Gateway Vista 64 is now asking for a

> password which was never set for user. Additionally there is no visible

> ability I can find to select a different user (admin?). Lastly I just

> tried a Vista 64 compatible password reset app which said it completed

> successfully, but after reboot it is again asking for password - what to

> do? I do not have password rescue disk because again no password was

> ever given to machine, it just started up and loaded as it should have

> until now. Help!?

>

>

> --

> eskimopie

> Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com

> </span>