Given the situation that a person changes ALL the passwords on a 2k Professional system, and forgets the user names & passwords. (If you can believe that!)

Is there a way to gain access to the computer. This assumes the system is running a FAT or FAT32 directory format. I know you can boot to a floppy, change drives and gain access to the files. I was mainly interested in the the aspect of gaining access to 2k operating system. I know that under 95/95 the password file can be deleated and new users added from DOS(DID THAT on the 95/98) Is it possible to blow away the passwords and re-enter them?

I have tried to gain access remotely using MMC, drive mapping, etc. It appears that if you don't have at lease 1 valid user and password you are SOL.

IS THIS THE CASE????

I realize the administrator over the system should take precautions with system policies to prevent this from happening. This is basically a what if situation.

ANY SUGGESTIONS or IDEAS

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I'm gonna take a stab at this one....

If the computer is a member of a domain, you can use the domain administrator account to log on to the domain with administrative privileges. (If you are not a member of a domain, but there is one available, JOIN first). Once logged in as the domain admin. you can run mmc (run/mmc) and from the console menu pick the "local users and groups" snap-in. Once accomplished, you can pick the user(s) by right clicking on them and selecting the "set password" option from the alternate menu. Change all passwords to new ones AND RECORD THEM somewhere or do some MAJOR brain input on them!

If you use Active Directory in a Domain, then you can do the same with Active Directory Users And Computers, but I'm not sure which instance you are referring to, so, I'll stick with the local way.

So there you have it. I took a shot at it, but FREAK would definitely know the RIGHT answer to this one.


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Joe W. Guy
A+ Certified Tech.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

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hmmmmmmm. Maybe my solution will not work. I didn't notice the FAT/FAT32 file system in the comment until now. Man, this question is like a MS exam question! hehehehe....... Might want to probe FREAK on this one.

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Joe W. Guy
A+ Certified Tech.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

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Hi guys,
i actually read in the MOC that if you lose the password to the admin account the only action is re-image.
but i've spoke with a fellow mcp and said that if you have access to the file structure you should delete the SAM files
If this was an NTFS partition there was nothing you could do..
Again this is from the MOC and i tested it out on my test machine.
Hope I was helpful.

A+ NET+ MCP and alot of hands on

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HEY UPGRADE
Thanks for the ideas. I think I will try deleating/renaming the SAM and copy one off one of my other 2k Pro machines and load it on the one with the HOSED passwords.

OK...I give up ! ! ! What are you refering "MOC"????

THANKS...TOM

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MOC= Microsoft official curriculum

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If you gain access to the SAM file, copy it to a floppy disk. Download lohtpcrack (l0pht.com) utility and run it on that disk from any machine. It will guarrantee you that it will crack the password. This is a good tool for those who get stuck in this scenraio. Trust me, I've been there myself. Good luck

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