Administrator Password

[mrAggie05]

I own an Acer Aspire 1640z w/WinXP on it, and there's no adminstrator pwd set on the system. I'm trying to do a System Recovery from a WinXP boot disc, and I'm getting prompted to enter the administrator pwd. I pressed Enter, and I did a string of Zeros and neither one workded. Does anyone have any insight as to what the default could be, or how I could easily find it out?

FYI.. I have a file (UserInit.exe Application Error) that is corrupted and is preventing my desktop (or any other Windows) from coming up so I'm trying to do a Recovery in hopes of repairing that file.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[phalaris_trip]

If you're sure there's no password set, then try to set one first from user options. I have no idea why this would work, but windows is peculiar so it might.

Otherwise, there are tools available which will remove the administrator password from windows. The hiren boot tools package comes to mind. Remove the admin password with something like this, then set a new one and see if it works.

[sittas87]

If no password was set then it should work. for the pswd you typed in try caps on/off
OR
if you cant seem to find a way around admin pswd then do a windows repair

[mrAggie05]

Yes, the problem is coming when I am trying to do the Windows Repair. I have no issues getting into Windows normally. It's just that when I do the Repair, the system is prompting me for a password, and there's not one set so I've been stuck there. I can't just go into Windows and change the pwd b/c there is a corrupted file on my system that prevents any windows from coming up (reference first posting for full description).

[sittas87]

Hi Aggie
If you want to use recovery console sure youll be prompted with a admin pswd but if you do a windows repair you wont be asked for pswd's
instead of choosing recovery console choose windows install then "Windows Repair"

[mrAggie05]

Hi sittas,

Here are the options that I have when the computer boots from my Windows XP cd..
1) To set up Windows XP now, Press ENTER
2) To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R
3) To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3

I've been choosing number 2 thus far (and then I get prompted with a pwd). Are you suggesting that I select number 1? I don't want to re-install Windows, so are you confident that if I choose that option, I can do a Windows Repair without wiping out my OS?

[Cyber Punk]

Hi, I think option 1 will wipe out everything from the hard drive.

Give this a shot, before that :

Boot into Windows normally and open the command prompt by typing cmd at Run and pressing enter.

Now type :
net user AdminName *

and press enter.

When it prompts for a password, just press enter again and then try booting off the CD again and try entering the blank password now.

[mrAggie05]

Hi Cyber Punk,

Thanks for the advice. However, I tried it and it didn't work out for me. As I stated earlier, the file that is corrupted prevents any windows coming up other than my Task Manager.

Any other suggestions?

[gerbil]

Aggie, this is the option you must select.. it opens to a choice to use Windows Repair:
1. "To set up Windows XP now, Press ENTER"
This advice:
.....Now type :
net user AdminName *
and press enter.
..has not worked since SP1 was released. It blocked some holes like this one.

[mrAggie05]

Gerbil,

Will selecting this option allow me to repair the corrupted file, and not start my OS from scratch?

[gerbil]

A Windows Repair will copy some of your current registry to Windows\Repair, it will rewrite some system files, it will rewrite some of registry, it will not overwrite your data files, it should not, but may, damage some of your third party sware so requiring reinstallation of some.
As I wrote in anothre thread a few days back, userinit.exe and its launch key are targets of malware because the key is run at every startup, will start whatever sware is called by it... sometime the file itself is replaced by a malware file. So do the repair then immediately, from Safe Mode with Networking, run a good AV/AS scan, such as this:
==Please use IE or Firefox to do an online scan at panda:- http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/solutions/activescan/?
-for the free online virus scan select the link Scan your PC, then Register [otherwise there will be no disinfection, merely detection] with a valid email and follow through.
Please ATTACH to your post the log it produces.
Unfortunately, with a repair many malware files can survive... just like your data files.. but their keys can get overwritten, so fingers crossed.

[pcfresh]

Hi if you can access task manager then go to file new task run. Type in explorer.exe this will get you into windows. There is another post here about userinit.exe. Follow the instruction there to repair. Running windows repair will not fix this this problem. This is from the earlier post from Gerbil
"By all means use the method outlined in the F-Prot website linked above. But please don't use the key in post #4 to launch the explorer shell [explorer.exe] because you will be bypassing some important user initialisations that are performed by userinit.exe [it is also the job of userinit to launch explorer.exe, which is why it is listed as the shell to use in that key].
Instead that key, HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon, should contain a Value:
Userinit
that has an entry:
C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe,
in a std XP setup. Some OEM installations may have another file mentioned after the comma, in which case that would be launched also. But some malwares think it is useful to get launched by this method, or even to replace userinit.exe in the entry with their own filename, and it may not be the only launch point they have. So if you merely replace the userinit.exe file the malware may immediately write itself back.
Run an Av or AS service - if you are able to start Task Manager you can start a scan from there if you know the pathname, or start explorer from there, and thence the scan. Then fix the reg key. "
This is the site referred to http://www.f-prot.com/support/window...6.html#english

Good luck

Dave

[sittas87]

.....Now type :
net user AdminName *
and press enter.
..has not worked since SP1 was released. It blocked some holes like this one.

to gerbil:difference between normal repair and the above.please explain.thanks

[sparkax]

If the problem is a virus and userinit is corrupt,then try this on a free trial.
The cd created is bootable.
avast! BART CD

[gerbil]

Boot into Windows normally and open the command prompt by typing cmd at Run and pressing enter.

Now type :
net user AdminName *

and press enter.
Sittas, re the above - I think I got the wrong end of the stick; I thought this was being given as a way for a guest to hack an admin a/c. ie change password, which does not work. You gotta be in the admin gp to do that.
But the whole thread is a bit screwy.... to use the RC you need to be an admin cos you can do damage. To do a Windows Repair you do not need a password because one of the bits of registry left unaltered is SAM..ie passwords and login details, user accounts are unchanged. So even after running a Repair you still need the original passwords. So there is no need to change or reset any password of the admin gp to enable the running of Windows Repair.
Is that any help?

[Bob_180_Bob]

It will reinstall your OS as it is now but hopefully without the problem. You will be asked for a serial number and later to set time and keyboard settings, just leave as they are set already and at the finish it will ask if you want to register, ignore as it is registered. at restart all should be fixed!!

[sittas87]

and press enter.
Sittas, re the above - I think I got the wrong end of the stick; I thought this was being given as a way for a guest to hack an admin a/c. ie change password, which does not work. You gotta be in the admin gp to do that.
But the whole thread is a bit screwy....

you really had me thinking that I was going crazy.thanks my man understood
sharp bro