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Windows Forum / Windows XP / Security and Administration / April 2005Unable to login to Win XP Pro Notebook
This is a major call for help. I have a client's notebook and I wanted to attach it to my office peer-to-peer network so that I could move some files to one of my local machines. (Prior to this I always used the notebook to log into the client's Win2k3 network domain.) Here is what happended in order: 1. - I logged into the notebook with the client's domainname in the login box. 2. - I was prompted that the domain was not availbale to authenticate me, but it let me into the local machine anyway. 3. - I went into 'My Computer' properties and selected to change from the domain to the workgroup name. 4. - I was prompted to input the user and passwrd with permissions to remove this computer from the domain. that went through o.k. 5. - I rebooted. 6. - I tried to login to the notebook using the same userid and password I had been using. No go. 7. I have tried what the client gave me for an administrator password on the local machine. No go. I have been using this machine for a development project and the files I need are on the "Desktop" folder under the user id I have been using. I have no idea what, if any, users were setup on the local machine before I got it. Is there a way that I can log onto the client's domain using the FDN of my regular username and get into the machine and rejoin the domain? (I think the syntax would be \\servername.domainname\username) Can I do a in-place reinstall of Windows XP Pro and as administrator get to those files? Thanks afor any and all help -- HT I've been doing research while waiting for a response. Do any of you MVPs know if the Winternals product could help in this situation? - HT > This is a major call for help. I have a client's notebook and I wanted to > attach it to my office peer-to-peer network so that I could move some files [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > those files? > Thanks afor any and all help -- HT i don't think you can get it back on the domain without having a dc available to validate against. you may be able to use one of the password reset disks to change the administrator password so you can login with that. you could then create a local account to work out of and take ownership of the files you need to copy them to the new account. you should note for the future that it is not necessary to remove a machine from a domain to access a workgroup's resources. there is no 'membership' in a workgroup or requirement to join it, it is just a convenient way to organize machines in the explorer tree. > I've been doing research while waiting for a response. Do any of you MVPs > know if the Winternals product could help in this situation? - HT [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > those files? > > Thanks afor any and all help -- HT Thanks for the response - No password reset disk is available. So I guess I need I need to reset the admin password. Any suggestions? > i don't think you can get it back on the domain without having a dc > available to validate against. you may be able to use one of the password [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > > > those files? > > > Thanks afor any and all help -- HT search this group and probably the general microsoft.public.security group, sometime within the last week someone would have undoubtedly posted the link to several tools to reset administrator passwords on win2k or xp... search for 'lost password' or 'administrator password'. google will also find them if you search for something like 'lost administrator password reset disk free download' i think this is the one i have in my office for emergency use: http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/. read the instructions and follow exactly and it works just great. they are basically linux boot images on a cd with a tool to edit the passwords on the hard drive. with the one i got the hardest part was remembering how to burn an iso image onto a cd. > Thanks for the response - No password reset disk is available. So I guess I > need I need to reset the admin password. Any suggestions? [quoted text clipped - 53 lines] > > > > those files? > > > > Thanks afor any and all help -- HT Thanks Loads Dave, This was the ticket. I got in. This is a neat tool for desparate times. I have a related question and I hope you or someone else can clarify this for me. I know that if I try to reset my domain user's password as the local administrator, I could could lose some files if they exist, especially the EFT files. This client opted to change a valid user's password on their network and have me login as them rather than give me my own userid. I would be petrified if I lose some EFT file that the regular user (who is on a leave) lost one of their files. That is why I saved all of my work on their desktop in a folder. When I get to the client's office on Monday and try to rejoin the laptop to the domain provided my userid has the rights to do that, then I hope that I will be o.k. The core of my question is, if the domain administrator changes the password of a domain user, are the user's EFT files o.k.? I don't recall seeing as a system admin the same warning at changing a password as I see when I am logged in to the local machine as an admin. Thanks > search this group and probably the general microsoft.public.security group, > sometime within the last week someone would have undoubtedly posted the link [quoted text clipped - 85 lines] > > > > > those files? > > > > > Thanks afor any and all help -- HT > Thanks Loads Dave, > This was the ticket. I got in. This is a neat tool for desparate times. [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Thanks Did you mean EFS? Here's an overview of EFS. It's a long link so it may wrap in your newsreader and break the link. http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Def ault.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prnb_efs_nzmz. asp As long as they have a default recovery agent set up for the domain they can unencrypt any files encrypted by a domain user. Kerry >> search this group and probably the general microsoft.public.security >> group, [quoted text clipped - 102 lines] >> > > > > those files? >> > > > > Thanks afor any and all help -- HT you don't want to change the password of the domain user, it wouldn't work even if you did... since the machine is not on the domain any domain account can't be used, the os will always try to validate with a dc which it can't get to. when you get back to the domain you login as the local administrator and rejoin it to the domain, you will also need a domain admin to supply a valid domain password for that operation. then the domain account will work again. the problem is not that the password has changed, it is that by removing the machine from the domain you made it flush the cached domain info that had the password for the user so it could validate his login when the dc wasn't available temporarily. > Thanks Loads Dave, > This was the ticket. I got in. This is a neat tool for desparate times. [quoted text clipped - 108 lines] > > > > > > those files? > > > > > > Thanks afor any and all help -- HT oh, and of course try the 'standard' administrator passwords first... i.e. blank, Asdf1234, the machine name, the user name, the company name, etc, just in case they left it as a dumb one. > Thanks for the response - No password reset disk is available. So I guess I > need I need to reset the admin password. Any suggestions? [quoted text clipped - 53 lines] > > > > those files? > > > > Thanks afor any and all help -- HT > Thanks for the response - No password reset disk is available. So I guess > I > need I need to reset the admin password. Any suggestions? Did the owner of the laptop use efs (encryption) on any files on the laptop? If he did do not change any passwords until you are sure there is a recovery agent set up. All encypted data may be lost forever by changing a password outside of Windows. As his workplace is domain based there should be a default recovery agent but make sure before changing passwords if efs has been used. Kerry >> i don't think you can get it back on the domain without having a dc >> available to validate against. you may be able to use one of the [quoted text clipped - 65 lines] >> > > those files? >> > > Thanks afor any and all help -- HT |
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