Hacking the Windows XP splash screen "administrator" tab?

Question

My daughter has been doing things on the internet that she shouldn't be doing. We took her laptop and now cannot boot it up because she has, of course, against the rules, changed the password on the "administrator" login tab.

Is it possible to reset the computer so that we can reset the administrator profile to a password that only we know? If not, can I hack it? How?

Answer 1

I sent you an email with the name of the program you need to do this. Just put it on the CD, boot the laptop from the CD, and your good to go :D

Answer 2

Since we cannot verify what you say is true, it is not accepted to provide these types of solutions using such a public forum.  Password cracking is a violation of yahoo services.

Your best bet is to talk to a PC technician who specializes in password recovery.  This is not cheap.  I charge $200 per account.  There is much software available that you can search for and try but beware, not all is as it seems.

Short answer, no.  You need a admin login (you can have more than one admin account....) to be able to go in and change passwords.  Without it there is nothing you can do.

I would tell her that either she provides the password or you completely wipe the system and her data with it.

In future do not allow her 'any' admin access whatsoever.  I would even consider hardening the OS to remove many 'features'.

Answer 3

You will need your installation disc:

    1. Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it’s assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be - and that you have your bios set to boot from CD)

    2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd Typically, it will be “Press any key to boot from cd”

    3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files.

    4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows now

    5. The Licensing Agreement comes next - Press F8 to accept it.

    6. The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair.

    It should read something like “If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it”

    Use the up and down arrow keys to select your XP installation (if you only have one, it should already be selected) and press R to begin the Repair process.

    7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start copying files which can take several minutes.

    8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot. (this will happen automatically – you will see a progress bar stating “Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds”

    9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of “pressing any key” to boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard billboard screens and you will notice Installing Windows is highlighted.

    10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10. This is the security hole! A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide access to your system.

    11. At the prompt, type NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter. Voila! You have just gained graphical access to your User Accounts in the Control Panel.

    12. Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your new password, you can type control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to log on without being asked for password. After you’ve made your changes close the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair (have your Product key handy).

    13. Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings should remain intact.

Edit - Note to 'X X', this is NOT password cracking, it is password retrieval.

This is a completely safe and legitimate way of resetting an XP admin password, unless of course you are accusing Microsoft of including an illegal hacking feature in their installation disc's.

Answer 4

There are ways on how to do this with software

here is a video that explains everything

- http://youtube.com/watch?v=xxuuHTiAw2E

Answer 5

If you are lucky and have created windows xp password recovery disk you can use it.

If you are luckier your system might contain another account with administrator privileges (there can be more than one). Login from the account and do a "password reset" of the account in question.

You can try pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL on the login screen, *twice*. If the Windows NT type of login box appears with username and password boxes, try entering administrator and no password and click OK.

If you want to retaliate, enter a password in the BIOS so that the computer won't boot (I don't know if you are technical). You can exchange the passwords after discussion (:

Answer 6

The only simple way is to re-install windows.

There are tricky alternatives (get a good hacker root-kit and attempt to install a keystroke logger, or get a hacker to make you a boot-able XP mock-up on CD or floppy, if your laptop supports floppy, that includes a keystroke logger; boot from it & it displays a bogus admin log-in tab; leave it in that state and let your daughter attempt to log-in & you can get her keystrokes...) but they are pretty challenging.

If you are at such cross purposes with your daughter that she won't tell you what the password is then you've got a real mess on your hands, so good luck, you're probably going to need it for more than passwords.

Answer 7

try logging in w/o the password as it seems like she may have not put one in there or put the password "admin" and see if that works!