Re: No boot and no administrator password!

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From: Paul (anonymous_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 04/03/04 

Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2004 13:12:31 -0800

This problem begs the question, how does one repair an OEM
system when Microsoft doesn't provide an OEM Windows CD
with the box I bought?

Heck, I can't even repair it with an old, unused retail XP
upgrade CD that I paid $100 for.

Can you explain to me why my recovery console is requiring
an admin password when my admin account is not password
protected?

Thanks
>-----Original Message-----
>LOL, it's not a secret...it's a hidden account that is
called administrator.
>Most people don't make a password for it when they
install and if XP was
>installed at the factory they don't make a password for
it so the key would
>be, to select Administrator, leave the password blank and
press enter.
>
>Well, ok, that didn't work. Two possible options here.
First, let's try
>"Last Known Good Configuration." Boot the system, start
tapping F8, when
>the menu appears, select "Last Known Good Configuration,"
press enter and
>see if that resolves it. If that fails, do the same as
above but choose
>Safe Mode, if you can get in, you'll be able to change
the boot.ini file.
>
>If the above fails, I can't see any way out of this but
to wipe the drive
>and start over. Since you have an OEM install but an XP
upgrade CD, you'll
>need qualifying media at some point during the
installation in order to do a
>clean install with the upgrade CD.
>
>Booting from a floppy will accomplish nothing as the
floppy is fat and your
>drive is likely formatted NTFS.
>
>--
>Michael Solomon MS-MVP
>Windows Shell/User
>Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
>DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/
>
>"Paul" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message
>news:181fe01c419ba$e54a74d0$a101280a@phx.gbl...
>> Yes, I have tried that to no avail. I've also tried a
>> million passwords that I can ever remember, but also to
no
>> avail.
>>
>> My desktop is NOT password protected,(computer boots
>> straight to desktop) so I'm baffled as to why it asks
for
>> an admin password, when one is not in place.
>>
>> Is this a bug? I've read about 'secret' administrator
>> accounts being created, but not sure if this applies
here.
>>
>> It's really frustrating knowing that I can't boot
because
>> of a simple invalid value (0 instead of a 1) I put in
the
>> boot.ini file.
>>
>> Is it possible to copy a simple boot.ini command onto a
>> floppy and boot from that?
>>
>> Thanks again Michael for your generous support!
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>At the Recovery Console, have you tried just leaving the
>> password blank and
>>>pressing enter?
>>>
>>>--
>>>Michael Solomon MS-MVP
>>>Windows Shell/User
>>>Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
>>>DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/
>>>
>>>"Paul" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
>> message
>>>news:181b201c419af$dce123d0$a101280a@phx.gbl...
>>>> Thanks Michael for the prompt reply!
>>>>
>>>> One problem here. I'm using an XP Home upgrade CD to
>>>> repair an OEM system, thus it finds no previous
>>>> installations to repair. Following your directions, I
>>>> arrive at a screen where my only options are to setup,
>>>> partition, or delete partition. I was able to
navigate
>> to
>>>> a screen where I was able to point the console to a
>>>> specific folder to install windows to, instead of
>>>> C:\windows.
>>>>
>>>> So now I'm back to a useless recovery console due to a
>>>> phantom administrator password that doesn't exist#@#@.
>>>>
>>>> Any other suggestions would be highly appreciated!
>>>>
>>>> Thanks
>>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>>Try a Repair Install instead of Recovery Console.
NOTE:
>>>> in the instructions
>>>>>below, when you come to the screen that asks you to
>>>> choose Setup Windows or
>>>>>"R" for Repair, you want Setup Windows, this will
>>>> ultimately take you to the
>>>>>repair option.
>>>>>
>>>>>Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM
>> drive
>>>> and you have an
>>>>>actual XP CD as opposed to a recovery CD, boot with
the
>> XP
>>>>>CD in the drive and perform a repair install as
outlined
>>>> below. If the
>>>>>system isn't set to boot from the CD or you are not
>> sure,
>>>> you need to enter
>>>>>the system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the
first
>>>> screen usually has
>>>>>instructions that if you wish to enter set press a
>>>> specific key, when you
>>>>>see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to
the
>>>> boot sequence, if
>>>>>the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in
the
>>>> boot sequence. Save
>>>>>your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive.
The
>>>> system will reboot.
>>>>>
>>>>>NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data
>> files
>>>> intact, if
>>>>>something goes wrong during the repair install, you
may
>>>> be forced to start
>>>>>over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have
>>>> your data backed up,
>>>>>you would lose your data should that eventuality
occur.
>>>>>
>>>>>Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to
>>>> boot from the CD, it
>>>>>should detect the disk and give a brief message,
during
>>>> the boot up, if you
>>>>>wish to boot from the CD press any key.
>>>>>
>>>>>Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You
>>>> will see a reference
>>>>>asking if you need to load special drivers and another
>>>> notice that if you
>>>>>wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console)
>>>> depress F2. Just let
>>>>>setup run past all of that. It will continue to load
>>>> files and drivers.
>>>>>
>>>>>Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you
>> will
>>>> come to a screen
>>>>>with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair
>>>> Windows Installation
>>>>>using the Recovery console.
>>>>>
>>>>>The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want
>>>> and requires you to
>>>>>press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end
>> user
>>>> agreement. Setup
>>>>>will then search for previous versions of Windows.
Upon
>>>> finding your
>>>>>version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your
current
>>>> installation or
>>>>>install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair
>>>> installation. From there
>>>>>on, follow the screens.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>--
>>>>>Michael Solomon MS-MVP
>>>>>Windows Shell/User
>>>>>Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
>>>>>DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/
>>>>>
>>>>>"Paul FM" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
in
>>>> message
>>>>>news:17b1301c41921$647438d0$a401280a@phx.gbl...
>>>>>> Ugh... long story, but today I fiddled with my
>> boot.ini
>>>>>> file (had 2 XP operating systems at OS choice
screen)
>> in
>>>>>> XP Home and now I'm locked out of my computer. (no
>>>> boot) I
>>>>>> get the error message: <windows root>\system32
\hal.dll
>>>> is
>>>>>> missing or corrupt.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ok, no problem I think, I'll just repair it in the
XP
>>>>>> recovery console. It asks me for an administrator
>>>>>> password -- but I have PW disabled for my
>> administrator
>>>>>> account, so I have no clue what to do to get in,
short
>>>> of
>>>>>> trying every password that I've ever used.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Please help, this is FRUSTRATING!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks kindly, in advance!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>.
>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>.
>>>
>
>
>.
>

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