Re: recovery console problems

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

From: Vanguardx (see_signature)
Date: 08/28/04


Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 19:57:16 -0500


"MAP" <MAP@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote in news:616E1613-29BD-4ED7-A853-7F8DF2E60F43@microsoft.com:
> "Darian" wrote:
>
>> I recently installed recovery console on my Dell XP Pro
>> laptop. I have never entered an administrator password for
>> access to my machine, yet I cannot get into recovery
>> console because it insists on administrator password. I
>> tried to set a password in Windows and then tried to access
>> recovery console and still no luck. Any help would be
>> appreciated.
>>
>
> http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
>
> At midpage this links talks about the password
> http://theeldergeek.com/recovery_console.htm
>
> Good luck

Well, the eldergeek.com page doesn't accurately mention what is
happening with the registry tweak. Makes me wonder in Bob W, noted for
providing the information on that web page, wasn't plagarizing
Microsoft's KB article and profferring the info as his own discovery.
You are configuring the Recovery Console (RC) mode to use *automatic*
and unauthenticated login to the Administrator account. Read
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?id=312149. That means anyone
with access to your computer could boot into RC mode. You might as well
as blank out the Administrator password so anyone could login.
Auto-logins render login security worthless, especially if for
admin-level accounts.

The permissions in the registry only let an account in the
Administrators group or the SYSTEM account to write to this registry key
(to change a value under it). As an administrator privileged user, yes,
you have the option to disable security. I know Unix admins that
changed permissions for root which then shot themself in their own foot
(because root no longer had the permissions needed to be a full admin
account). You can do the same for Windows.

However, if the point is to automate the RC mode login for the
Administrator account then the OP's change of the password should also
have let them login okay. After all, that same password is what allowed
to login under the Administrator account in the first place when within
Windows, and that same password gets used in RC mode. So it is more
likely the OP is *not* entering the correct password in RC mode. If the
OP is absolutely sure they are entering the correct password then my
guess is that CapsLock needs to be toggled. I suppose it is also
possible the OP used a special character that screws up parsing when in
the DOS-like interface of RC mode (I haven't done any testing to see if
RC mode login input gets parsed incorrectly if special characters are
used in the password, like asterisk or greater/less-than signs, although
I have had passwords with periods, percent signs, and exclamation marks
that worked okay).

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