Keeper of The Passwords Died

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Jimbo

Platinum Member
Oct 10, 1999
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I just got off the telephone with a female friend of mine and the place where she works has a real interesting problem.

They have a small LAN at her work with 11 workstations and an on-site file server. The office manager died suddenly a few months ago, and no one knows any of the passwords.
They have an IT company that in the past has helped them out, but these days is too busy to send anyone out to get things sorted.

Now, due to various reasons like hardware failure and uncorrected user errors, they are starting to amass computers that are unable to connect to the server and so they are now playing musical chairs with workstations.

Anyways, where would you reasonably start with getting that situation sorted out?
 
RebateMonger

RebateMonger

Elite Member
Dec 24, 2005
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With that many machines, Active Directory should have been implemented. There'd only be a single password for each person, and that could be changed from the server with two mouse clicks per person.

If you have the Local Administrator password for each machine, you can log in as Local Administrator and change all the passwords. If you don't know the Local Administrator password, that can be reset with a password reset tool. Those work with XP. I don't recall about Vista or W7.

This is going to be time consuming compared to the five minutes you'd need to reset a dozen Active Directory passwords.
 
J

Jimbo

Platinum Member
Oct 10, 1999
2,641
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76
Oh yeah, it will be a pain in the rear, but it's something that kinda has to be done.

What's a favorite Windows XP password reset tool?

Also, before I stick my neck into this one too far, are there any common "gotchas" in doing this?
What I want to do is just get things in working order so they can be handed off to someplace that does regular IT maintenance and support.
 
R

ReggieDunlap

Senior member
Aug 25, 2009
396
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91
ERD Commander is one I've used in the past. You can create a boot CD to boot from and then reset the local Admin password to the workstations.
 
X

xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,582
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Originally posted by: Jimbo

What I want to do is just get things in working order so they can be handed off to someplace that does regular IT maintenance and support.
Click to expand...

wouldnt it be better to just hire someone to fix the problem AND take over support at the same time?
 
S

sonoma1993

Diamond Member
May 31, 2004
3,414
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81
Originally posted by: Jimbo
I just got off the telephone with a female friend of mine and the place where she works has a real interesting problem.

They have a small LAN at her work with 11 workstations and an on-site file server. The office manager died suddenly a few months ago, and no one knows any of the passwords.
They have an IT company that in the past has helped them out, but these days is too busy to send anyone out to get things sorted.

Now, due to various reasons like hardware failure and uncorrected user errors, they are starting to amass computers that are unable to connect to the server and so they are now playing musical chairs with workstations.

Anyways, where would you reasonably start with getting that situation sorted out?
Click to expand...

grab a copy of hirens bootcd. it has various password reset tools and bunch of other handy tools.
 
I

imagoon

Diamond Member
Feb 19, 2003
5,199
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0
Originally posted by: Jimbo
Oh yeah, it will be a pain in the rear, but it's something that kinda has to be done.

What's a favorite Windows XP password reset tool?

Also, before I stick my neck into this one too far, are there any common "gotchas" in doing this?
What I want to do is just get things in working order so they can be handed off to someplace that does regular IT maintenance and support.
Click to expand...

Until your sure what type of config you have, I would not be running around resetting the local admin passwords. Doing this kind of stuff incorrectly can put you a far worse case than what you were in the first place.

Do you log in to a domain? If so you are working with AD and using the local passwords will mean little if anything. Using a password reset tool on a domain controller will reset the AD recovery password which has little value.

Something to try however, ask the ranking management to try and log in to the server screen. If it lets them in, it is a good indication that their account was given enough rights to reset administrator's password also.
 
JackMDS

JackMDS

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 25, 1999
29,552
429
126
Jimbo, I do not not think that you would do them any favor by bringing a Reset Disk.

Just resetting passwords would not solve the mess that they probably created in the last few months.

It is time to take a Deep Breath, and reconsider correctly the whole Network topology before taking any step further.
 
RebateMonger

RebateMonger

Elite Member
Dec 24, 2005
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Earlier, I made the assumption that these are Windows boxes, and no Active Directory had been implemented. If AD is enabled and the clients are on a Domain, then the only issue should be getting onto the server as a Domain Administrator. Unfortunately, that's the toughtest problem of all. If this is a Domain and you've lost the Domain Administrator password, then it's a bigger problem. While it's supposedly possible, I've never been able to do a Domain Administrator password reset in Windows Server 2003/SP2 box.

OP, I suggest you post more specific information about the client PCs and the server operating system and whether a Domain (assuming these are Windows boxes) has been implemented.
 
I

imported_snikt

Member
Mar 26, 2008
148
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We have more than one Doman Admin account for our LAN, to which only a select few know of as well. And as such we've never had a problem with any of our admin accounts being inaccessible. Something you might want to pass on.
 
J

Jimbo

Platinum Member
Oct 10, 1999
2,641
0
76
Wow, thanks for all the information you good people provided me with.
I mean that in all honesty.

From what I have read here (and feel free to just in and tell me if I got It wrong), that my first order of business would be to attempt to recover the old passwords, and account names and then see if I can get this working NOW for them. If that's a no-go then I think I'll have to do the password overwrite trick.

This has also developing a bit of project creep in that the worker bees are wondering what it would cost to just junk their whole system and help them start over. That idea both excited me and terrifies me.
The machines are all about 8+ years-old, and the were all hand-built by some tech that built them from the FRY's bargain bin, and by now they are spending about $150 a month to replace failing hardware (fans drives and power supplies).
Whomever set this system up is long gone.

My project for tomorrow is to physically look at the hardware and the server and see if some obvious answers don't just jump out at me.

Anyway, keep the suggestions coming and I'll update this thread everyday or more often when I get more info.
 
J

Jimbo

Platinum Member
Oct 10, 1999
2,641
0
76
Originally posted by: RebateMonger
Earlier, I made the assumption that these are Windows boxes, and no Active Directory had been implemented. If AD is enabled and the clients are on a Domain, then the only issue should be getting onto the server as a Domain Administrator. Unfortunately, that's the toughtest problem of all. If this is a Domain and you've lost the Domain Administrator password, then it's a bigger problem. While it's supposedly possible, I've never been able to do a Domain Administrator password reset in Windows Server 2003/SP2 box.

OP, I suggest you post more specific information about the client PCs and the server operating system and whether a Domain (assuming these are Windows boxes) has been implemented.
Click to expand...

Yes, I be doing that tomorrow.
 
I

imagoon

Diamond Member
Feb 19, 2003
5,199
0
0
Originally posted by: Jimbo
Wow, thanks for all the information you good people provided me with.
I mean that in all honesty.

From what I have read here (and feel free to just in and tell me if I got It wrong), that my first order of business would be to attempt to recover the old passwords, and account names and then see if I can get this working NOW for them. If that's a no-go then I think I'll have to do the password overwrite trick.

This has also developing a bit of project creep in that the worker bees are wondering what it would cost to just junk their whole system and help them start over. That idea both excited me and terrifies me.
The machines are all about 8+ years-old, and the were all hand-built by some tech that built them from the FRY's bargain bin, and by now they are spending about $150 a month to replace failing hardware (fans drives and power supplies).
Whomever set this system up is long gone.

My project for tomorrow is to physically look at the hardware and the server and see if some obvious answers don't just jump out at me.

Anyway, keep the suggestions coming and I'll update this thread everyday or more often when I get more info.
Click to expand...

#1 Buy a main brand. Dell, IBM, HP etc. Don't build your own or you could be looking at a support nightmare.

Ballpark $500 - $800 a pc is good rough estimate. If they want LCDs (saves money over tubes) add typically about $100.

Servers are much harder, if it is a plain file server it could be cheap in the sub $2000 range. Network gear at the small level is pretty cheap. Don't forget your labor!
 
J

Jimbo

Platinum Member
Oct 10, 1999
2,641
0
76
Originally posted by: imagoon

#1 Buy a main brand. Dell, IBM, HP etc. Don't build your own or you could be looking at a support nightmare.

Ballpark $500 - $800 a pc is good rough estimate. If they want LCDs (saves money over tubes) add typically about $100.

Servers are much harder, if it is a plain file server it could be cheap in the sub $2000 range. Network gear at the small level is pretty cheap. Don't forget your labor!
Click to expand...

Yep! If they decide they want new workstations they are getting Lenovo ThinkCentre A58 Small Form Factor boxes. If they have a hardware problem, they can call IBM/Lenovo.

Same thing with the server. It will either be a ready made box from either IBM, Dell or an Intel barebones, if I really have to, and I hope I don't.

 
Pheran

Pheran

Diamond Member
Apr 26, 2001
5,740
35
91
Originally posted by: imagoon
If they want LCDs (saves money over tubes) add typically about $100.
Click to expand...

/scratches head, furrows brow.

/looks at posting date.

/scratches head again.

Uh, what? You actually think you can still buy CRT monitors from Dell et al, or that they would be cheaper?

Other than that, I agreed with your post. Do not roll your own.
 
RebateMonger

RebateMonger

Elite Member
Dec 24, 2005
11,586
0
0
Be sure to buy the BUSINESS version (XP Pro, Vista Business or Ultimate, W7 Pro or Ultimate) of Windows. Those are the only versions that can join a Domain, have Remote Desktop host capability, and lots of other important stuff for businesses.
 
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