To begin, click your user name

[boomerang]

XP

Same results in Safe Mode.

Double Ctrl, Alt Del will not allow a login. He's never had a password on the acccount. Administrator with no password gives the same message.

HP laptop

 

[plonk420]

when windows was first set up, what name was entered?

you can see if a Live CD of Ubuntu can see [whatever the XP equivalent of] C:\Users lists as users, maybe...

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: plonk420
when windows was first set up, what name was entered?

you can see if a Live CD of Ubuntu can see [whatever the XP equivalent of] C:\Users lists as users, maybe...

This is an old guy. He never changed anything. I had an old BartPE disk I booted from and I can surf his C drive. He's using the default user name of 'Owner'.

 

[plonk420]

well that's probably the username. i've heard of a password resetter, but dunno much about it since i haven't had to use one...

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: plonk420
well that's probably the username. i've heard of a password resetter, but dunno much about it since i haven't had to use one...

See, that's it, there is no password. Somethings borked. I try to boot to a password reset disk and it can't get past hardware detection.

It passes the Hitachi drive test. It has a series of 6 restore disks and booting off the first brings up an option to run a hardware check - it passes. I can't get into recovery console, I can't boot into VGA mode, I can't boot to a command prompt. I'm thwarted at every turn.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Did a wireless card driver replace the MS "Gina" file? That can cause login issues.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Did a wireless card driver replace the MS "Gina" file? That can cause login issues.

This guy barely knows how to use a computer. He said he usually leaves it on all the time plugged in and asleep. He went to use it and it was not running. He started it to this problem.

It's all I've got to go on.

Google shows lots of instances of this, but no fixes. The usual responses where the problem has not been understood. Go into Control Panel, etc., etc. Can't get it through their heads that you can't get into Windows at all.

I'm running memtest for grins while I research. I may see if it will boot to an XP Home disk and allow me to get into recovery console. I'm not sure what I'm going to do there yet ...........

 

[lxskllr]

Do a repair install. If he has a legal key, it should be painless. It would probably be best to backup important data first though.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Do a repair install. If he has a legal key, it should be painless. It would probably be best to backup important data first though.

I agree with all that, but this 6 system recovery disk set only allows for a nuke and restore to like new. I'll have to throw in a XP Home disk and see what happens. The key sticker is on the bottom of the laptop. It's all legit.

What can I boot from to back up his files that will allow his burner to work? If it will recognize a flash drive that would be fine too. That old Bart PE disk I put in did not recognize the flash drive FWIW.

I'm dead tired and going to bed. I had the longest day imaginable. I'm beat and can't think straight.

 

[plonk420]

Ubuntu LiveCD, burn data to a second drive (does it support USB burners? or slap another one on the IDE cablee) .. or better yet to external HDD .. unless he put everything in \My Documents\User\ (and it's encrypted)

 

[lxskllr]

Like Plonk420 said. Ubuntu, or maybe a Knoppix, or Puppy cd. You could compile a new UBCD. Easiest would be if you had a external enclosure that would fit that drive.

 

[plonk420]

oops, missed that it was a lappy...

 

[lxskllr]

YGPM

 

[boomerang]

I just did a repair install and the problem did not get corrected. It still wants you to click your user name, but there is nothing to click.

This is getting pretty strange.

 

[lxskllr]

That's strange... A repair install should have gotten it going :^/

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
That's strange... A repair install should have gotten it going :^/

That's what I would have thought. I burned Ubuntu to a CD and booted from it. The disk sped up and down and up and down forever, but it was changing speeds and frequency. I've never booted off an Ubuntu disk like this, so I didn't know what to expect.

Finally, when I was ready to throw the laptop through the wall, I popped out the CD and put it in my computer. It booted from it and it instantly notified me it couldn't read from the CD. Grrrrr!

Burned another and I'm copying 3 gigs of files to a thumb drive. Taking it's own sweet time, but it's happening.

Gonna nuke and install afterwards. This whole thing has been a puzzler. I don't know how it happened for sure, I don't understand why a repair install didn't work, although it probably is not supposed to rewrite the user structure. (Not the right wording, I know)

Oh well.

 

[lxskllr]

Do you think your client would like Ubuntu? You have the disc there, so it would be easy. Less chance of getting virus' and garbage from the web.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Do you think your client would like Ubuntu? You have the disc there, so it would be easy. Less chance of getting virus' and garbage from the web.

That's a good question. He's probably in his mid-sixties, so I'm guessing he's probably kind of set in his ways. Just a guess, as he was recommended to me by a mutual friend. I never met the guy until he dropped off the laptop.

I think the bottom line is that if I install it I'll have to support it. Windows, he knows. Leave well enough alone is what I'm thinking.

 

[lxskllr]

You might be right. My mother's terrible with computers, so It wouldn't matter what I installed, she won't know how to run it :^D Someone that knows a little bit is probably the worst candidate. They won't be able to do the things they used to do, and won't be able to figure out the new way.