Win2000 lock out

[Yvo]

It sooner or later happends and it happened

Anyways I am in a networking class full of high school kids and looks like someone pranked and changed the admin password (we changed it class wide now after it leaked...). Well the computer is used in 3 2hour periods by 3 students but all 3 students are not even advanced enough to know to change their password (believe me there are dumb ones). So now what do I do.... totally restore the computer (which is a pain since Compaq didn't provide the restore cds with the deskpro systems) or is there a way of cracking the passwords on the system. I tried LC3... but you need (yup you guessed it) admin rights to install on the system.

Any other ideas... other then trying to find out who the student is and threatening to expell him (sounds a little to evil dont ya think)

Yvo

 

[KingofBladez]

I've heard that recovering the admin password is very difficult/impossible...just re-image the comp, at least it's only one

 

[Yvo]

Very true... but students work are on this computer such as their project website and well school district budget cuts are preventing us to get a new version of ghost (the one we have isn't very NTFS 5 complaint :frown

Yvo

 

[fastman]

Are you the instuctor? There is a way? Deals with renaming files and screen saver, surprised you never heard of it?

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< I've heard that recovering the admin password is very difficult/impossible...just re-image the comp, at least it's only one >>



In NT it was INCREADIBLY easy. All you had to have was a floppy and LINUX. There was a floppy based linux distro type of thing that would change the password for NT. But I dont think it works in 2k since Microsoft changed plenty of things.

 

[TheDuck]

You may want to give this software a try: HYENA. It may not work, but it's worth a try and the nest part is the demo version is free and fully functional for 30 days. You'd install this on another machine and connect to the one in question over the network to reset the password and/or creat a new user account. Sysinternals also has some software for breaking the Admin password, but I don't hink it's freeware or shareware.

Good luck and I recommend setting up a Domain environment where only you and a safe know the domain admin password. Also be sure to change the "Administrator" user on each of the local machines to a normal user rather than having it be an administrator and set up a localadm account for local admin rights to the machines. Much more secure in a high school environment.

 

[CplHicks]

Not to be a dick, but. . .why the hell did you let the students have access to an admin account at all??? AFAIK it's completely impossible to change the Administrator password if you don't have another admin account setup. If you need to get files off the hard disk and they're not encrypted you might just be able to stick that hard disk in another computer and copy them off. Also, can't you figure out which kid did it and make him/her what it is?

 

[igiveup]

It can be done. If you know the original password for the computer when it was first installed then you can fix it. Boot into the recovery console and thenyou want to copy the SAM file from the C:\WINNT\Repair folder to the C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\config folder. Thats all. The computer will be reset to the original user and group settings.

 

[Yvo]

To give some of the responses.

Yes I am an assistant instructor in the class.
No fastman I haven't heard of this method. I do know the method for under NT4 (with renaming files), but I am unaware of this for Windows 2000
District policy DENIES me to open up the computer. If I open it up we lose warranty on it and it will cost the district extra money.... so anything like hooking up a hard drive to another hard drive isn't going to work .
TheDuck: Awesome idea... love it... i'll get right on it this monday.... we just ordered a copy of Windows 2000 server... the main instructor loves Novell 4 so much... but I think I finally talked him out of it
CplHicks: He have 2 classes in one... a beginner class with 25 computers and 25 students and an advanced class of 4 students and 8 computers. Now the advanced students (as they are the "Student" Admins) knew the temp password in the beginning of the year and one (we are aware of which student) leaked the password to the beginner section of the class. Someone had some fun changing passwords on one of the computers.
igiveup: Awesome... I will also try this on monday.

Measures are already taken to prevent this. We are installing a copy of LC3 on every computer this coming week. Also Windows 2000 server will be the primary server... with domain accounts. Also only 2 students (whom I trust) know the admin password. We will reduce the Administrator account to a normal user account and add a different admin account.

Thanks guys!

Yvo

 

[SarCaSM]

<<

<< I've heard that recovering the admin password is very difficult/impossible...just re-image the comp, at least it's only one >>



In NT it was INCREADIBLY easy. All you had to have was a floppy and LINUX. There was a floppy based linux distro type of thing that would change the password for NT. But I dont think it works in 2k since Microsoft changed plenty of things. >>



No no, it's still possible. We had to do this with a Windows 2000 machine at work, which happens to also be a school.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<<

<<

<< I've heard that recovering the admin password is very difficult/impossible...just re-image the comp, at least it's only one >>



In NT it was INCREADIBLY easy. All you had to have was a floppy and LINUX. There was a floppy based linux distro type of thing that would change the password for NT. But I dont think it works in 2k since Microsoft changed plenty of things. >>



No no, it's still possible. We had to do this with a Windows 2000 machine at work, which happens to also be a school. >>



I figured someone modified the old version for win2k, but I havent seen it yet. If you dont mind pm me or something with where you got it.

 

[fastman]

YHPM on how to do it.

 

[Yvo]

I would love to know on how to do this too

Yvo