Solved Cannot log in to Account and Admin account is disabled...F-me, right?

[Wojo397]

Cannot log in to Account and Admin account is disabled...Help?

So today I attempted to install Win7 on my PC from an ISO I got from work, 100% legit with key. Well it failed. I found a guide that walked me through enabling admin account and then clearing services. I attempted the install again and it failed and then booted to vista. While trying to figure it out yet again I disabled the admin account because I did not need it. I then rebooted the PC just to make sure the settings stuck. Well they did but vista in it's infinite wisdom decided that my account was PW protected. I was years ago when I first had the PC but I had since disabled it. Now it seems it is re-enabled and now I am royally screwed. I am in need of suggestions because I have no backups and my GF's grad school work is on the PC. I have tried the Ophcrack and the Offline NT tool. To no avail keep getting "Could not find kernel image: Linux." If anyone knows anything else I can try I am game I need to get back in with out a full re-install. I did f8 safe-mode and it does not enable the admin mode.

Apologies if there is a related post I am in crisis mode and have been searching forums and backwater hack lists all day and I am frazzled.

 

[Wojo397]

Bump

 

[wither 3]

I think you'll get plenty of help tomorrow. It sounds like the disc with the Win 7 ISO was a linux disc and it's looking for it. Did you try removing the battery from the mobo for about 5 minutes and then putting it back and rebooting?

 

[Wojo397]

The iso for win 7 is not what is causing the linux kernel message, but rather, the password crack tool images I copy to my USB stick via the sites instructions. I ran into an issue of not being able to create a boot disk, but this was because my USB stick was formatted as NTFS and not Fat32, I fixed that and the sw loaded correctly onto the stick. It just won't boot when I tell my bios to select USB as the main destination I get that kernel error for two separate programs.

 

[Wojo397]

I may as well list all things I have already tried:

1. Tried booting into F8 safe-mode with and without cmd, no dice says admin account disable no matter what
2. Tried to restore to last known config, goes right back to login screen
3. Attempted to use my windows recovery disk, keeps trying to just install windows, will not give me options to repair or use cmd
4. Tried Ophcrack, and Offline NT password and registry editor tools, linux kernel does not exist message

 

[Wojo397]

I may as well list all things I have already tried:

1. Tried booting into F8 safe-mode with and without cmd, no dice says admin account disable no matter what
2. Tried to restore to last known config, goes right back to login screen
3. Attempted to use my windows recovery disk, keeps trying to just install windows, will not give me options to repair or use cmd
4. Tried Ophcrack, and Offline NT password and registry editor tools, linux kernel does not exist message

 

[Wojo397]

Good morning, any takers?

 

[wither 3]

Did you try removing the battery, as I suggested? I don't know where all the other volunteers are. There's a program that you can load to disc to recover files from your hard drive even if it won't boot. RichC46 posted it a week or two ago in another thread. I think it's in the General Discussion but didn't look for it. Obviously, you would need another system to download and burn it.

 

[Wojo397]

Hello wither,

No I did not get a chance to remove the battery from the system yet. My new PC parts are coming in today so once I get off of work and get to building that I will pull the battery. I am assuming you mean the CMOS battery, correct? I have another question though, because I am in the process of building a new PC and I was going to use the HDD from my old one, would the new motherboard work in the same fashion as pulling the CMOS battery or is it going to be dependent on the old ones saved configuration?

 

[wither 3]

The reason for pulling the battery is to see if it loses the password protection.

I don't know the answer to your question. The only thing I could say is try it. It is possible that if you loaded Vista on a new hard drive and had the old one installed as a secondary drive, you could be able to read the old drive from Vista on the new drive.

Are you using a retail copy of Vista or an OEM version? I don't know if you would be able to install a OEM version on a new system.

 

[Wojo397]

I, in my infinite wisdom did not buy a new HDD, I bought a portable HD for backup purposes so I guess I can load vista onto that, but to that end could I just install windows 7 on it and then attempt to access from there? On my current PC Vista is OEM installed by Cyberpower PC.

 

[wither 3]

Now I know why you don't have the Repair option when trying to repair Vista. This system I'm working from is from cyberpower pc and the OEM installation disc also doesn't have that option. There is a thread which will tell you how to get Vista ISOs, as long as you have a key.

Unless you want to use Win 7 instead of Vista, I think you should load Vista on the portable drive and then try to recover your files from the other drive. I know it will work because I had a hard drive that got the MBR and partition information messed up so that it wouldn't boot (this was only a few months ago). I got a new hard drive and loaded Vista on it. I could access the drive that wouldn't boot from Vista (If I remember correctly, I had to wait for checkdisk to run on the old drive first before the new drive would boot). However, I don't think the MBR or partition information on your non-bootable drive is corrupt so you probably wouldn't see checkdisk.

 

[Wojo397]

So then in theory I will not need the log in info, I will give this a go when I get home then.

 

[Wojo397]

Thanks Wither for your time and patients, I did not end up having to remove the CMOS battery. I did however use Hiren's Boot CD and reset the password through that. Now I am up and running and back to fiddling around.

 

[wither 3]

Fantastic. Sounds like you ought to make an image in case your fiddlin' around puts back to square one.

 

[Wojo397]

Well, the fiddlin' won't commence until tomorrow because all my packages have not arrived. I will be backing up to the portable I bought though so I don't have to worry about another catastrophic event.