Member Avatar for bob24bob

Ok, so the other day, my password(I am an administrator) somehow was changed. I do not know how. That is not important. I need to be able to view every users password using a limited account. Even the administrator's password(which is me). I am using windows vista. Please don't tell me to go to cmd and type in "net user Administrator *" this does NOT work. It says system error 5, access is denied.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Not possiblguy

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Several replies rightly flagged legal and security concerns (see , ). For a legitimately owned Vista machine where the administrator account is inaccessible, concentrating on recovery and data‑preservation is the practical route rather than attempting to reveal stored plaintext credentials.

If any other administrative account exists, use it to fix the problem or create a secondary admin account. If not, booting from the original Vista installation DVD (or equivalent recovery media) into the System Recovery Options gives access to a command prompt and recovery tools that can be used to enable an administrative account or create one for recovery purposes; after regaining an admin session, restore or reset the affected user account. If no install media is available, reputable bootable recovery utilities (for example, well‑known offline NT password tools or commercial account‑reset utilities) can reset local account passwords or allow file extraction — only use these on machines owned or explicitly authorized.

When files are the priority, a Linux live USB/CD will mount the Windows volume so important data can be copied to external storage before any reset or reinstall. That approach avoids risking data loss when attempting account recovery.

Preventive measures: create a Windows password reset disk for local accounts, keep at least one secondary administrator account disabled but available, maintain regular backups, and avoid paying unverified services (note ’s earlier mention of payment). Also consider migrating from Vista to a supported OS for security updates. Proceed only with lawful authority; forum members and raised valid security points that apply here.

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Member Avatar for Ancient Dragon

You have to have admin privledges to do what you want to do. It's a security thing. Security would be severly breached if just anyone could view passwords.

Member Avatar for happygeek

You seem to have a lot of interest in finding passwords. Your requests elsewhere for code that will reveal user login/password details by inserting a USB thumb drive, now you have forgotten your admin password.

Please read the DaniWeb rules, especially the Keep It Legal section regarding asking for help with hacking activity.

Member Avatar for bob24bob

I am "keeping it legal". I had accidentally reset it using CMD using a new command /random. I was looking for an alternative to paying the $110 i just did. Thanks.

Member Avatar for crunchie

I am "keeping it legal".

That is decided by Daniweb rules, not the members. We have no way of knowing that a member who posts for various passwords is, in fact, the owner of said PC they want the password to.

Member Avatar for aaron smith

This is not possible. You won't be able to view other user passwords using any latest MS Windows Operating System. You must have administrative privileges on the machine to CHANGE others' passwords. Windows does not allow "viewing" of passwords even if logged as an administrator. You will be able to "change" passwords but not "view" other passwords. You must have a good keylogger software undetected by an antivirus to do this but ethically speaking, this is unauthorized and/or illegal.

Edited by crunchie because: Removed plugs
Member Avatar for realannoying

not possible!

Member Avatar for Not possiblguy

not possible!

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