Member Avatar for semicol

Okay.
i have completely locked my self out my pc
all the files r not shareable so i can't copy the files from the hard drive.
all i can think of is removing the password file maually. does anyone now a direct link that will tell me where the password fale is???
e.g C:/ blablabla...
i've tried all these programs that r supposed to remove the passwords like the floppy ones, and they don't work. my administartor has a password on it so i can't get in through safemode. i really need these files off the hard drive. where is the windows password file so i can get rid of the pass?
does any one know how to solve my prob???

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Dani AI

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Short answer first: the Windows account hashes live in the SAM hive at C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\SAM. Do not delete that file — removing or corrupting it will make Windows unbootable and can permanently lose access to encrypted files. The priority is to extract the data you need before attempting password tricks.

Safest, lowest-risk way to recover your files is to boot the machine from external media (a Linux live USB or a Windows PE environment) and copy the user data to an external drive. Key locations on XP are C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents, ...\Desktop, ...\Favorites, and application stores such as Outlook/Outlook Express under the user profile. Mount NTFS read-only if possible to avoid accidental changes. Note: files encrypted with EFS remain unreadable after a password reset unless the certificate/key is available.

If creating external boot media is not an option, remove the hard drive and attach it to another working PC (internal SATA or a USB adapter). From a running XP machine with Administrator access, disable Simple File Sharing, use the folder Properties -> Security -> Advanced -> Owner tab to take ownership of the locked profile folder (check "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects"), then grant Administrators Full Control and copy the files. This method avoids touching the SAM file.

Both 's parallel-install idea and 's boot-disk/password-reset approach can work, but those come after securing data. Resetting or modifying account passwords offline can render EFS-encrypted data useless, so back up everything (preferably make a sector image first) before attempting password resets or reinstalls.

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Member Avatar for semicol

k i'll check it out

thks

Member Avatar for chrisbliss18

Burn yourself a copy of the Ultimate Boot CD. Boot your system using that disk and use the program on the disk to reset the Administrator password.

I've used this tool myself, so I know that it works. Make sure you read the instructions thoroughly to avoid potential mistakes.

Member Avatar for semicol

k thnks

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