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    Hidden Administrator password...

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by Thibault, Dec 20, 2006.

  1. Thibault

    Thibault Banned

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    Hello all,
    Right now I'm with my grand-parents and the rest of my family for Christmas. My grand-parents want me to format their computer.

    This shouldn't be a problem for me. But I just came accross one.
    The computer uses Windows XP Pro. I boot from the CD. Go to format the C drive but its asking me for the Administrator password. My grand parents have no idea what it is (they usually get a computer guy from the local computer place to fix it for them).
    So is there a way to reset this password?

    Any help would be appreciated.
    Thanks.
     
    Thibault, Dec 20, 2006
    #1
  2. Gophn

    Gophn NBR Resident Assistant

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    if you are formatting, why would you need a password?

    especially if your are booting off the Win XP CD and going into the Windows Pre-Installation environment. You should be able to delete the partitions, then re-create them.. and then format the "new" partition.

    If you are using the Recovery Console to do this, its doing it the hard way. Usually the Admin password should be blank.

    If you really want to do it, you have to use ERD Commander to overwrite the current unknown password. ERD Commander is a bootable CD that has a very useful tool called Locksmith. Its as easy as its going to get for resetting Windows users' passwords.
     
    Gophn, Dec 20, 2006
    #2
  3. Thibault

    Thibault Banned

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    I usually just did it using hte recovery console that requires the Admin password (which wasn't blank in thise case).
    I deleted the partition and went from there instead so no worries anymore. I must have been tired yesterday cause that thought never crossed my mind.

    Cheers.
     
    Thibault, Dec 21, 2006
    #3
  4. Brando551

    Brando551 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Heh, small world. I'm having the same problem on my Inspiron 9300. I'm almost certain I was too dumb to set up an admin password, but there is one now, and it's definitely not one of mine. I was actually trying to logon to disable all the Remote Access Services that have been acting up.

    According to this article, a repair install was supposed to be a way to reset the Admin password. Mine made the same request as above (password required to overwrite the installation), so I wonder if Windows recently "closed the door"?

    Anyway, unless anyone knows of a manual reset on the Dell, looks like I'm due for a reformat as well... *sigh
     
    Brando551, Jan 28, 2007
    #4