windows admin pass
 

k, so i got a lot of machines here with dual boot, slackware and windows, but the machines hardly ever see windows, exept for sometimes when it's needed, and when it is needed, i discover that almost always i have to reset the password because i forget the admin pass, i never forget the root password though, because i use it often, the irony is use boot CD's based on linux, so is there a tool i can install in my linux partition so that i can reset my windows thing when i need, i dont want to write down the windows password, and i dont want to keep same password for all machines, and inspite of my best efforts i cant seem to remember them when i need.

I am not sure you can do anything of this sort, if you cant remember passwords.
although you could try creating a sam file in windows which uses the password admin, hopefully you wont forget that. you could simply change a user password and boot into linux, use ntfs-mount (linux-ntfs.sf.net) and mount ntfs hdd and keep a backup of the file.
never tried it, but theoritically sounds good.

Have a look through the info at http://www.petri.co.il/forgot_admini...r_password.htm - it looks as though you're not the only one to ever do this ;)

Try chntpw for unix.
Just mount the windows partition and run the application.
so the command would be

List the users in the SAM file
Rest password for user
Remember to mount the drive with read-write access and always use a blank password for the administator password as this works best. Use a * to achieve this.

Hope this helps.

Try reglookup. It should allow you to read the registry.

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/...glookup-0.1.2/

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/...1.2-i486-1.tgz

@gilead
i dont think getting password is my concern, i can just push in thee windows install CD and do it, but i need it to be easy, and from linux, just for the "cool" thing.

chntpw lookg good, i'll try it today...

@gnashley
how does reading registry help me reset password. anyhow that tool seems useful though.

Reglookup lets you search the registry from Linux and find what the password is. Then you know what it is in order to login under windows.

Resetting XP passwords with chntpw may results in NTFS-filesystem damage. Low risk, but possible... So if you have important data on the system I'd suggest just to crack the password/s with
http://www.studenti.unina.it/~ncuomo/syskey/
and then this
http://www.openwall.com/john/
Those tools are available on Auditor live cd as well, if you want to keep using the live disk method.
Ciao

There is very little almost no damage that i have experianced when changing the password. As long as you don't set a password and just make administrator with a blank password you are fine. Only if you start setting a password with chntpw you start to experiance errors and possible file corruption.

Cracking the password could take a long time to do if the password is complex. Its alot simplier to blank the admin password. just my 2 cents

i've always just blanked them. works best with little to no risk to the partition. my friends are always forgetting there passwords so i get to play.

Why not set the admin pwd of each box the same as root pwd (as you don't seem to forget the latter).

I use the same passwords for root and administrator on all my boxes (you don't want that) so I don't have to worry.

i know this is unsafe but i still do it. i have three main passwords that i use for alot of stuff. with windows i know if i get the password wrong i have 2 more chances before the lockout sets in. there is nothing wrong with writing your passwords down, just where you store or keep the list. i know an admin that has a four page list he keeps locked in a safe, if he cant' remember the passsword, he just opens the safe and verifys it. he is also the only one wiht the combination. and like his backups, another copy is kept locked up offsite. kinda extreme i know. but it works for him.

things can be done, but isin't this easier than other solutions, and this makes me less dependednt on other things, and more on linux.

i cant keep same pass because i need people to have windows password, but dont want everyone to have linux acess, now many times i can even ask them the password, but why should i roam around the whole world asking for password when i am the admin, i can just reset it in a second.

So how did you go with chntpw?
did that work for you?

The ophtcrack livecd usually finds all windows passwords very quickly