[SOLVED] Are these the right forums for my problem?
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Firstly, apologies if this has been discussed before. I tried to search for it, but it’s a struggle from my phone (which is my only computer at the moment). Reading the forum guidelines was easy enough though, hence this title.
After 2 months of spare time struggling with a computer problem, I’m nearly there, and it’ll only take another few seconds, for all I know. If I only I knew the right Linux command that is, and/or something about the terms and the interface. But I know nothing about the nuts & bolts of using Linux (having used only Windows, and MsDos before that). (I know it would be useful to know Linux, and don't mind learning curves at all, but time isn’t infinite at my age, and I have even more work to catch up on now!).
All I’m trying to do is to get a Linux program to see a directory/file that I can see with my own eyes elsewhere on the drive. I’ve tried typing the path given in the directory’s Properties into the program’s search box, but it still isn’t found. (Maybe I need to add one of the filenames inside it, but I don’t know which one).
I don’t know what version of Linux it is, or which word is it. And anyway, in this case it seems best only to provide details if/when asked.
Perhaps it's OK just to say that my desktop OS suddenly decided my long-time login password was invalid, so denying me access to my own writings, art documentation etc. And maybe I’m allowed to add that said (reputable) program is on a USB stick. And that I’m using a graphic interface, but have found where I could type in a command (and finally realised what the command prompt looks like!).
If it’s not possible for this forum to help via postings, maybe it would be possible via private messages? And if not, can you recommend another reputable forum with Linux expertise where a complete novice can get help with my problem?
my desktop OS suddenly decided my long-time login password was invalid, so denying me access to my own writings, art documentation etc. And maybe I’m allowed to add that said (reputable) program is on a USB stick. And that I’m using a graphic interface, but have found where I could type in a command (and finally realised what the command prompt looks like!).
So do you have access to the computer now, or are you locked out? if you are locked out from your own computer, then gaining access to the computer is your first priority, since it will be useless for us to help you with "the Linux program" if you can't even access it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fogmatic
All I’m trying to do is to get a Linux program to see a directory/file that I can see with my own eyes elsewhere on the drive.
What does it mean to make a "Linux program" to "see" a directory/file?
What program? how will you know it will "see" the directory or file?
Tell us exactly what you are trying to do, in computer terms ("I'm trying to open a .png in GIMP" or "I'm trying to copy a file from an external drive to my internal drive", and so on).
To find out what you are running, open a terminal and type:
" get a Linux program to see a directory/file that I can see with my own eyes elsewhere on the drive."
I get the feeling that you want to either make a new "path" where all programs can find files directly through the path variable. Otherwise you can make a "link" in the program subdirectory (usually) to the files that you wish to see. The program will think the files are there.
If I was locked out of my computer, the first thing I would do would be to boot it from a rescue CD/pen-drive. Many installation media are designed to be used as emergency rescue devices too. Or you can get a friend to download and burn a SystemRescue CD.
Once you are booted, you can mount your hard drive and edit the /etc/shadow file, carefully erasing the bad password. Then reboot from the hard drive and log in without a password. Make sure you set a new one as your first act!
Wow - thanks! What a great response to find this morning (I’m in Ireland). (Reminds me of the wonderful CompuServe forums, a lifeline for me in the early 2000s, till we free-access members were abruptly blocked just when I wanted to thank someone!).
I can’t read your responses easily on this tiny screen, so will print them out later & respond more individually when I get the time. Meanwhile, this is why I was hesitant about posting more details; "Posts containing information about cracking, piracy, warez, fraud or any topic that could be damaging to either LinuxQuestions.org or any third party will be immediately removed". (I didn't yet know where these forums draw the line, and didn't want to risk getting banned from such a great community!).
But I didn’t want to waste any more of your time by being vague, so here goes (if I can just leave it to the moderators to remove anything they think fit?). It’s a bit of a short story I’m afraid, but I’m not sure yet what’s relevant & what’s not, and anyhow you’ve already gone to great lengths to help (no pun intended).
I do also have a little laptop for day-to-day internet etc, but it’s awaiting attention for a power problem, so I’ve been using the desktop for everything (instead of just the heavier-duty productivity things). (Details at the end of this in case it helps).
In early May, the desktop was working fine in the morning, then later that day Vista said at the user login screen that my password was incorrect (same password as always). Having established that it wasn’t a keyboard thing, and tried various workarounds, I consulted a forum and the consensus was that an Ophcrack Live CD download was the way to go, and there was a version for Windows Vista/7 (including the free version of the rainbow tables needed). And I could still access the BIOS to set it to boot from USB (the CD/DVD player also being in need of attention).
It’s been a bit of a long haul, partly because of only having little (and unpredictable) bits of time to do it in. And in this rural area, friends are very scattered, friends with computers even more so, and friends with Vista or 7 nonexistent. Eventually, I came across some more detailed, step-by-step instructions, which stressed that the OS of the downloading computer doesn't matter. (I’d been thrown off course by a tiny ambiguity in Sourceforge’s instructions, which were repeated in all the other search results I’d read).
So arranged to visit a (busy) friend a few days later, did the download (quite quickly - the local phone line must have been having a good day), did the installation onto a USB stick, and all went smoothly. Then (after a long process of finding the right settings for USB boot in the fairly obscure Bios that internet searches cant find anything about), it worked, the Linux OS appeared, and the program started automatically, in graphic mode (taking 19 seconds).
As expected from what I’d read, the LM columns were blank. 5 NT password hashes were found for user accounts of various kinds, 2 (with identical-looking hashes) marked 'empty’, and 3 'not found’. I haven’t been able to find instructions I can understand about what to do in the program, and didn’t know if I was missing some step needed to find a password(s). The Tables button looked safe enough to try; it showed a list of the table versions, including the free ones (and also the very not free ones that I knew I didn’t have). But the only one marked green as 'installed’ was a basic XP one, so not surprising no password found (must have had a moment of inattention while selecting the download!). I tried highlighting it, pressing the 'enable’ button & starting again, but it made no difference to the results/time taken.
Another few days later (having managed to mesh with a friend who wasn’t away on holiday by then!), it took that whole spare afternoon to do about half the download (and, as I discovered that evening, for some reason Firefox doesn’t resume downloads; should have used Chrome, which apparently can resume them - with a little help from Firefox!).
So next stop post office in the middle of the nearest town, which has public internet access and the fastest connection speed in the area (there was a little connection display on the screen; it varied between about 2.65 & 2.8 MB, & no interruptions). The download took 40 minutes. I then downloaded Rufus to install the ISO onto the USB, but the system wouldn't let me open it without the 'Owner’ password, which nobody could remember (it thought I might be trying to 'change something in the computer’). It did let me simply copy the download to the USB though. So to a 3rd friend with slow connection, which was OK for just getting Rufus, & the ISO installed fine straight from the USB onto another one.
By now I’d forgotten the bios settings, and couldn't find my note of them in the scattered heaps of notes & printouts, but 2-3 days later I hit on the right combination again (using a sticky note this time!), and the ISO booted & worked automatically as before. Precisely as before in fact, as the results were identical.
I knew I’d got the right version this time (from the filesize & other things), so looked at the tables, and no version was marked as installed. I highlighted the Vista Free one & tried the Install button, with no effect. I explored a bit & found the Vista Free ones (the only directory inside the Tables one in Slitaz Ophcrack, in My Documents). There’s a directory called vista_proba_free (as expected), size around 631mb (ditto). It contains 13 files of various types; dat, bin, txt, index etc, plus some extensions I’d never heard of. Nothing I can recognise as a zip file, so looks as if the automatic unzipping worked (I did search later for zip-compressed tables & none were found).
I made a note of the path (or Linux equivalent), went back to the tables list and tried typing it into a location box that appears via the Install button, but it wasn't found. Then copied the path in the Properties of the vista_proba_free directory and put it in the location box, but still not found.
A web search found a few things that had worked in various similar-sounding cases, e.g. the command 'ophcrack-launcher.sh dialog to search again for tables. This displayed extra options, Search and Deep.Search, but they didn’t do the trick for me. Another one was ‘Just copy the hash in question and…..’, but I don’t know how to do it; I know they’re very long, and can only see the 1st 10 characters on the screen (of which I have a photo if it helps). And though I didn’t understand most of the search results, I suspect there’s some additional step needed.
My other problem with finding out what to do once within Ophcrack, is a dearth of instructions that I can understand, from reputable websites. For good reason of course, but when I go to a promising search result, only to see a user referred to as 'the victim’, it feels too distasteful to stay there another moment!
Have to log off now for the night (late for bed already!)
P.s. (Morning); forgot to say desktop is Packard Bell Ixtreme 2711, bought 2007 (I did make sure Ophcrack had the right setting for its Intel Quad Core processor, though I believe that's just to help Ophcrack work faster).
Windows (yes, I know!) Vista Home Premium SP2.
More verbiage with a faint chance of relevance; the phone that's been my only computer for the past 2 months is Motorola Moto G 3rd gen 2015 (Android 6).
I edited 1 word in 1st para. of the OP, 'question' to 'title' (harder to spot the faults through this tiny window).
Just had a chance to take a 1st look at your responses - thanks for the link, Habitual. Those guideline confirm that I'm in good company, and are also a good read. I've always thought user manuals & other instructions should be written by people encountering the subject for the 1st time, but the writer is obviously an exception!
Last edited by Fogmatic; 07-13-2016 at 07:27 AM.
Reason: Errors (compounded by some very determined autocomplete/spellchecker)
Windows 7 and Vista should have same same file/registry locations I would think <but I cannot swear this is so>. Just move slowly and always be sure when screwing with Windows. It is a delicate operating system and sometimes cannot stand the the strain of a clueless user.
Thank you, rokytnji and biosboy4 (on top of everyone else!).
I had plenty of YouTube search results but hadn't looked at many, for 2 reasons; imagining it might be a good place to sneak in malware, and my domestic setup (open-plan, with the desktop, and a good enough wifi signal for videos on the phone, both near where my husband always seems to be trying to get a bit of peace & quiet). But I've watched the video recommended by rokytnji silently, and it looks hopeful. I think I'll try it first, simply because it'll take very little time. Won't be able to till about 10 hours from now -will report back of course!
Thank you all for setting me on the right path(s) - no password as yet, but I’m getting there.
Sorry everyone about the vague OP - the guidelines said discussing cracking wouldn’t be tolerated, and I wasn’t sure where these forums drew the line about that.
I can’t seem to use quotes in forums at the moment.
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notKlaatu; Thank you for that command.
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rokytnji; Thank you so much for taking the trouble to give me the wallpaper. (Hopefully, it’ll be in use soon!).
And for the video links, where I could see that something was missing from my window in Ophcrack; the little tree of tables below the main window, and the progress bars. After trying some more things the right path appeared, and the program worked away for just over an hour, but found no password for my account. I suppose whatever Windows wants me to type in is too complex for the free tables. (I gather it can be worth trying other tools though, as they use slightly different methods).
Yes, Windows isn’t very robust! Had no choice at the time, though never did like bloatware. 98SE wasn’t too bad, but on the next replacement only Vista was available. (It was a bit better after clearing out the unwanted stuff & changing to open source software when possible!).
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Habitual; Apologies for appearing to ask for one-to-one help - I wouldn’t dream of it (and know that forum people are volunteers). “Private messages” was part of a sentence I thought I’d cut, but due to ‘text correction’ and only being able to seeing a small section, I failed to cut all of it. The original context was just re some brief message e.g. “We don’t discuss this here - try forum x”, or “You have been barred for discussing password cracking”.
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jefro; Thanks for the tip - didn’t need to make a link this time, but useful to know!
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Hazel; Thank you for the info re rescue CDs - I might be glad of it yet!. And for the reminder about a new password. Though the only reason I’d set one is that I added an account for my husband when I bought the computer, when he was intending to learn to use one but was nervous about accidentally ‘breaking’ something. He soon got his own tablet instead, and I’d been meaning to remove my password ever since! (Just in case any particularly dim reader happens to be passing, I should point out that our home is also in an unusually secure position re intruders).
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biosboy4; Thank you for the pointer re the net user command. I’d seen it suggested elsewhere (before trying Ophcrack), with warnings about dangers to data in Windows when resetting encrypted passwords. Having now ascertained that my files are extremely unlikely to have been encrypted, I’m researching the net user commands. (On the way, I’ve viewed a fuller list of the users in Windows; 12, because the 5 already seen are duplicated, two of them with 3 instances. Which may be a clue for sorting out whatever mess Windows is in, once I’m back in it).
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To add to the help you’ve all given me, I’ve now found a Linux manual; can’t print it out yet, but read a bit re file structure etc. And I don’t think it’ll take as long to get some basic working knowledge of using Linux as general computer magazines etc suggest. (Seems those 1980s evening classes on computing were more useful than some modern courses I could name!). So I’m going to have a go after all. Thank you for that too!
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