Re: Can't logon to Windows

Thank you for your second response. Yes, I was trying to set up a local home
network. The network, a desktop, laptop and 2 printers, seems to be working
fine. I can access shared files, etc. I think my crime was going into the
Administrator and User Group and disabling all of the accounts. My errant
thinking was that this would eliminate the need for a Windows password (I'm
the only one who uses the computer). I may not be the most knowledgable
computer guy but I'm fearless....I plunge in and learn by screwing up. I
have to admit that this is my worst screwup.

At first I was able to boot to "safe mode." Double ctl-alt-del, putting
"Administrator" into the dialogue box with no password yielded a response of
"This account has been disabled. See your Administrator." I also tried
"Owner," "Bob," and "Guest" with no success.

I can no longer get into Safe Mode. A list of drivers is printed and hangs
up in the middle. I have to turn off to re-try something else.

I tried the "System Recovery" key at boot up. It offered 2 options:

1. PC Recovery - reinstalls to factory default, deletes all owner installed
programs, but does not delete data files. I have not done this.

2. Windows System Restore - takes you back to an earlier time or to the
"Recovery Console. I tried earlier time first. It brought me back to the
Windows Logon screen with no accounts visible. Double ctl-alt-del yields the
same result as before for "Administrator," "Owner," "Bob," and "Guest."

Next, I tried "Recovery Console - it asked which installation of Windows I
wanted:
1. D:\I386
2. D:\MiniNT
3. C:\Windows

1 and 2 take me to the respective directory with a list of commands and a
D:\I386> or a D:\MiniNT> prompt. None of the commands help.
3 takes me to a prompt and asks for the Administrator password. I reply
with blank, and end up back at C:\windows> I type "Exit" and the system
reboots to the Windows login screen with no accounts visible. The dialog box
behavior is the same as above.

I've now disabled the local network and will try again.

Unless you have other ideas, I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet, do a
recovery, and re-install all of my software.

Whatever the outcome, I want to thank you for the time you spent answering
my questions.

--
SBA MAVEN


"Malke" wrote:

SBAMAVEN wrote:

Thanks for the response. Your solution doesn't work because I don't have
a password problem; my problem is that I have disabled all of the user
accounts. I've tried safe mode, and input "administrator" in the dialog
box
and I get an "account is disabled" message. When I try "guest" the
message is "policy doesn't allow you to log on interaactively."

The response I gave you had nothing to do with a password problem. The
standard answer to disabling of the built-in Administrator account is to
boot into Safe Mode since the Administrator account will be enabled
temporarily for that one session. If you really disabled the Administrator
account and you really booted into Safe Mode and found that the
Administrator account was not temporarily enabled, then I don't know what
else to suggest other than perhaps a Repair Install.

Perhaps you did something more than just disabling the built-in
Administrator account or perhaps there were other problems on the machine.
Or perhaps since you were trying to set up a home network you set your
computer to be a member of a domain which is not the same as disabling
Administrator and could certainly produce similar problems.

System Restore will not require you to reinstall anything. If you can get
into the system at all (and your first post would seem to indicate that you
can't), then you can run System Restore to before you did whatever it was
you did.

Since I don't know your skill level, you may wish to take the machine to a
professional computer repair shop (not your local version of BigStoreUSA)
where they may be able to fix the situation.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Mei Chan [MSFT]
    ... > bottom line is that everything works as advertised in safemode which means ... > a password or add a second account. ... Just for kicks you could try setting up the network with Netbeui or ... You could try disabling the Microsft services but be careful, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • Re: USER PROFILE CORRUPT?? HELP!!!!!
    ... >Windows cannot log you on because your profile cannot be ... >that your network is functioning correctly. ... >problem persists, contact your network administrator. ... This is where the hidden account called ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Home network admin - can he browse my files?
    ... Network that I'll be connecting to in order to access the internet. ... the network administrator log on through the network to my laptop as ... account on the system have a complex password (Each of 4 character sets ... Can the network administrator log on ...
    (alt.computer.security)
  • Re: Mei Chan [MSFT]
    ... a password or add a second account. ... Just for kicks you could try setting up the network with Netbeui or ... You could try disabling the Microsft services but be careful, ... >> services tab are by far the most important. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • Re: Home network admin - can he browse my files?
    ... Network that I'll be connecting to in order to access the internet. ... the network administrator log on through the network to my laptop as ... Does every account on the system have a complex password? ... If the family member is extremely knowledgeable and willful enough, you will be hard pressed to prevent access to both the transmitted information as well as access to local system resources. ...
    (alt.computer.security)