Disabled user account!

Somehow we have disabled the one user account on our laptop with windowsXP Pro....when we try to boot the log on window says "user account is disabled contact the system admistrator "...we can only choose shut down or stand by...I tried to get in with safe mode....same thing. my husbands work files are on this computer.....we NEED to get in it in the worst way.....someone HELP
katy

 

Why can't you get in in safe mode (tapping F8 while booting) as administrator? If you've never given it a password, try just tapping enter at the password prompt.

Is the file system NTFS? or FAT32?

Do you have an MS XP installation disk?

 

When I go into safe mode I get the same log in box and the same thing happens when I try to get past it. There never was a password .... the window comes up with a name in it....I used to just click enter and go on in.
I am not sure about the file system.
The computer is a compaq and I have a set of 3 quick restore discs and also a compaq operating system CD(it says only for use with compaq restore cd.
won't doing a restore cause us to loose the files that are on it?

 

Try changing the name to "administrator" (without the quotes) and then press enter.

 

I did try this....the message comes up..... "cannot log you in...make sure your user name and domain are correct....then type your password again" I tried this in both regular and safe mode

 

Your laptop seems to have a admininstrator password. You would need it to access the computer. If everything fails at least you can get a backup of the data files on a separate computer connected thru LAN. Get a cd of Knoppix or some other self contained Linux distribution, insert it into your laptop's cdrom and set the laptop to boot from it. When you are in Linux (could take a while), you can view or copy almost all the data, but you cannot write or delete anything.

Hope it helps.

 

We have never entered any passwords on this computer since we purchased it....and I have no idea how to do what you are suggesting. Do you think there is no way to boot up this computer?

 

katy, you can boot the computer but cannot access any data on it (that's what you are able to do right now).

Linux is the only sure shot way I know of that can access & get your data off the hard disk right now.

 

Is it possible to download the linux application that you are talking about? I could do that on our home computer if someone can advise me 'what' it is and 'how' to use it?
(fortunately hubby has gone out of 'murder mode' and says if we have to restore he can duplicate the files he needs most)
thanks
Katy

 

You could try ubcd4win. It's a boot cd like the linux ones that you build using a Windows XP cd. It'll boot to a windows enviroment and you can do pretty much anything you want with your hard disk(s). Also, it has a program that you can use to restore your system to a previous date using the system restore files created by WinXP. It's pretty much the same as running system restore from within XP. It might be worth a try.

 

Suggest if there's a floppy drive for the laptop, make a windows startup floppy disk on the home computer and boot the laptop with it. You'll be in DOS at an A:> prompt. Type:
dir c:/w (with the space after the dir)
and if you see some text, the file system is FAT32 which will make recovering the files you need easy. If there's no floppy drive, you or a friend can make a bootable CD with DOS on it and do the same thing.

If you get an error message, the file system is NTFS, and your job will be more complicated. You will need to buy and XP Pro CD and, I THINK, be able to do a 'repair install'. That way you'll usually preserve the files. Can help further when you let us know what you find after the above.

If the files are sufficiently valuable, this is worth the expense; if not, then go the linux way if you can. To access the files professionally might cost several hundred dollars, and shouldn't be necessary..

Yes, using the Compaq disks for a restore may very likely erase the files you want, but it wouldn't hurt to ask compaq, unless you get the wrong helper.

 

Zander,

Think the ubcd requires an XP CD (which they don't have yet) and slip-streaming. That's no project for novices, is it?

 

Katy, these Linux cd's are freely downable but you may not need to download these. Just goto your local book store and browse about in computer magazines. Most of these magazines carry them on cds. The thing we are looking for is Knoppix or any other self contained Linux distribution.

 

Yes and no to does it require an XP CD. I guess I missed the part that they don't have a XP CD but all that's really needed is the i386 folder. If katy should happen to have it copied onto the hard drive you could use that. It's possible it's there. Katy, do a search for i386 and see if it shows up.

As to it not being a project for novices, it's not as difficult as it looks. Really. If you just follow the instructions step by step you'll get it done. This is the best bet for recovering things without having to reformat. There's no guarantee that system restore will fix it but it's certainly worth a try.

 

Katy didn't say what the home PC is, what capabilities are there. However, agree it's worth a try to make a ubcd; but if they acquire an XP CD, why not do a parallel (or possibly, repair) installation to access the files?

I want to correct something said above. The win98 boot disk will make a ramdisk using the c: address when NTFS is present rather than give one an error; but in any case it will be diagnostic of NTFS, since we know that a windows file system is on the disk.

One other process might be considered: using partition magic to shrink c: and make a d: so there's a place to put the files while the OS is being repaired, since getting the files off the computer may be tricky when the OS is unavailable.

 

Because my goal here isn't just to access files that she wants to save. Not at this moment anyway. My goal is still to get windows to run. I suggested trying ubc4win because with it you can use system restore. If system restore worked she'd have windows back up and running and there would be no need for recovering any files before a format or whatever the next step may be.

 

If my memory serves, system restore requires the password to operate, and that's what's missing here, isn't it?

However a parallel install should, hopefully, be able to be done with a new password; Have never tried it in such a situation, though.

BTW, katy, if you're still with us, you should have a simple password you can't forget on all your machines in the future.

 

katy has stated that there never was a password. If this locking of the account is new it's possible system restore will fix it. Remember, you're using a program that's on the ubc4win cd to process the restore files. Not the actual system restore program that you run in Windows. While you're doing this, windows isn't running. The OS you're running is running from the cd. Windows won't prompt you for a password if windows isn't running. If windows isn't running, it has no knowledge of what's going on. How many more ways can I put this?

Speaking of passwords, there's also utilities on the cd for straightening out those types of messes too. I still say it's worth a try.

Even if this doesn't work, what harm does it cause to try??? If it works, you'll save yourself a lot of trouble. If not, you're in the exact same place you were before and if need be you can then try re-installing things.

 

Never ever make any changes to the hard disk if there is valuable data in there without taking backup and here we are talking of a computer, where the user cannot login and we are trying to make a major change. Very bad idea.