forgotten password

thomas01155

flossy_splodge wrote: »

Are these two different options? Sorry but never heard of this before so wanted to be clear what's what.
Thanks.

OPH crack is the live cd which will crack the password the other software is to burn it to a disc if you don't have any other burning software or if it doesn't support iso burning.

flossy_splodge

Ah, I see.
I have a number of alternative burning options.
What is the significance of the word 'live' in this context?:rolleyes:
Seems to be creeping in all over the place!:o

flossy_splodge

Ah ha. I think I see.
Am I right in thinking the 'live' link is so you don't have to 'install' anything onto the computer you're password cracking?
Does it make any difference if you use the non 'live' link? - other than the above of course:p

Lezanne26

hi thomas - me again. What do I do now to get the password? I've put the CD in and an Autoplay box pops up but I don't know what to do next.

flossy_splodge

Sorry thomas but another question.:rolleyes:
Will it work on WIn 2000?
When I follow the links on the 'live' version it offers the choice of XP or Vista only?:o

fwor

The FAQs don't say, but it will probably work with Win2000, as like XP it's based on NT.

Incidentally, a better solution in this situation is probably the following password editor:

http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Like Ophcrack it runs as a bootable live CD, and works on NT, 2k, XP and Vista.

It's better, in that it does not try to crack the existing password, but just overwrites it with a new one. Ophcrack tries to discover the existing password, and this may take a very long time if the password was a good one.

Lezanne26

I've been on YouTube and found what to do but I just have a blank screen now (after the BIOS) - is this right?

fwor

No, the Linux kernel (on which it is based) is probably failing to detect your hardware properly and hanging.

Have a look here, particularly at section 1.5 - noapic and other options:

http://apps.sourceforge.net/mediawiki/ophcrack/index.php?title=Frequently_Asked_Questions

Alternatively try the password editor I linked to before - it is a simpler tool than ophcrack.

Lezanne26

Do you think it would be easier just to re-install completely from recovery discs we made - will that clear the admin password? What about restoring to factory settings? - or perhaps it wouldn't let us do that without the admin password. DD has only had the laptop since Christmas so wouldn't lose much if we did re-install. Will the recovery discs install everything ie. drivers as well? The laptop came with free trial of Office 2007 and trial Macafee Security - would these start again? :huh: