asked on

open a cmd prompt from windows disc

hi

i have a laptop where the only account on the machine is the built in administrator account.
it was under warranty and i foolishly sent it in to HP for repair.
i just got it back and they disabled the built in administrator account.

I'm thinking that I could boot using a windows cd and then access the cmd prompt from the disc and turn the admin account back on.

question is how to do that or a better idea.
i do not want to reformat.

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Jon Covalt

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regmigrant

you may be able to use Windows repair to re-enable the administrator account as long as you know what the password and HP didn't change it

If you boot from a windows CD and run a cmd prompt you will only modify the version you booted from not the one that you're locked out of.

I'm not aware of anyway to hack the registry without having access to the actual instance you want to modify - unless HP left remote access enabled; in which case you could connect to the target registry from another machine and create yourself a new account - but this seems unlikely.

Your next best option is to do an in-situ install - which re-copies all the windows files and gives you the option to create a user account.

When the install starts it should find the version of windows you have and offer you an upgrade, a new install or a repair. If you are challenged for administrator password and it won't accept the input you will have to install to a new folder and ignore the old installation (it gets put in a separate folder so you will have access to the content).

None of these require a reformat unless you request it

SOLUTION

Joe Winograd

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dgrafx

ASKER

thanks guys
i'm downloading / burning from the pogostick link now.

id did find that the cmd prompt found in repair option doesn't enable the admin account on the laptop but seems to be referring to the instance that is running the repair - as regmigrant was referring to i believe.

i will post back soon - hopefully ...

dgrafx

ASKER

ok guys - absolutely awesome!

used pogostick and re-enabled the admin account ...

dgrafx

ASKER

Thanks a lot!

Joe Winograd

You're welcome! Glad to hear it worked for you. Thanks for letting us know. Regards, Joe