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avib27Flag for United States of America

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cant undisable administrator using standard user.

Hi,

I am dealing with a client who is using windows 7. He has an administrative user name which he has the password to but cant get into the account. He has a standard user name where it works fine. i tried to reset the password to the administrative user it didnt work. I tried through dos it didnt work. I tried to enable the administrator username it didnt work. I tried in safe mode it didnt work. I ran a password cracker it didnt even come up with the administrative name on the computer, it just showed the standard user and that administrator and guest are disabled...

Does anyone have any suggestions to help?

Thank you
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John
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The administrator account in Windows 7 is disabled by design and no standard user will be allowed to change it. They cannot.

Windows 7 and Windows 8 have a password recovery setup that can be run and saved on a USB key. Did the user do this?

If not, I don't think there is much the user can do.  Back up the data and re-install Windows .
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ASKER

Nope he did not :/,  I had a feeling I'm most likely going to have to do that.  Do you think it might make a difference if I try something like a Windows pe?
I don't think Windows PE has tools to crack a Windows 7 admin password. You can try. I used to be able to use Cain (oxid.it) to get Windows XP admin password, but that technique does not work in Windows 7.
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That disk can do it http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/
Two steps: enable and reset the password (blank it).
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ASKER

Thanks,  I'm hopefully going to try it tomorrow,  I'll let you know what happens
You can use this utility, but it is not free.
runs from a thumb drive...you download their software to create the bootable thumb drive.
You boot into a Windows gui that gives you a bunch of utilities one of which will let you reset the password.

http://www.boot-disk.com/password_changer.htm
'Account is disabled', 'Password never expires', 'Account is locked out', 'User Must Change Password at Next Logon' and 'Logon Hours' can be changed or reset.
You can't change passwords for admin with a standard account.

What do you mean you tried with dos?

What accounts do you see in control panel-User Accounts?
The built in "Administrator" account is disabled by design. It can be re-enabled, but only by another user who has been granted administrator rights, and not a standard user.

If you've forgotten the password for the user account on the system that has administrative rights, you can reset it using the Offline NT Password and Registry Editor that McKnife posted. You need to download and burn the CD image to a disc, and then boot your PC from that disc and follow the prompts. The utility has the ability to blank the password, and to un-disable accounts like the built-in Administrator account.

Your mileage may vary, it's not a supported utility and you run the risk of breaking the system, but I have had plenty of success with it in the past.
You can reset the password for win 7 with Offline NT Password you will need the current version cause the old version does not work on win 7 or if the win 7 machine belongs to a active directory domain you can force admin login through a group policy object
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ASKER

nt password didnt work.. Do you think a windows repair would help?
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John
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sounds like an end game to me.. I appreciate your help..
That disk has never failed me, please tell us what happened, I am sure it can be done also for you.
Sorry, were you under pressure closing this? :)
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ASKER

I was under pressure... But the user name I was looking for didnt show up which happened to be an administrator account.. Its just totally bizarre
@avib27  - Thank you and I was happy to assist you.
avib, use that disk again. blank the password of the builtin administrator account "administrator" and enable that account - the disk has both options. Then, start windows, logon as "administrator" and your're in. From there, open the command line and set a new password for your user...

net user username newpassword
Team,
There is a few different boot utilitys out there.

There is one called Active Data Studio, they have a boot disk which has a locksmith utility.
Boot the disk, clear and unlock the accounts that you want in the SAM.

it is a pay for product, but you cant go wrong for the price with the amount of utilitys it comes with. If you have ever had a lost password, fried partition, needed to undelete, etc ,etc.. its worth the 1-2 hundred dollars. Besides you would pass the cost on to your customer anyway.
The nordahl disk is the one to go for. It works, it's free.