my friend has a del laptop, running windows xp, it's second hand and the looser who he bought it off didn't reset any of the passwords,
so the situation is:

• windows xp pro's built in amin account has a password which we don't know
  
• there are no accounts which we know the password to
  
• the laptop has no floppy
  
• and an external cd
  
• the boot sequence is network, hdd, usb
  
• the bios has a password too

• some how setup a network boot
  
• use some uber hack to reset all the passwords
  
• or some how get the hdd into another pc and wipe it, then copy bartpe on to it and work from there

you could use an ntpasswd CD to change passwords of users...

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Originally posted by ShawnZ
you could use an ntpasswd CD to change passwords of users...

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Originally posted by Jarrod

• some how setup a network boot
  
• use some uber hack to reset all the passwords
  
• or some how get the hdd into another pc and wipe it, then copy bartpe on to it and work from there

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If resetting the CMOS didn't work (which is unusual, though I've never seen that done on a laptop) then you could just take the hard drive out the laptop, get a 2.5" adaptor or enclosure for it, and use ntpasswd on it in another computer.

I believe there are tools out there which can be used to hack open Dell BIOS, not sure however how effective they are.

Start > Run > control userpasswords2
Under Password for Administrator click Rest Password
That should solve at least one of their problems

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Originally posted by Aardvark
Start > Run > control userpasswords2
Under Password for Administrator click Rest Password
That should solve at least one of their problems

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Originally posted by andrewdodd13
If resetting the CMOS didn't work (which is unusual, though I've never seen that done on a laptop) then you could just take the hard drive out the laptop, get a 2.5" adaptor or enclosure for it, and use ntpasswd on it in another computer.

I believe there are tools out there which can be used to hack open Dell BIOS, not sure however how effective they are.

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Originally posted by Th3rmal

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Originally posted by Aardvark
Start > Run > control userpasswords2
Under Password for Administrator click Rest Password
That should solve at least one of their problems

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i dont think he can actually log into any account...

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use the ultimate deployment appliance to (re)install the OS. Run it as a Virtual Machine on another PC and boot it over the network.
then you have your interface to solve your bios password problem

The BIOS  (nearly) always has a back door password. I'm sure you can get a list of them on the internet somewhere for the laptops make (BIOS make). Once in change the boot order and format with a Windows CD

Try using the password Dell to get into the BIOS it's a known backdoor for most dell's.

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Originally posted by john-t
Try using the password Dell to get into the BIOS it's a known backdoor for most dell's.

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Originally posted by Dane

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Originally posted by john-t
Try using the password Dell to get into the BIOS it's a known backdoor for most dell's.

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A password is not a backdoors; its simply a password.

Anyway, if you're trying to get into the BIOS of a desktop with absolutely no luck, pulling the little watch battery out of the motherboard and putting it back in resets the BIOS, but dont forget to reset the date/time and all that jazz.

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Originally posted by Jarrod
or some how get the hdd into another pc and wipe it, then copy bartpe on to it and work from there

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Network booting can be achieved by setting up a "Netboot Server" on another PC. See this

Afraid I've never used it before.

try the utility shown here:
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/CmosPwd
it claims it can decrypt passwords from many brand-name computer BIOS's

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Originally posted by MeEtc
try the utility shown here:
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/CmosPwd
it claims it can decrypt passwords from many brand-name computer BIOS's

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quote:

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Originally posted by MeEtc
try the utility shown here:
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/CmosPwd
it claims it can decrypt passwords from many brand-name computer BIOS's

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Originally posted by Jarrod
edit: i have the vm jesus suggested, any detailed tutorial on how to use it?

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honestly matty these days the CMOS battery is generally located such a way that it is easily replacable... Just pop open the panel where you can replace ram and check there, if not check where the wifi card is located... Just make sure to pull the power cable out, the battery out and once you have done both hit the power switch on the laptop before you go excavating in your laptop.

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Originally posted by ipab
honestly matty these days the CMOS battery is generally located such a way that it is easily replacable... Just pop open the panel where you can replace ram and check there, if not check where the wifi card is located... Just make sure to pull the power cable out, the battery out and once you have done both hit the power switch on the laptop before you go excavating in your laptop.

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Originally posted by http://www.pwcrack.com/bios.shtml
Most laptop manufacturers have provided additional safeguards for their computers. We are not aware of any simple BIOS recovery program that works on laptops, nor are we aware of any simple backdoor passwords for these machines. BIOS passwords in most laptops are stored in a special chip on the motherboard and the only way to bypass this password is to replace this laptop security chip. Laptop BIOS passwords cannot be bypassed or reset by removing or shorting the CMOS battery. Further, doing this may cause other system errors and complicate the recovery or your system.

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Well, to be completely honest with you, I've done it on several laptops to this date (damn irritating customers thinking they are clever by changing the windows password along with the bios password). HPs seem to be the ones that have them really easily accessible. As for Toshiba laptops, they tend to have the batteries soldered onto the boards. Not so sure about Dells but at this point, for him, it is worth a shot...

The last attempt would be to take the computer to a repair shop, they tend to have the tools (it's a hardware thing) that they can then use to reset the bios password. If you look online, you might find out how to make it, again, I'm not sure about dells, but it's an avenue worth looking into.

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Originally posted by ipab
Well, to be completely honest with you, I've done it on several laptops to this date (damn irritating customers thinking they are clever by changing the windows password along with the bios password). HPs seem to be the ones that have them really easily accessible. As for Toshiba laptops, they tend to have the batteries soldered onto the boards. Not so sure about Dells but at this point, for him, it is worth a shot...

The last attempt would be to take the computer to a repair shop, they tend to have the tools (it's a hardware thing) that they can then use to reset the bios password. If you look online, you might find out how to make it, again, I'm not sure about dells, but it's an avenue worth looking into.

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Originally posted by Jarrod
well he rekons the batteries are under some plastic shit and hard to get out, yeah i under stand the network boot and am on my way to watch the vid, the laptop has been configured to use PXE and i'm thinking i'll need to emulate the settings it already uses... he told me to day when i suggested a 2.5" replacement hdd he said it was actually 1.8" and used a connection which i can't quite remember the name of it but was u"something"...

and to be honest i don't think usb is in the boot sequence, we put a (working) external cd drive in there, it spins up as soon as we power it up then it just spins down

[edit:] after watching the youtube vid, they use vmware server, so i need server? or can i get away with workstation?

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Originally posted by andrewdodd13
Something else just came to mind... some laptops you can press <Esc> when it's booting, this will allow you to "change" the boot order. Even if there's a password, doing so will generally let you press enter on a device and let you boot straight to that. It only works for devices activate in the BIOS, though.

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Originally posted by andrewdodd13

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Originally posted by Jarrod
well he rekons the batteries are under some plastic shit and hard to get out, yeah i under stand the network boot and am on my way to watch the vid, the laptop has been configured to use PXE and i'm thinking i'll need to emulate the settings it already uses... he told me to day when i suggested a 2.5" replacement hdd he said it was actually 1.8" and used a connection which i can't quite remember the name of it but was u"something"...

and to be honest i don't think usb is in the boot sequence, we put a (working) external cd drive in there, it spins up as soon as we power it up then it just spins down

[edit:] after watching the youtube vid, they use vmware server, so i need server? or can i get away with workstation?

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3 things:

1) You can get an external 1.8" USB enclosure off Amazon, I paid £13 for mine when my Zen Touch died. Worked a treat - until the hard drive died about 3 months later.

2) VMWare Workstation is actually better than VMWare Server. VMWare Server is free, and does not support sharing folders. Apart from that, there's negligible difference. (Except for the fact that Server is 100mb dl, WS is around 300).

3) It seems odd that USB wouldn't be in the boot sequence. However this may mean USB flash drive, there may be other options for USB-CD, USB-FDD either (I know my desktop has these at least).

Something else just came to mind... some laptops you can press <Esc> when it's booting, this will allow you to "change" the boot order. Even if there's a password, doing so will generally let you press enter on a device and let you boot straight to that. It only works for devices activate in the BIOS, though.

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The correct password reset methods for laptops are very model specific (e.g. short two points on the main board somewhere, often accessible through the memory slot cover or by removing the keyboard), are described in the service manuals, and most service manuals are on the net.  It would help to know what brand and model this laptop is.

Failing that, by far the easiest thing to do would be to remove the hard drive, connect it to another computer and use ntpasswd to reset the Windows administrator password.  Hard drives in laptops are designed to be easily removed -- often just one or two screws securing a slide tray.  Once you can get into Windows, you can find some software to reset the BIOS password.

You can put the drive in another laptop for resetting the password, or temporarily connect it to a desktop.  If the laptop's hard drive is IDE, it will need an adapter to connect it to a desktop (2.5" IDE drives use a different connector).  If it is SATA, it should be fine the way it is.

On a final note, you might want to have a chat with your friend about buying stolen goods.  That's the usual scenario where these kinds of situations come up.  It's hard to imagine any reason why a former owner selling his own laptop would refuse to remove or disclose passwords -- the thing is probably hot and the seller won't help you because he doesn't know.

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Originally posted by Adeptus
The correct password reset methods for laptops are very model specific (e.g. short two points on the main board somewhere, often accessible through the memory slot cover or by removing the keyboard), are described in the service manuals, and most service manuals are on the net.  It would help to know what brand and model this laptop is.

Failing that, by far the easiest thing to do would be to remove the hard drive, connect it to another computer and use ntpasswd to reset the Windows administrator password.  Hard drives in laptops are designed to be easily removed -- often just one or two screws securing a slide tray.  Once you can get into Windows, you can find some software to reset the BIOS password.

You can put the drive in another laptop for resetting the password, or temporarily connect it to a desktop.  If the laptop's hard drive is IDE, it will need an adapter to connect it to a desktop (2.5" IDE drives use a different connector).  If it is SATA, it should be fine the way it is.

On a final note, you might want to have a chat with your friend about buying stolen goods.  That's the usual scenario where these kinds of situations come up.  It's hard to imagine any reason why a former owner selling his own laptop would refuse to remove or disclose passwords -- the thing is probably hot and the seller won't help you because he doesn't know.

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