Can't logon to WinXP Home- password?

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polive

[H]ard|Gawd
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Sep 28, 2005
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I'm running XP Home Edition on my laptop and I'm the sole user.
So I have it set up to go straight to the desktop without logon.
The administrator pass is blank as is my nameUser.

Now when I power on it goes to the logon screen and as I press enter (for a blank password) it presents me with the
"the local policy of this system does not permit you to logon interactively" message.

I even used 'ophcrack' boot up to check the password situation but it only confirmed what I knew to be the case: blank passwords all around.

Still can't get into my laptop.
Please help.
 
I've only seen that message in domain situations that wouldn't pertain to this system. However, it seems like something with your profile was corrupted, or the system was compromised (never use the admin account and never EVER leave it blank). If it was me, I'd run a repair on it with my CD (hopefully the same SP version as what you have installed) and then I'd start following some good password policies.

Aside from the obvious security issues with a blank password, you also shouldn't use the built-in admin account. It should be renamed, or at least given a good password, so in this situation, you'd still have access to the system.
 
This is actually my uncle's laptop, where *he is the sole user, not I. Sorry for the mistype.

But can't rename or create any accounts now, right?
 
polive said:
But can't rename or create any accounts now, right?
Click to expand...
Right, which is why a repair install might be your only option. My suggestions for how to configure the accounts are for when this issue is resolved.
 
Sometimes if you boot to safe mode you can choose the Administrator account on the user select screen. Start by repeatedly pressing F8 as soon as the BIOS screen appears. You'll see the option to boot into Safe Mode.

Choose the Administrator account to log in and reset the user account password.

This doesn't work for Vista/7 because the Administrator account is disabled by default.
 
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@DeaconFrost: Did a repair install, using someone else's XP Home edition same SP1 though. Didn't work, same thing, can't login!

@bigdogchris: I've tried that also, same thing happening, Administrator account says "can't logon interactively" and then won't logon.
 
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Was wondering if I could get a USB adapter for the HDD and copy some files maybe. Would that work?
 
As long as they aren't encrypted, you can do that. You can also boot from a CD (Knoppix comes to mind) and copy them to a USB drive.
 
You are or have been infected. If their is domain policies going on the XP HOME computer I would Wipe and reload the entire shhoting match if avail. or you can try the blessed manual restore of the "five" files. I will try to find a link.
System, Software, Security, SAM, and default.
 
Part one
In part one, you start the Recovery Console, create a temporary folder, back up the existing registry files to a new location, delete the registry files at their existing location, and then copy the registry files from the repair folder to the System32\Config folder. When you have finished this procedure, a registry is created that you can use to start Windows XP. This registry was created and saved during the initial setup of Windows XP. Therefore any changes and settings that occurred after the Setup program was finished are lost.

To complete part one, follow these steps:
Insert the Windows XP startup disk into the floppy disk drive, or insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer.
Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.
When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.
If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console.
When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.
At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:
md tmp
copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\tmp\system.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\windows\tmp\security.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\windows\tmp\default.bak

delete c:\windows\system32\config\system
delete c:\windows\system32\config\software
delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam
delete c:\windows\system32\config\security
delete c:\windows\system32\config\default

copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
copy c:\windows\repair\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy c:\windows\repair\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
copy c:\windows\repair\default c:\windows\system32\config\default

Type exit to quit Recovery Console. Your computer will restart.
Note This procedure assumes that Windows XP is installed to the C:\Windows folder. Make sure to change C:\Windows to the appropriate windows_folder if it is a different location.

If you have access to another computer, to save time, you can copy the text in step five, and then create a text file called "Regcopy1.txt" (for example). To use this file, run the following command when you start in Recovery Console:
batch regcopy1.txt
With the batch command in Recovery Console, you can process all the commands in a text file sequentially. When you use the batch command, you do not have to manually type as many commands.
Part two
To complete the procedure described in this section, you must be logged on as an administrator, or an administrative user (a user who has an account in the Administrators group). If you are using Windows XP Home Edition, you can log on as an administrative user. If you log on as an administrator, you must first start Windows XP Home Edition in Safe mode. To start the Windows XP Home Edition computer in Safe mode, follow these steps.

Note Print these instructions before you continue. You cannot view these instructions after you restart the computer in Safe Mode. If you use the NTFS file system, also print the instructions from Knowledge Base article KB309531. Step 7 contains a reference to the article.
Click Start, click Shut Down (or click Turn Off Computer), click Restart, and then click OK (or click Restart).
Press the F8 key.

On a computer that is configured to start to multiple operating systems, you can press F8 when you see the Startup menu.
Use the arrow keys to select the appropriate Safe mode option, and then press ENTER.
If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot system, use the arrow keys to select the installation that you want to access, and then press ENTER.
In part two, you copy the registry files from their backed up location by using System Restore. This folder is not available in Recovery Console and is generally not visible during typical usage. Before you start this procedure, you must change several settings to make the folder visible:
Start Windows Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Folder options.
Click the View tab.
Under Hidden files and folders, click to select Show hidden files and folders, and then click to clear the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) check box.
Click Yes when the dialog box that confirms that you want to display these files appears.
Double-click the drive where you installed Windows XP to display a list of the folders. If is important to click the correct drive.
Open the System Volume Information folder. This folder is unavailable and appears dimmed because it is set as a super-hidden folder.

Note This folder contains one or more _restore {GUID} folders such as "_restore{87BD3667-3246-476B-923F-F86E30B3E7F8}".

Note You may receive the following error message:
C:\System Volume Information is not accessible. Access is denied.
If you receive this message, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article to gain access to this folder and continue with the procedure:
309531 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309531/ ) How to gain access to the System Volume Information folder
Open a folder that was not created at the current time. You may have to click Details on the View menu to see when these folders were created. There may be one or more folders starting with "RPx under this folder. These are restore points.
Open one of these folders to locate a Snapshot subfolder. The following path is an example of a folder path to the Snapshot folder:
C:\System Volume Information\_restore{D86480E3-73EF-47BC-A0EB-A81BE6EE3ED8}\RP1\Snapshot
From the Snapshot folder, copy the following files to the C:\Windows\Tmp folder:
_REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM
_REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM
Rename the files in the C:\Windows\Tmp folder as follows:
Rename _REGISTRY_USER_.DEFAULT to DEFAULT
Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY to SECURITY
Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE to SOFTWARE
Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM to SYSTEM
Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM to SAM
These files are the backed up registry files from System Restore. Because you used the registry file that the Setup program created, this registry does not know that these restore points exist and are available. A new folder is created with a new GUID under System Volume Information and a restore point is created that includes a copy of the registry files that were copied during part one. Therefore, it is important not to use the most current folder, especially if the time stamp on the folder is the same as the current time.

The current system configuration is not aware of the previous restore points. You must have a previous copy of the registry from a previous restore point to make the previous restore points available again.

The registry files that were copied to the Tmp folder in the C:\Windows folder are moved to make sure that the files are available under Recovery Console. You must use these files to replace the registry files currently in the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder. By default, Recovery Console has limited folder access and cannot copy files from the System Volume folder.

Note The procedure described in this section assumes that you are running your computer with the FAT32 file system. For more information about how to access the System Volume Information Folder with the NTFS file system, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
309531 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309531/ ) How to gain access to the System Volume Information folder
Part Three
In part three, you delete the existing registry files, and then copy the System Restore Registry files to the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder:
Start Recovery Console.
At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:
del c:\windows\system32\config\sam

del c:\windows\system32\config\security

del c:\windows\system32\config\software

del c:\windows\system32\config\default

del c:\windows\system32\config\system

copy c:\windows\tmp\software c:\windows\system32\config\software

copy c:\windows\tmp\system c:\windows\system32\config\system

copy c:\windows\tmp\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam

copy c:\windows\tmp\security c:\windows\system32\config\security

copy c:\windows\tmp\default c:\windows\system32\config\default
Note Some of these command lines may be wrapped for readability.
Type exit to quit Recovery Console. Your computer restarts.
Note This procedure assumes that Windows XP is installed to the C:\Windows folder. Make sure to change C:\Windows to the appropriate windows_folder if it is a different location.

If you have access to another computer, to save time, you can copy the text in step two, and then create a text file called "Regcopy2.txt" (for example). To use this file, run the following command when you start in Recovery Console:
batch regcopy2.txt
Part Four
Click Start, and then click All Programs.
Click Accessories, and then click System Tools.
Click System Restore, and then click Restore to a previous RestorePoint.
 
I have been able to get into the machine and do the restore and get the accounts to open back up, but it will take hours of you time. Do the wipe and reload and get good Anti-malware software loaded.
 
@ YellowSnow, how does Knoppix work? I'm downloading it right now, but it's 3.5 GB! Is that what I need to get in and copy some files out?

@ thee rook: Thanks for that info! Maybe as a last resort or something, seems like it would take forever as you said!
 
Ah, very nice thanks a million! I'll have to try this when it finishes DL.
 
What I'd do -- find the registry setting that controls the policy that is causing your problems. My guess is you've got some a password policy set on the machine, but it's odd that it won't let you in. It shouldn't let you change your password to something that doesn't meet the policy, but it *should* let you log in.

This definitely has nothing to do with a domain becuase XP Home can not connect to a domain. So this is definately a local policy that something turned on.

I'd start out with a WinPE/BartPE disk. Boot up with that and run RegEdit. You can the load the Software registry hive. With that loaded you can rename the HKLM\Software\Policies key to HKLM\Software\Policies.old.

I would then load up the hives for each of the users, too. Do the same thing, but instead of HKCU, use HKLM.

After unloading the hives you should have removed all policies from the machine and it should be reset to default.


If this doesn't work you could try the Ultimate Boot CD. It has a utility on it to reset the Administrator password to 'blank'. I know you said it is already blank, but the database could be corrupt, so it may be worth using this CD to explicitly set it.
 
Thanks Demon and everyone. I just got to the data using Knoppix and copying it to a flash drive. Then reformatted the system and made a folder with the old data. I am forcing him to backup his shit now!
 
Why can't you just go into safe mode, log into admin, and then go to Computer Management > Users. Delete the password

image.axd
 
Your "uncle" has been looking at PrOn.......:eek::eek:

You have a classic virus situation......my son did this to himself a couple months ago....same exact scenerio.....super porn was the culprit.

I used knoppix, booted up, transferred over his important files, then nuked the drive by reloading the OS and starting over.
 
Don't know if it's still the case, but back in the day, the Administrator account on XP Home was always disabled. That might have been a large part of your problem.
 
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