Expert: Brian Benosky - 9/30/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi.  You recently offered some great tips for the administrator of a Windows XP password recovery.

Well, mine's a bit tougher.  See, it's a computer that doesn't have a hard drive -- no CD ROM whatsoever so I can't burn a CD to install on there to solve the password problem.

How do I get past the password page or do something to remedy the problem?  It's been six months since I created the password and I don't remember what it is.

Kevin

ANSWER: Hi Kevin

You state that: "it's a computer that doesn't have a hard drive".  If there is no hard drive, where is XP installed to?  Also, does it have USB ports so that you can plug in a thumb drive?

Brian

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Oops!, I meant, CD-ROM.  And yes, the back panel of the PC is just like the PC I have hooked up to the internet in my bedroom (PC in question belongs to my roommate).

I have no idea what a thumb drive is, Brian.   Will this be my saving grace?

~ Kevin

Answer
Hi Kevin

I sort of figured you had to have a hard drive.  You should also have USB ports.  They look like this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/USB_Front_Port.jpg

A thumb or flash drive plugs into the USB port.  Here's a pic:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Ocz-rally-2gb.png

They come in assorted storage capacities, but you won't need anything too large.  Amazon's got an 8GB on sale for $15:

http://www.amazon.com/HP-USB-Flash-Drive-P-FD8GB-HPV100W-FS/dp/B0018YN590/ref=sr

You can also go into Radio Shack, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc. to pick one up.  

Your first step, though, is to make sure that the motherboard which you are working with supports USB booting. To do this simply enter the BIOS (this can usually be done by press the Delete key while the computer is posting) and go into the menu selection titled something like, "Advanced Features". This process is a bit different for every BIOS so you may have to search a bit. Once here look for the boot devices, which will be placed in order: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on. Normally the computer will attempt to boot from the CD-ROM or a specific hard drive first, but you want to change this to the USB drive. The proper selection to do this varies depending on your BIOS version but it be USB RMD-FDD, USB ZIP, USD HDD, USB CD-ROM, or something close to these. Once these is chosen as the 1st boot device you can move your hard drive and/or optical drive down the line (so they will be used if a USB device is not present).
If you can now boot from a USB, go ahead and purchase the thumb drive.

After you do that, you will need to plug the drive into the computer you are currently using and install the program Ophcrack onto the thumb drive.
# Download the ISO file of the ophcrack LiveCD:
http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/download.php?type=livecd
# Download tazusb (Slitaz installer) from here:
http://www.objectif-securite.ch/slitaz/tazusb.exe
# Connect your USB stick to your machine
# Launch tazusb.exe and follow the instructions to install the LiveCD to the drive.

Once you have done that, you will plug the thumb drive into the password-locked computer and follow the instructions starting here:
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/ss/ophcracksbs_5.htm
Note that the instructions are for booting from a CD, but the method is the same for using the thumb drive.

As always, I will be around should you have further questions or need help.

Brian