Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 8 Jun 2008 8:08 am Re: comp info |
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| Lavelle Pierce wrote: |
| hello wiz i bought a comp window nt work station 4.1 on the . logan information user name adiministrator then password i can not open it how can i change a name and password thanks lavelle |
Lavelle, Lavelle...
When I suggested that you get a "new" computer I was thinking more along the lines of something made this year, or in the last two or three years, with an operating system that is still supported by the manufacturer and software makers.
Windows NT 4.1 Workstation has been out of print for almost 10 years; it was replaced by Windows 2000 Professional (NT 5.0) in early 1999. It is totally unsupported by Microsoft and I don't know of any currently supported security or productivity software that is made to run on it. That operating system was made for use in banks and insurance companies, for data entry.
That said, to your more significant problem; you can't log in, because you were not given the Administrator account password. There are three typical ways to fix this problem.
- use a password reset floppy diskette
- build or buy a password hacking disk
- reinstall the entire operating system and create a new password
It is possible that the previous owner made a password reset floppy diskette, so ask him. If the floppy is still readable it will tell you the saved password. You can then login to the account and change the password from the Administration applet in Control Panel.
I have used method #2 by downloading a DOS password resetting application, burning it to a CD and making it bootable with Nero's "New Boot CD" utility, then booting from that CD and resetting the Administrator password from a command prompt. Of course this assumes that your computer's BIOS is or can be set to boot from a bootable CD, which they didn't usually do when NT 4 was in common use.
If you can't reset, guess, or crack the password you will have to reinstall the operating system from scratch. This requires four NT 4.1 Setup floppy diskettes and the Windows NT 4 Workstation CD. If you lack the diskettes they can be created from the CD, but I don't remember the exact details.
Perhaps a computer shop with experience going back a decade will be able to help you solve this problem. Even if they do your computer will be next to useless on the Internet and totally unsecurable against malware threats and exploits.
I wish you would have asked our opinion before you got that computer Lavelle. Of course, if you only want it for doing accounting or bookkeeping and have old NT 4 compatible programs to do this, you'll be all set. Modern applications may not even install on NT 4.1.
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"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
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