Login question

[FastLearner]

Quick question for XP or Windows 2000 Pro.

We changed our entire network around at work last night (new static IP addresses, new subnet mask, and new DNS/Wins servers).

For all but a few of our machines, we were easily able to log into the local system with a local administrator account and password that we set up for such cases - in order to change the TCP/IP settings.

Well, it turns out that some of these machines never had a local account created (a couple of our older machines), or they had one but the password is no longer current. In other words, we cannot log in locally.

Normally in these cases we have been able to simply log in as a domain administrator to make any required changes, but with the new TCP/IP properties the machine (with the old settings) can not find the domain either.

Is there a way I can somehow get into the TCP/IP settings of the machine so that it can recognize the domain - without the local administrator account info and password?

Thanks...

[Erik]

Well there are tools available that will let you reset lost or forgotten passwords for local accounts. So if you have a local admin account, which you should really as it is created during install, you could just reset the password. Then just login as a local administrator and make whatever changes you need to, and also make sure to bring the local accounts up to date while you are at it.

[FastLearner]

Thanks Erik. I found a tool in our software closet today that enabled me to login and reset the administrator passwords. The tool is called ERD Commander 2005, and it worked easily. I wonder if I could have somehow used Knoppix, but I doubt it since I needed to change Windows system settings...

Has anyone ever had success doing this with any other tools...

[Erik]

It would be possible with Knoppix, but difficult. Most of the tools that I know of for this are based in Linux or Unixe, except they already knwo which files in the registry to edit. So it a simple matter of booting to the utility CD, and choosing which account you need to unlock.

It would work in Knoppix, but you would need to know which files to edit, and where they were. Why bother when free utilities are so much easier and quicker?